Dango is a type of Japanese sweet made from glutinous rice flour and water, boiled and flavored with sweet or savory sauces. The original version, mitarashi dango, is grilled and topped with a sweet soy or teppanyaki sauce. There are many varieties of dango, with different flavors and additives, and some are seasonal or made for specific holidays. Modern cooks have taken creative liberties with ingredients to add personal flavor.
Dango is a Japanese term that applies to many varieties of boiled confection. They constitute a category of wagashi, a general word encompassing the full range of Japanese sweets. Most dangos are made with small balls of glutinous rice flour and water formed into dumplings and dipped in boiling water until firm. They are flavored with sweet or savory sauces and optional add-ons from bean pastes to tea powder. They can also be rolled in spices or seeds.
The mitarashi dango is widely considered to be the original version. These are simple skewered dumplings, grilled and topped with a sweet soy or teppanyaki sauce. The term “mitarishi” refers to the pool of water outside Shinto temples where worshipers wash their hands to purify themselves before entering, and the mitarashi dango likely traces their origins to the age-old Shinto practice of leaving temple offerings for the gods. The stalls selling these sweets remain celebrated features of Japan’s many Shinto shrines into the early 21st century. While some shrine patrons still purchase the dessert for an offering, it is also eaten as a snack.
Many Japanese people make these sweets in their homes and they come in all kinds of flavors and varieties. Cooks can alter the texture of the dumpling by adding non-glutinous rice flour or jyoshinko. The more glutinous rice included, the stickier and thicker the final product will be.
Rolling flour in sesame seeds produces goma dango, and topping it with black sesame paste – either as a dip or as an additive – produces gomasuri dango. Zunda dango are made by adding green soybean paste before boiling, while anko dango is made with red beans. Steaming bamboo leaf rice produces sasa dango, and tilting any variety creates kushi dango.
The variety a cook chooses to make depends in many cases on personal taste, but it can also be dictated by the calendar. Some are seasonal and some are made on regional or national holidays. Hanami dango, for example, are traditionally made in the spring to coincide with cherry blossom viewing festivals. Andagi dango is a regular feature of Obon summer festivals, particularly in southern Japan, and tsukimi dango is a national favorite for the moon-gazing festival in early autumn.
While traditional varieties are fixed, increasingly modern cooks, particularly those outside Japan, have taken creative liberties with ingredients, using flavors and additives that are seasonally and regionally available. Local fruits, nuts, and spices are among the things that can be added for a more personal flavor.
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