You’ll usually get 3-5 dango on a skewer. Because you don’t need any utensils to eat them, they make a great on-the-go snack as you’re traveling.
Each dango is usually pretty small, so don’t worry about ruining your appetite if you buy a skewer close to dinner.
Try tilting your head back a little as your bite down on the dango. Be careful to not accidentally pierce your mouth with the skewer! If you’re worried about tripping while you’re eating and walking, stop for a few moments on the street to take a bite before moving on.
Wet wipes may be more effective at cleaning sticky hands than a napkin would be. If you have them with you, use them to wipe down your hands after you finish eating.
Green tea contains a little bit of caffeine, which can make it a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon.
Even though the sauce is made with sugar, this version of dango still isn’t super sweet. Japanese desserts tend to be much less sweet than what you may think of as a traditional dessert if you’re from the United States or Canada.
Hanami dango is another three-colored version you will find during the cherry blossom season. These skewers hold, red, green, and white dango and are often covered with a red bean jelly.
This denpun may also be rolled in sesame seeds or dusted with soy powder for a crunchy exterior.
You can buy both silken tofu and sweet rice flour at many big-name grocery stores. You could also get them from a Japanese grocery store or order them online. If the dough is crumbly, add a spoonful more of tofu until the consistency is smooth. Fix dough that is too wet by adding one spoonful of rice flour at a time until it holds together.
Try your best to keep the dough balls roughly the same size so they cook through at the same time.
There’s no need to salt the water or add anything else to it.
If you’re worried about getting splashed by the hot water, you could use a slotted spoon to lower the dough balls into the pot.
Letting the dough cook through gives it an even consistency. If you took the dango out too soon, the middle might be very dense and unpleasant to chew.
You could also place the dango on a cooling rack.
Not everyone likes their dango fried. It helps keep them warm and can add a little texture to the outside, but it isn’t required.
To reheat dango, simply pop them into the microwave for 15-30 seconds until they’re warmed through. You can store dango in an air-tight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.
This sauce can be drizzled over warm dango, or the dango can be dipped into the syrup.
Spread the paste over the dango to enjoy this traditional topping. Red bean paste will keep for up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container stored in the fridge. You could also mix a tablespoon of red bean paste into the dough the next time you make dango.
Kinako is often called roasted soy flour and is made from roasted soybeans. You can find it at Japanese grocery stores, or you may have to order it online.
It’s very common to see red, green, and white dango served together on a skewer. Once you know how to mix in matcha or red bean paste to the dough, it’s very simple and fun to create these multi-colored skewers.
