Mitarashi Dango Recipe

Mitarashi Dango is a sweet and savory Japanese treat that is naturally gluten free! The dango skewers have a chewy, doughy texture and the glaze can easily be made gluten free by using a gluten free soy sauce.

Lets look at the list of supplies and ingredients we'll need:

Kitchen appliances:

• Parchment Paper
• kitchen scale
• A pot for boiling water
• A mixing bowl and whisk
• Wooden skewers
• A kitchen blowtorch (optional)

For the Dango:

• 100 g of glutinous rice flour (Despite the name, glutinous rice flour does not contain gluten, rather it just means that it is very sticky! Glutinous rice flour is needed for this recipe, regular rice flour will not be sticky enough. You can also use Shiratamako or Mochiko rice flour, which are made with the intended purpose of making dango or mochi)
• 125 g silken tofu (add 1-2 tsp more if dough becomes dry)

For the Sauce:

• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tsp gluten free soy sauce.
• 1 tbsp cold water
• ¼ tsp cornstarch

Making the Dango:

1. Place wooden skewers in a cup of cold water.
2. Measure out 100 g of glutinous rice flour with your kitchen scale and place in a mixing bowl. You can cut and place parchment paper down if you feel like you might make a mess, or if you prefer to weigh ingredients on that instead of in bowls. Whisk the flour briefly to aerate.
3. Measure 125 g of silken tofu and pour into the same bowl as your rice flour. You can use a spatula, spoon, or your hands to mix the flour and tofu together until it resembles a scrambled egg texture.
4. With your hands, knead the mixture into a smooth dough. If the dough feels too dry and begins to crack, add 1-2tsp of silken tofu. If the dough is too sticky, add more glutinous rice flour.
5. Place a small piece of parchment paper over your kitchen scale, and then divide the dough into 15 g balls. Space out the dough balls on a piece of parchment paper so they do not stick together.
6. Boil a pot of water on the stove. When the water is boiling, gently deposit the dough balls into the water. Occasionally nudge them with a spoon to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
7. After about 5-7 minutes, the dough balls will begin to float. Set a timer for 2 minutes after they begin to float and then remove them after the timer goes off.
8. Prepare an ice bath for the dango by placing water and ice in a bowl.
9. When the timer goes off, scoop the dough balls out and immediately place them in the ice bath. Leave them to cool for a few minutes.
10. After they’ve cooled, place three dango on each skewer. In order to brown your dango, you can use one of two methods: If you have a kitchen torch or gas stove, hold the dango over the flame until they lightly char. If you have a convection oven, heat up a dry frying pan on medium and add the dango skewers, turning occasionally to brown on each side.

Making the Sauce:

1. Combine in a sauce pan 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tsp gluten free soy sauce. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp cold water, ¼ tsp cornstarch to make a slurry. I like to double the recipe for more sauce.
2. Heat the pan on low or low-medium and stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved. Let the sauce bubble for 1 minute, and then add the slurry mixture into the sauce pan.
3. Continue to stir until the sauce turns into a thick glaze which can coat the back of a spoon.
4. Pour the sauce over the dango and enjoy your sweet treat.

Dango can be very sticky and chewy, so be sure to take small bites as to not choke. Dango is best eaten on the same day, but if you need to store it, freeze it and dethaw when needed.