Staying up at night and have the munchies? Consider making some super fast dango!
Dango (団子) is a Japanese rice dumpling, made from rice flour. There are many types of dango, ranging from anko (red bean paste) to the mitarashi (sweet soy sauce) dango. Today we will be making kinako (きなこ) dango! Kinako is roasted soybean powder, which has a hearty taste similar to a mix between peanut butter and hazelnut. Of course, you can also use any topping you like! Some easily available suggestions are sugar, yogurt, honey, or condensed milk. Not traditional, but still delicious nevertheless.
The ingredients we are using today are: Mochiko, Kinako, Sugar, and Water.
Mochiko, Kinako
Mochiko can be found at both Walmart and Wegmans, in the flour aisle. It would probably be more readily available at Wegmans though. Kinako can be found at Asian food stores. It was available in the fridge of Kim’s Oriental the last time I checked, but the bag is different. Make sure the soybean powder is roasted. And no, buying soybean flour and roasting it yourself does not work.
Recipe: yields 22
1/2 Box Mochiko
1 Cup Water
Kinako, Sugar
First, fill up a small pot 3/4th of the way with water, and set it to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, you can begin making your dango! Mix half a box of Mochiko with 1 Cup water, and knead the dough. The dough should have a slightly sticky but powdery texture. Add more water if necessary. Pull pieces of dough, and form balls about one inch in diameter with it. After they are formed, put them in the pot of boiling water, and wait for them to float up. The process should take about 8 minutes. Floating dangos are cooked, so scoop them out. If you prefer to eat your dango cool or are afraid of them sticking, you may lightly run cold water over them.
Now, prepare your topping! Kinako alone has a very floury taste, so it is usually mixed with sugar. I like do use a 1:1 ratio of sugar and kinako, but create yours to taste! You are now ready to eat! Simple right? Itadakimasu~
