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–+ servings

Easy Tofu Mitarashi Dango (Japanese Rice Dumplings with Sweet Soy Glaze)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 5 portions

Ingredients 
 

Dango

  • 100 g glutinous rice flour shiratamako or mochiko
  • 125 g silken tofu + 1-2 tsp extra if dough seems dry

Sauce

Instructions 

Dango

  • Place the bamboo skewers in a glass of cold water to soak and start boiling a pot of water.
    Bamboo skewers soaking in a glass of water
  • Pour 100 g glutinous rice flour into a large mixing bowl and whisk to aerate, then crumble 125 g silken tofu into the bowl and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until the texture resembles scrambled eggs.
    shiratamako and silken tofu mixed together in a bowl
  • Press the mixture together with your hands to form a dough. Knead until it's smooth and has the texture of an earlobe.
    dango "dough" kneaded in a bowl
    • Texture not where it needs to be? Add an extra 1-2 tsp of silken tofu if it seems dry and cracks easily. If you ran out of tofu, add water instead ½ tsp at a time and knead thoroughly. If it's too wet/sticky, add more glutinous flour or potato starch.
  • Divide the dough into 15g (½ oz) pieces, there should be 3 for each skewer. Roll into balls and place on a plate. Tip: Space them apart in a single layer so that they don't stick together. Line your plate with baking parchment or a thin sprinkling of starch for easy removal.
    measuring dango into 15g balls
  • When the pot of water is at a rolling boil, gently drop the dango into the water and nudge with chopsticks or a spoon to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
    dango in boiling water
  • Once they're all floating (about 5-7 minutes) set a timer for 2 minutes. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set it by the stove.
    dango floating in boiling water
  • After 2 minutes are up, use a mesh spoon to scoop them out of the pot and straight into the bowl of ice water. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
    dango in ice cold water
  • Once they're cool enough to touch, push three dango onto each soaked bamboo skewer.
    pushing dango onto a soaked skewer
  • Char the dango using your preferred method.
    Gas stove/kitchen torch: hold the dango over the flame until lightly charred.
    Frying pan method: Heat up a pan on medium. Add the dango to the dry pan, brown on each side, turning occasionally.
    dango toasting in a frying pan

Mitarashi Sauce

  • Add 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 2 tbsp mirin, and 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) to a cold pan. In a small glass bowl, mix 1 tbsp cold water and ¼ tsp cornstarch to make a slurry.
    mirin, light brown sugar and soy sauce in a saucepan to make mitarashi sauce
  • Heat the pan on low or medium low, and mix continuously until the sugar has dissolved.
    mitarashi sauce thickened in a pan
  • Let the sauce bubble for about 1 minute, then mix the slurry and pour it into the pan. Mix thoroughly.
    pouring slurry into mitarashi sauce in a saucepan on the stove top
  • Continue to stir over the heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
    thickened mitarashi sauce in a saucepan on the stove top
  • Drizzle the sauce over the dango and enjoy!
    mitarashi dango coated in sauce

Notes

  • The sauce will get thicken when it cools down. Be careful not to cook for too long and thin it out with a splash of water if needed.  For best results, pour it over the dango while still warm.
  • Best eaten the same day.
  • To store, freeze them (with or without the sauce) for about one month. Defrost at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour.
  • For quick thawing, microwave in 20-30 second increments until soft. Avoid microwaving too long as this can make them hard.