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Easy Dango with Pink and Matcha Variations Recipe

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4.8 from 58 reviews

Easy Dango is a traditional Japanese sweet treat featuring colorful, chewy rice flour dumplings. This recipe guides you through making three different colored doughs—white, pink, and matcha green—boiling them to perfect softness, and skewering them beautifully, perfect for enjoying during cherry blossom season or any time you crave a delightful mochi-like snack.

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cup (150 g) Joshinko non-glutinous rice flour
  • 1 1/2 cup (200 g) Shiratamako glutinous sweet rice flour
  • 3/4 cup (75 g) powdered sugar (optional, for sweetness)
  • 1 teaspoon matcha powder

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cup hot water
  • 1 teaspoon water (for matcha paste)
  • 1 drop pink food coloring

Other

  • 12 small bamboo skewers (soaked in water before use)

Instructions

  1. Prepare Skewers: Soak 12 small bamboo skewers in water to prevent burning during serving or grilling later.
  2. Mix Dry Flours: In a bowl, combine 150 g Joshinko non-glutinous rice flour, 200 g Shiratamako glutinous sweet rice flour, and optionally 75 g powdered sugar for sweetness. Stir to blend evenly.
  3. Add Water and Form Dough: Pour 1 1/3 cup hot water into the flour mixture. Begin stirring with a spoon until the mixture thickens, then use your hands to knead it into a dough. Adjust with extra flour or water if needed to achieve a soft, play-dough-like texture.
  4. Divide Dough into Three: Split the dough evenly into three separate bowls to prepare the different colored dango.
  5. Color the Dough: Add one drop of pink food coloring to the first portion and knead until uniformly colored.
  6. Make Matcha Paste and Color Dough: Mix 1 teaspoon matcha powder with 1 teaspoon water to create a paste. Add this to the second dough portion and knead until the dough is evenly green.
  7. Leave One Dough White: Keep the third dough natural white without adding anything.
  8. Form Balls: Shape each dough piece into round balls weighing about 20 grams each. Using a kitchen scale helps for even sizing. This recipe yields approximately 36 balls total.
  9. Boil the Dango: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the white dango balls first. When they float to the surface, continue boiling for 2 more minutes to cook through.
  10. Ice Bath: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked white dango into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking and firm up the texture.
  11. Cook Pink and Matcha Dango: Repeat the boiling and ice water steps for the pink dango next, then the green matcha dango last. This order prevents color bleeding in the cooking water.
  12. Skewer the Dango: Thread the dango balls onto the soaked bamboo skewers with the green balls first at the bottom, white in the middle, and pink on top. This tri-color sequence represents summer grass, winter snow, and spring cherry blossoms respectively.
  13. Serve: Dango can be eaten plain or topped with additions like sweet soy glaze, red bean paste, or matcha paste for extra flavor.

Notes

  • Ensure bamboo skewers are soaked in water before using to avoid burning if you decide to grill the dango later.
  • Adjust water or flour quantities slightly depending on humidity for perfect dough consistency.
  • Use a kitchen scale for evenly sized dango balls to ensure even cooking.
  • Boil each color of dango separately and in order to prevent colors from bleeding and contaminating the water.
  • Dango is traditionally enjoyed during hanami, or cherry blossom viewing season.

Keywords: Dango,Japanese dessert,glutinous rice flour dumplings,matcha dango,pink food coloring mochi,sweet rice flour snacks,cherry blossom season treats

Find it online: https://dinewithlily.com/easy-dango-with-pink-and-matcha-variations-recipe/