Mitarashi Dango Recipe

Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子) is one of many very traditional Japanese Mochi sweets.  Small round Mochi balls are skewered on bamboo sticks and covered with a gooey sweet and salty brown sauce.  Mitarashi Dango is a great snack and quite satisfying without being overly sweet.  You may want to try it one afternoon with hot green tea.

It is said that this dessert’s name, Mitarashi, comes from a festival held at a famous shrine in the city of Kyoto in western Japan.  Mitarashi Dango was thought to be made as an offering for gods at this shrine in the 14th century.  Since then, Mitarashi Dango was sold by street venders at shrines in Kyoto and eventually  became wide-spread all over Japan.  Today Mitarashi Dango is a quite common sweet.  You can find it at Japanese sweet shops, of course, and at supermarkets and convenience stores.

Mitarashi Dango is somehow a popular food appearing often in Japanese Anime/comic books, including famous ones like Charlotte and Demon Slayer.  Then again, that’s actually understandable… look at the shiny and gooey candy-like sauce over cute little Mochi balls on a skewer.  Who wouldn’t like the look?  Mitarashi Dango is quite photogenic in animation.

To make this Mochi rice cake, we used Mochiko glutinous rice flour instead of other types of flour more commonly used in Japan because Mochiko is more easily found in the US.  It is not the same as regular rice flour which doesn’t become sticky when cooked.  The amount of Tofu to mix with Mochiko in this recipe is an approximate guideline.  Depending on what brand of tofu you have, you may need to adjust how much to use.  The dough needs to be not too dry, but not too soft.  It has to be able to be handled without sticking much and hold the shape at the same time.

Skewered Mochi balls are grilled and browned first, then a Soy Sauce-based sweet sauce is poured over.  Saltiness and a pleasant savory smell of Soy Sauce matches surprisingly with the rest of the sweet sauce.  This traditional Dango dessert is not as difficult to make as you may think.  It is a variation of our Dango recipe.  Like the other Dango recipe, Mitarashi Dango is best eaten fresh, preferably when it’s still warm, or at least the day it’s made because it’ll get harder the next day.  Watch the Dango video as well if you haven’t made them before.  We hope you enjoy these traditional snacks and a taste of history today!

This video and article is newly updated from November 2016.

Print Recipe

4.72 from 7 votes

Mitarashi Dango Recipe

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: dango, mochi, wagashi

Servings: 20 Dango balls

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Equipment

• bamboo skewers 6-7 skewers

Ingredients

• 8 oz Mochiko #ad
• 8 oz Tofu soft

Mitarashi Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Katakuriko (potato starch) or corn starch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 cup water 240ml

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• In a bowl, mix Tofu and Mochiko well. The dough should not be too loose nor too firm (about the firmness of an earlobe).
• Scoop out tablespoon-size portions of dough and roll into balls.
• Boil water in a large pot, and cook the dough balls until they float. Once they float in the boiling water, cook 2-3 minutes longer, then remove from the water using a mesh strainer (or ladle) and place onto a plate lined with a paper towel.
• Meanwhile, make Mitarashi sauce. In a small pot, add all the ingredients for the sauce and stir. Cook until the sauce boils and keep it warm.
• Slide 3-4 Dango balls onto each skewer. Heat a non-stick frying pan at medium heat, place skewered Dango in the pan, and cook until lightly browned.
• Put Dango on a plate and pour the sauce to coat.

Video

Notes

When it’s freshly boiled Mochi, you can skip the grilling step and eat as is if you prefer.  You don’t have bamboo skewers?  No problem!  Just serve as loose Dango balls, and pour the sauce over them.  Taste is exactly the same!