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 … Continue reading Mitarashi Dango Recipe