Description
This Easy Dango Recipe creates colorful and chewy Japanese rice flour dumplings perfect for spring celebrations or any time you want a delightful sweet snack. With three vibrant colors—pink, white, and green—symbolizing the seasons, these bite-sized treats are simple to make using both non-glutinous and glutinous rice flours, flavored naturally with matcha and a touch of food coloring. Enjoy dango skewered traditionally or with your favorite toppings like sweet soy glaze or red bean paste.
Ingredients
Scale
Dango Dough
- 1 1/3 cup Joshinko non-glutinous rice flour (150 g)
- 1 1/2 cup Shiratamako glutinous sweet rice flour (200 g)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (optional, 75 g)
- 1 1/3 cup hot water
Coloring & Flavoring
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder
- 1 teaspoon water (for matcha paste)
- 1 drop pink food coloring
Additional
- 12 small bamboo skewers, soaked in water before use
Instructions
- Prepare Skewers: Soak 12 small bamboo skewers in water to prevent burning during cooking.
- Mix Flours and Sugar: In a bowl, combine 150 g non-glutinous rice flour (Joshinko) with 200 g glutinous sweet rice flour (Shiratamako) and optional 75 g powdered sugar for sweetness.
- Add Hot Water and Form Dough: Pour in 1 1/3 cup hot water, stirring with a spoon until mixture starts to come together. Use hands to knead dough into a clay-like consistency, adjusting with more flour or water as needed for softness.
- Divide Dough: Split dough evenly into three portions and place each in separate bowls.
- Color Pink Dough: Add one drop of pink food coloring to one portion and knead evenly to distribute color.
- Make Matcha Paste and Color Green Dough: Mix 1 teaspoon matcha powder with 1 teaspoon water to create paste, then knead it into the second dough portion.
- Leave Third Dough White: Keep the third portion plain white without additions.
- Shape Dango Balls: Using a kitchen scale, portion the dough into 20-gram balls, shaping each into a smooth round ball. This recipe yields about 36 balls total.
- Boil White Dango: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently add white dango balls. When they float, cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Cool in Ice Water: Use a slotted spoon to transfer boiled dango to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking and set texture.
- Repeat Boiling & Cooling for Pink and Green Dango: Boil and cool pink dango next, then green last to prevent color bleeding.
- Skewer Dango: Thread 3 dango balls per skewer, placing green first, white in the middle, and pink last. This traditional order represents seasonal colors: green for grass, white for winter snow, and pink for spring cherry blossoms.
- Serve: Enjoy dango plain or with toppings such as sweet soy glaze, red bean paste, or matcha paste according to preference.
Notes
- Use precise measurements of flour and water for correct dough consistency—similar to soft clay.
- Adding powdered sugar is optional, adjust sweetness to taste.
- Cook dango in order of white, pink, then green to prevent color contamination.
- Soaking skewers before grilling or serving helps prevent burning.
- Dango is best enjoyed fresh but can be refrigerated and gently reheated.
- Alternative toppings include kinako (roasted soybean flour) or sweetened condensed milk.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 dango balls (1 skewer)
- Calories: 110 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 5 mg
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Dango, Japanese dessert, rice flour dumplings, matcha dango, colorful dango, easy dango recipe, traditional Japanese sweets
