A popular Japanese sweet served in tea shops and in stalls for festivals, mitarashi dango is a kind of dango “dumpling” sweet skewered in groups of 3 to 5 pieces, covered with a sweet soy sauce glaze.  It is characterized by its glaze and slightly burnt fragrance.

My version of mitarashi dango is a bit of a “cheat” and is designed to be easy to make.  Unfortunately it is also pretty easy to screw up so it might take a few tries to get the hang of it and produce the desired result.  But don’t give up, because these are extremely tasty!

How to Make Mitarashi Dango

Ingredients (Makes 8)

Dango:

• 1 cup Mochiko (Sweet Rice Flour)
• Water

Sauce:

• ½ cup Water
• 6 tablespoons Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Potato Starch

Directions

1. In a microwaveable bowl, add the mochiko rice flour and slowly add water little by little to make a smooth dough.  BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE THE DOUGH TOO WATERY.
2. Roll into a long cylinder and cut into 24 pieces.  Roll into small balls or dango, about 1 inch in diameter.
3. Boil water in a pot and add the dango.  After they come up to the surface, let them cook 1 more minute, then scoop them out into a colander to drain and cool slightly.
4. For the sauce, combine water, sugar, and soy sauce in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Make a slurry with the potato starch and 1 tablespoon of water, and drizzle into the sauce.  Quickly whisk until it thickens.  Feel free to adjust the proportions of soy sauce, sugar, etc. to your tastes.  You can also make the sauce thicker or thinner by adjusting the water and potato starch.
5. Twist and slide the dango onto skewers (3 for each skewer) and place them on a plate.  Pour sauce over them and serve.  ALTERNATIVELY, you can grill the skewered dango over a wire frame until they just start to burn a little on both sides, dip them in the sauce and serve.