Mitarashi Tofu Dango (Tofu Glutinous Balls with Sweet-Salty Sauce) ｜ 豆腐丸子

Tofu dango is a Japanese dumpling snack made of tofu and mochiko, a type of glutinous short grain Japanese rice flour.

Dango is chewy and soft with a depth of soy flavour.  When served, three or four dango are often put on a skewer and coated with the sweet-salty sauce, mitarashi.  

The first time when I ate dango was in Japan travelling with my family.  There was a small store selling concessions and tea for the tours at the park, and I saw a man speedily rolling a big piece of dough into many small balls and into a boiling water pot.  An old lady beside him scooped up the floating rice balls with a strainer.  Then she started to skewer those piping hot dumplings.  I still remember how crazily exited I was when I finally got my first chance to eat the "Japanese dumpling".  Since I spoke no Japanese, I used my body language to place my order for the snack.  The old lady held a few skewered dumplings in hand and dipped them into a pot of "brownish sauce" (as I called it back then).  That was the mitarashi dango.  The flavour was awesomely comforting, and I fell in love with this sweet and salty snack since then.

For me, dango is very similar to the Chinese "tang yuen".  Both snacks are soft, chewy, and can be served sweet or savoury, and they are also made of glutinous short grain rice flour.  The big difference was that dango is using Japanese rice while "tang yuen" uses Chinese rice.

At home, I use both in my dango making, depending on which one is on hand.  Although mochiko can be easily found in many Asian markets, it is not as widely available as Chinese glutinous rice flour.  Also, mochiko is more pricy.  However, the dumplings that are made of mochiko are finer and softer in texture, which makes the dessert more delicate and I enjoy it more.

To use tofu instead of water to form the dough which can increase the nutritional value while adding extra flavour for the dumplings.  You can use silken or firm tofu to make this dessert, but the silken version will for sure be the winner when comparing texture.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Tofu Dango

豆腐丸子

INGREDIENTS:

90 gram Silken Tofu

120 gram Glutinous Flour

Mitarashi Sauce:

4 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Mirin

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 tablespoon Water

1 teaspoon Corn Starch

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, mash the tofu until fine with a hand.

2. Add flour, a little at a time, mixing it with the tofu and form it into a dough.  The texture of the dough should resemble the softness of the earlobes.  Add more flour or tofu to adjust the texture if needed.

3. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.  Roll the dough into equal sized balls.  Add the balls to the water.  Boil them until they float to the surface which indicates that they are cooked through.

4. Scoop out the dumplings and quickly transfer them into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.

5. Put three or four dumplings on a skewer and place them on a serving place.  Set aside.

6. To make the mitarashi sauce, combine soy sauce, sugar, and mirin in a saucepan.  Gently heat it up over low heat.

7. Combine cornstarch with a tablespoon of water.  Then whisk it into the soy sauce mixture.  Continuously stir the sauce until it thickens.  Use a spoon to draw a line in the saucepan, if the sauce separates it is done.  Remove it from the heat and spoon it over the dumplings immediately.