Packaging

Choco & Coffee has very elegant packaging, with a salmon and burgundy gradient and English script. The kanji is in small gold letters and offsets the colors of the pretty tarts pictured on the bag. Being able to see the product in one way or another is good, and Choco & Coffee tops that with not only displaying pictures of their product, but showcasing the product itself to boot. The elegance is marred, however by two incongruities: A yellow barn and silo sketched in as background plus a tacked on green wheat stamp in the lower corner. That’s just weak. Ignoring the barn is easy, but there’s no getting around that stylized green blob. Score: B+

Appearance

The tarts/cookies are dually wrapped. Each packet contains two thin, wafers filled with either chocolate or coffee flavored cream. The tarts are rather thin, but look good enough to serve at a tea party, fanned out on a pretty silver tray. Score: A

Texture

Choco & Coffee has good texture. A nice crispness of the wafer is followed by a smooth creaminess of the filling. The balance of mouthfeel is good. Score: A

Flavor

The first bite is a tad unexpected: The cookie is lightly sweetened and the coffee variety is slightly bitter, making for an un-cookie like experience. Although it’s light on the sugar, the cookie has a hint of butter. The chocolate and coffee fillings are creamy and are also very lightly sweetened. The coffee flavor, however, is robust and the chocolate is rich, but the minimal sweetness makes this treat a bit lacking.

After partaking of each cookie separately, I ate a coffee and a choco together, the way they’re packaged. The effect is tasty, but still not a full throttle dessert. Although the little “tarts” look like dessert waiting to happen, the experience doesn’t impart much of that feeling. Choco & Coffee doesn’t satisfy a sugar yen yet has a sophistication which I imagine speaks to mature Japanese. I don’t think these lil’ tarts would be a good accompaniment to bitter tea or coffee. Score: B-

Verdict

Choco & Coffee aren’t my idea of a cookie. They make an elegant dessert-esque display, while they have chocolate and coffee included in the ingredients, they just don’t fill that sugar craving. However, they do have a mature taste which may suit those pallets which prefer lightly sweetened treats. For me though, I’ll pass on these next time and reach for the Apollo instead.

This recipe is the easiest dango to make. It’s simple, uses the least ingredients and can be used in soups or as a dessert.

Easy Dango

• 1 cup mochiko
• 1/4 boiling water

Fill a medium size saucepan with water and set it to boil.

Slowly add a small amount of the boiling water to the mochiko and carefully knead the mochiko dough together with your hands. Keep slowly adding the water until the dough is the consistency of an earlobe. Form the dough into small balls and add them to the boiling water. If using the dango in soup, add them to the simmering soup.

Cook the dango for 8 minutes or until they float to the surface. If making the dango in water, use a slotted spoon to remove the dango and then toast ‘em or top them with your choice of sauces.

Makes 10 dumplings

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 15 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

This basic dango recipe is a cinch to make if you have mochiko and joshinko. I find this particular combination of mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and joshinko (non-glutinous rice flour) yields dango with just the right amount of gooieness to chew on and enough firmness for the dango to hold their shape. These dango can be topped with a wide variety of sauces, from mocha to mitarashi. Use these blank slates as tasty canvases for your dango experimentation!

Basic Dango

• 1 cup mochiko
• 2 Tbls. joshinko
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Whisk together the rice flours till they’re well blended.

Slowly add the boiling water a little at a time to the flours, mix it as much as possible with a fork and then knead it with your hands, being careful not to burn yourself. *Note: Thoroughly mixing the mochiko and the water together with a fork or spoon does not work, and will give zero indication as to whether the correct amount of water is being added.

Slowly add more water until the dough is “soft as an earlobe”.

Form the dango into 1 inch balls and place them 1/2 inch apart on a lightly greased steamer tray. Steam on high for 7 minutes. Let the dango cool and thread 3-4 dango onto a skewer.

Either serve immediately or toast the dango. To toast the dango, heat an oven to broil and place the skewered dango in the pre-heated oven. Keep a close eye on the dango and remove them once they’re a golden brown. Top them with sauces and serve hot.

Makes 6-8 skewers

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 20 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

Here’s a popular dumpling recipe made using basic dango topped with a sweet soy-based sauce.

Mitarashi Dango

• 1 recipe Basic Dango

• 1/2 cup light soy sauce (dark may be used as well)
• 4 Tbls. mirin
• 4 Tbls. dashi stock
• 1/2 cup white or brown sugar
• 1 Tbls. katakuriko (potato starch) or cornstarch, (optional)

Make the dango as per the Basic Dango recipe. While dango are steaming, make the sauce.

Make the sauce by mixing the the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar together in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for two minutes until the sugar dissolves. You may thicken the sauce by reducing it, but the mitrashi may caramelize. This method produces an intense flavor and a very shiny mitarashi.

If reducing isn’t your preferential way of thickening, then dissolve the starch in a tablespoon of water. Add the starch water to the simmering sauce and stir it in quickly. Cook and stir the sauce over low heat until the sauce thickens to your taste. Set aside.

Toast the steamed dango and top them with the mitarashi sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 skewers

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 25 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

This dango is a seasonal wagashi eaten during the cherry blossom season. Enjoy hanami dango on your next nature outing and savor a bit of hanami in your own picnic basket!

Hanami Dango

The recipe is off site in my article for Sauce’s March issue. Check it out on the right sidebar!

• Note: After the dango are steamed, the green dango (yomogi or matcha) will start to turn a very dark green, and in the case of yomogi, almost black. This is perfectly normal, but doesn’t look too appealing after an hour or so. To cut back on the oxidation process, use less yomogi or switch to matcha. Use less matcha for a pastel mint color. But less matcha also means less flavor so if you’re keen on green tea and are presenting the dango to friends, try and serve the dango straight from the steamer, or keep them warm till they’re ready to be eaten to delay the oxidation.

Makes 10 skewers

Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 1 hour | Ingredient Availability: Difficult

I was inspired to create a recipe for this famous dango by the many fans who were curious about it. Botchan dango is a regional dango from Matsuyama which was made famous by Soseki Natsume’s novel, “Botchan“. This dango is a sanshoku dango (three colored dango) made from bean paste (an), egg yolk (kimi) and green tea powder (matcha) and filled with white bean paste (shiro an). I used a microwave to help make the recipe, but you can also heat the ingredients on a stove top. This is a difficult recipe but well worth the effort!

Botchan Dango

Filling

• 1/2 cup shiro an
• 1 Tbls. mochiko

An Dango

• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbls. mochiko
• 1 Tbls. joshinko
• 1/4 cup anko (tsubu or koshi)
• 2 Tbls. sugar
• scant amount hot water

Kimi Dango

• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tbls. boiling water
• 2 Tbls. sugar
• 1/4 cup plus Tbls. mochiko
• 2 Tbls. sugar
• scant amount hot water

Matcha Dango

• 1 tsp. matcha
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbls. mochiko
• 3 Tbls. joshinko
• 3 Tbls. sugar
• 1 1/2 tbls. water
• scant amount hot water

• sugar water for smoothing

Make the filling by mixing together the shiro an and the mochiko. Spread the shiro an mixture onto a clean cotton cloth and steam it on high for 10 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool and form the dough into 18 equal sized balls. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and set them aside.

An
Make the an dango by mixing together the mochiko and joshinko and set aside.

Mix together the sugar and anko and heat the mix until it starts to bubble, about 30 seconds in the microwave.

Add the hot anko to the flours and knead it in well. Depending on evaporation and type of anko used, you may have to add some water to make the dough more pliable. Add hot water a few drops at a time to the dough until it’s soft enough to easily form into balls. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside.

Kimi
Make the kimi dango by whisking together the mochiko and joshinko and set aside.

Add the sugar to the boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add the egg yolks to the hot sugar water and heat until the mixture thickens. In the microwave, heat the egg mix for 5 second intervals, then stir it well. Heat then stir. Repeat. The mixture should be a creamy yellow, slightly thick and frothy.

Add the cooked yolks to the flours. Knead the mixture well, and add enough water to create a supple, but not sticky, dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside.

Matcha
Make the matcha dango by whisking the flours and matcha together.

Dissolve the sugar in the water and heat until it barely boils, about 30 seconds in the microwave. Add the boiling sugar water to the flours and carefully knead the dough well, adding enough water to make a supple dough .

Assembling the Botchan Dango
Divide the an dough into 6 equal size balls. Cover them to prevent drying and repeat with the kimi and matcha doughs. There should be 18 balls in total; 6 an, 6 kimi and 6 matcha.

Take a ball of the an dough and flatten it in a slightly dampened, clean palm. Place a ball of shiro an dough in the center of the an round and carefully cover the shiro an with the an dough. Do not overstretch the dough. Make sure it’s an even thickness throughout. Smooth the ball, using a dab of sugar water if needed.

Repeat with the rest of the an dough. Cover to prevent drying and repeat with the kimi and an balls.

Skewer the finished balls in order of an, kimi and matcha. Steam on high for 10-12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 skewers

Difficulty: Difficult | Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Difficult

I love malted milk balls and I love dango. My insane desire to see the two merged was what fired the ol’ noogin to craft this recipe. It’s a great example of how creative you can be with dango!

Inside Out Malted Milk Dango

• 3/4 cup mochiko
• 3 Tbls. joshinko
• 3 Tbls. baking cocoa
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls. instant milk powder
• 1/4 boiling water
• 1/4 cup malt powder (not malted milk*)
• 3 Tbls. sugar
• 1/4 water

Mix together the mochiko, joshinko, cocoa and dry milk.

Add the sugar to the boiling water and stir to dissolve it. Slowly add the hot sugar water to the dry ingredients a little at a time. Knead the dough and add more water as necessary to create a supple, but not mushy, dough.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Place the balls 1/2 apart on a steam tray and steam them on high for 7 minutes.

While the balls are cooling, make the sauce by mixing together the malt, sugar and water. Heat the mixture on low heat, stirring constantly. Let the sauce reduce to desired thickness and set aside.

Skewer the chocolate dango, three per stick. Top the dango with the malt sauce and serve immediately.

Makes 7 skewers.

Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 30 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

*I used malt flour, which is malt powder without the added milk or sugar. Malted milk powder, which already contains sugar plus milk and is readily available at supermarkets, may be used. Omit the sugar and cook till thickened to your taste.

There’s an incredible variety of sweet dessert-style dango, which makes the amount of savory varieties pale in comparison. Sweet dango can be filled, topped or crafted with all manner of traditional Japanese dessert (wagashi) foodstuffs. A few of these traditional ingredients include anko (also known as an), goma (black sesame) and kinako (roasted soybean flour).

However, dango aren’t limited to just Japanese ingredients. You can get creative like I did and create your own toppings for dango; it’s your wagashi- make whatever you want with it!

If you’ve ever considered making your own dango, either with traditional or personal ingredients, this is your lucky day! Today we’ll explore the possibilities with dango and look at the many varieties of the dumplings. Get your steamers ready guys, there’s more to dango than you think!

First, let’s break down the different ways of making dango, including cooking methods, ingredients, and end with varieties.

Cooking

Technically, all dango are cooked in some manner. There are many ways to prepare and cook dango, varying in degrees of simplicity and difficulty.

Boiling
The easiest way to make dango is:

• Mix together mochiko and water
• Make mochiko dough into balls
• Drop balls in boiling water, soup or other liquid
• Cook for about fifteen minutes

Steaming
The next step up from boiling would be:

• Form the mochiko dough into balls
• Steam the dango
• Skewer the balls (optional)
• Roast the dango (optional)

Twice Cooked
Higher up on the dango difficulty scale is what I call twice-cooked dango. To make this dango:

• Reduce dango batter from a viscous liquid to a solid dough
• Form dough into balls
• Thread balls on skewers and steam

Shiro An Method
This is a complex method of making dango, but will yield unique dumplings with an interesting flavor and texture:

• Mix mochiko with shiro koshian
• Steam mixture and work sugar into mix
• Add additional ingredients
• Form into balls and skewer

Flours

Mochiko, glutinous rice flour, is what gives dango their super chewy, gooey texture. Shiratamako, another glutinous rice flour, is also used to make dango. A dango recipe made entirely from mochiko or shiratamako will result in a very soft dango.

Shiratamako is lumpy, and must be dissolved in water or ground before using in a recipe. I’ve heard mochiko can be used interchangeably with shiratamako with little to no adverse results. I personally have used mochiko in place of shiratamako and haven’t noticed the difference. Mochiko is also waaaay cheaper than shiratamako, especially if it’s bought under the name “sweet rice flour”.

Joshinko, non-glutinous rice flour, can be added in varying amounts to create a firmer dango. I recommend a ratio of no more than 1:1 of mochiko to joshinko for dango which is firm but still has some gooey mouth feel. Anything above that results in a denser, less chewy, harder dango.

Liquids

Water is normally used as in making dango, and boiling water at that. However, nothing’s keeping you from substituting other liquids or semi-liquids (anko, mashed fruit, pumpkin filling, etc.) for a portion or all of the water. Fruit or vegetable juice, rose water, milk, tea, or coffee can all be added to dango to enhance the flavor and change the texture. Also, extracts and concentrated flavorings can be added to alter the flavor.

The more liquid used in dango, the softer and gooier it will be. Less water will create a firmer dango, but will also result in a drier dango. Keep in mind you want the liquids hot, unless you plan on cooking the dango ingredients together anyway. Boiling the liquids will dissolve sugars and help bind the mochiko to the other ingredients, which in turn results in smoother, less gritty dango.

Additives

Certain additives, such as powders, non-rice flours, beans, nuts and seeds can be added to the dough, but it’s important to keep in mind how they’ll effect the texture of the finished dango. Small amounts of powdered spices, espresso powder, cocoa, matcha and powdered milk can be added to the rice flour(s) or dissolved in the water/ juice to create flavored dough. Experimentation with amounts is important in finding a recipe that works with your preferred texture and flavorings.

Toppings

After the dango are steamed and/or toasted, it’s your choice what you top them with, if at all. I personally am a huge fan of anko and goma an (black sesame seed paste) on my plain toasted dango. Drowning freshly browned dango in a sea of beans and sesame seeds is more yummy than it sounds. It’s up to you, though, to choose what to cover your dango with.

Some traditional ideas are:

• Tsubu An: Chunky bean paste
• Koshi An: Smooth bean paste
• Shiro An: White bean paste
• Goma An: Black sesame paste
• Kurumi: Walnut powder
• Kuri: Chestnut powder or paste
• Kinako: Roasted soy bean flour
• Mitarashi: Sauce similar to teriyaki
• Matcha An: Green tea paste
• Zunda: Dango topped with slightly sweetened green soybean paste
• Nori: Savory dango wrapped in seaweed

Dango Varities

Dango are named after their toppings, their added ingredients to the dough and their fillings. The above are a sampling of dango named after toppings (goma dango, an dango) but there are also dango named after what’s in the dough and the finished dango or how they’re cooked:

• Matcha Dango: Green tea powder flavored dango
• Kibi dango: Dango made with millet starch
• Yomogi/ Kusa Dango: Mugwort flavored dumplings (kusa dango were originally flavored with cudweed)
• Gomasuri Dango: Lil’ dumplings filled with black sesame paste
• Zunda dango: Dango filled with green soybean paste
• Sasa Dango: Dumplings filled with anko and steamed in bamboo leaves
• Kushi Dango: Skewered dumplings
• Sanshoku Dango (Three Color Dumplings: Sanshoku (three colors): Dumplings made with three colors. Contrary to popular belief, sanshoku dango does not refer to a specific variety. Any dango with three colors is sanshoku dango, including hanami and botchan dango.

Dango are also named for festivals and even fictional characters!

• Hanami Dango (Flower Viewing Dumplings): Three dango on a skewer. Colors are pink (food coloring), white

(plain) and green (matcha, yomogi or food coloring). Hanami dango are eaten during cherry blossom season.

• Tsukimi Dango (Moon Viewing Dumplings): Non-skewered filled or plain dumplings. Usually presented as a pyramid shaped pile of dumplings, tsukimi dango are eaten during the moon viewing festival. I’ve seen ornate tsukimi dango shaped like usagi (bunnies!) as a homage to the mochi pounding rabbit in the moon.
• Ikinari Dango (All of a Sudden Dango): Don’t know why this is called dango, but this daifuku-looking dumpling is made with satsumaimo topped with anko, wrapped with mochiko dough and then cooked. It’s a specialty from Kumamoto where it gets its name from being so easy to make. If visitors pop by, all of a sudden, ikinari dango is so simple, it can be whipped up in minutes.
• Botchan Dango (Named after a fictional character): Three dango on a skewer made from red beans, matcha and egg yolk.

Hopefully, I’ve inspired you to try your hand at making dango. If I have, keep reading for recipes on basic dango and complete dango recipes!

White Day, which falls on March 14th, is the day men return the favor of candy giving, and pony up the treats to the women who gave them chocolate the month before. Originally, marshmallows were given on White Day, hence why it was dubbed White Day. I think that’s uber weak, and so did the ladies who eventually received white and/or milk chocolate and other goodies instead of marshmallows.

So you gents who were showered with choco last month need to get some treats handy for this Friday. For those who didn’t get showered with choco, no problem, show that special gal in you’re life there’s no hard feelings by making her some white chocolate chip cookies or better yet, by making her some Chizukeki Chichi Dango.

Chizukeki Chichi Dango is an easy chichi dango with the rich taste of cheesecake. Tell her your feelings for her are as pure as the white mochiko this treat is made from!

Chizukeki Chichi Dango

• 1 3/4 cups mochiko
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 Tbls lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• potato or cornstarch for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil enough water to fill a shallow baking pan.
Whisk together the mochiko, sugar and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream the cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and water with a hand held mixer on high. Add the mochiko mixture to the cream cheese mixture and mix on high.

Pour the mochi batter into a greased 9×13 pan. Cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil. Place the pan in a shallow baking pan and place the baking pan in the preheated oven. Pour the boiling water into the baking pan till it’s full. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Let the chichi dango cool completely then turn it onto a starch dusted cutting board. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts. Dust the hearts with starch and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Heat briefly before serving, if desired, for a softer texture.

Makes 12, 2 inch Hearts

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

On Valentine’s Day in Japan, the women give all the men in their lives chocolate (choco- チョコ). If the recipient is a co-worker, or someone the woman sees casually, she gives him giri choco (obligation chocolate). Giri choco is cheap and can be bought at stores everywhere.

The man a woman has special feelings for receives honmei choco (prospective winner chocolate). Honmei choco is a superior variety of chocolate and can either be bought or handmade. Men who get handmade food stuffs from a woman know where they stand in her affections: at the top!

Female friends also get chocolate in the way of tomo choco (friend chocolate), but the main recipients of Valentine’s Day goodies are the men. However, the men don’t return the favor of giving chocolate or gifts to their lady friends on this day; they do that on White Day (March 14th).

This way of celebrating Valentine’s Day won’t fly here in America, but I’ve noticed many anime fans find this practice intriguing. Some want to make honmei choco at home to give to their sweeties or they want to give giri choco to their classmates and coworkers. I say make a compromise and celebrate the day in a unique way with a Japanese flair.

If you’d like to give your special someone, male or female, something inspired by the Japanese way of celebrating Valentine’s Day, make them a Valentine’s Day bento. Or craft a handmade Valentine with と書いたり (From Your Valentine) or と書いたりもする。(Be My Valentine) written on it. For some Japanese inspired sweets make them a selection of goodies, either yogashi, wagashi or both, and put them in a simple, elegant heart-shaped box.

There’s no need to leave the ladies out of Valentine’s Day fellas, even if you want to celebrate it Japanese-style. Make her something nice in the way of honmei choco, and you’ll be the winner!

Need some ideas for some honmei goodies? Here’s a recipe sure to please the mochi fan in your life!

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Daifuku

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups mochiko
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp corn syrup
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• red food coloring
• potato, corn or wheat starch for dusting
• 10 maraschino cherries, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, minced

Directions

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture and return to microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Mix again. Repeat the steps until the chocolate is melted.
2. Dip the cherries in the melted chocolate and coat them well. Drop them onto a plate lined with wax paper and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. After the cherries have been in the freezer for 15 minutes, make the mochi by whisking together the mochiko, sugar, water, 1 Tbl. corn syrup and extract. Remove 1/2 cup of the mochiko mixture and tint it a desired shade of red or pink with the food coloring. Set aside.
4. Dust a clean work surface liberally with starch. Keep a bowl filled with starch handy for dusting your hands and any utensils used. Place the tsp. of corn syrup in a small bowl and keep it nearby.
5. In a medium saucepan, cook the uncolored mochiko mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Spoon some of the cooked mochi onto the dusted work surface. With either a well dusted rolling pin or with well dusted hands, carefully roll or pat the hot mochi to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness, depending on your preference. Cut out circles two and half times as big as the chocolate cherries.
6. Place a well chilled chocolate cherry in the center of each of the mochi circles. Quickly wrap the mochi circle around the cherry, pinching the bottom to seal it. If you’ve having problems smoothing or sealing the bottom, use a tiny bit of warm water to seal up the mochi. Place the finished mochi on plate dusted with starch. If the mochi cools too much when you’re working with it, heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
7. For the hearts, repeat Step 5 with the pink mochi, but cut out hearts instead of circles.
8. To decorate the mochi, you can:

• Attach the hearts to the finished mochi with a dab of corn syrup.
• Coat the finished mochi in the leftover chocolate.
• Wrap some cherries in pink mochi and make white hearts for contrast.
• Drizzle some chocolate over the finished mochi.
• Sprinkle colored sugar onto the warm mochi then form the balls.

Makes 10 Bon Bon-sized Daifuku

So far this year I’ve only seen pumpkin cappuccino, pumpkin coffee creamer (this stuff is not good), pumpkin bark, the obligatory pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins, and a few other unremarkable pumpkin flavored offerings. Boring and underwhelming. What gives this year?

Once again I must trek to the kitchen to appease my inner pumpkin demon who howls for this seasonal treat to be delivered in a fresh, new way.

Well, silence Pumpkin Demon! I call forth my culinary powers to create Pumpkin Chichi Dango!

Chichi dango is a soft mochi treat traditionally made with coconut milk and baked to a gooey consistency in the oven. I substituted pumpkin and evaporated milk for the coconut milk to make a pumpkin pie flavored dango. It’s easier to make than pumpkin daifuku and has a slightly different consistency than other mochi based wagashi. It’s also a gluten free way to enjoy a seasonal dessert without a lot of the fat!

ingredients

• 1 16 ounce box of mochiko
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. each ginger and allspice
• 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 cups water
• orange food coloring, optional
• Additional boiling water for water bath

directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
2.) Sift together mochiko, baking powder, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Set aside.
3.) Process together brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, water and food coloring (if using) on high in a food processor or blender for 15 seconds. Stop and scrape sides. Blend additional 15 seconds. *Note- Processing in this manner helps break down the fiber in the pumpkin and gives the puree a smoother texture.
4.) Blend pumpkin mixture with mochiko mixture by hand till completely combined.
5.) Pour mochiko/ pumpkin mixture into pre-greased pan. Very tightly cover pan with aluminum foil, making sure there are no gaps to let air in.
6.) Place pan in another pan (I used a cookie sheet which had steep sides). Place doubled pans in oven and add boiling water till roasting pan or cookie sheet is full.
7.) Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool chichi dango completely.
8.) To cut: Either cut directly in pan with a plastic knife or flip dango onto a potato starch dusted cutting surface and cut with plastic knife. Lightly dust each piece of chichi dango with potato starch. Store in an airtight container in fridge up to eight days (freeze after eight days).

*Note: After about three- four days in the fridge, the dango will harden up slightly; thats normal. Microwave the dango for about five-eight seconds to soften it up, or broil it a few seconds in the oven to toast it.

Pumpkin chichi dango is easier to make than other mochi desserts and tastes just like pumpkin pie. On a side not, it’s interesting that this stuff is called “chichi” (type in chichi). After making and tasting this dessert, which definition of chichi do you think is most applicable? (I’m going with the one at the bottom, first word.)

I liked pumpkin chichi dango because:

• It tasted like pumpkin pie but felt only slightly guilt-inducing
• It was easy to make
• It has great texture.

My only complaint about pumpkin chichi dango is:

• It may be difficult to get a hold of the mochiko for some people.

Make pumpkin chichi dango this fall season and enjoy this new Japanese twist on pumpkin pie!

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Easy- Moderate

However, kinako is absolutely delish and I add it to whatever I can- yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, toast- whenever I can. Not only does kinako taste great, it’s high in protein and B vitamins and may be easier to digest for some people who have difficulty with peanuts (that’d be me).

Kinako has a long history as a confectionery ingredient. The Japanese have been using it to make wagashi for at least 300 years, and it’s hard to imagine Japanese sweets without kinako.

Kinako has a peanut-like flavor. Yet, it can be distinguished from peanut powder by its lack of bitterness- which peanuts sometimes have- and by its subtle flavor and sweetness- which is a notch above peanuts. Why wouldn’t I pick up a candy that has this tasty additive as the main ingredient?

The sanontou in the name of this sweet refers to Japanese brown sugar and the kinako, is -duh- kinako, while the nejiru refers to the treat’s appearance, i.e. twists. Thus: Brown sugar kinako twists, yum!

The packaging is meh, but the smiley logo on the bag seems to be privy to some knowledge that I, as of yet, am not. I’ll know your secrets yet, smiling product mascot!

These wagashi look tempting as a solid manifestation of kianko delight. However, to the uninitiated, this wagashi may not be too alluring, since it does resemble dried up turds. But, if you want to enjoy Japanese treats, I urge you to overcome any discouraging visuals you may encounter.

The first bite has me hooked: It’s my dream come true of a hearty rendition of this nutty powder. Each piece is a chewy bit of kinako heaven; not too chewy, though, and not too soft, just enough to make your mouth work to earn this glorious treat.

Even though sugar and corn syrup are the only other ingredients backing up the star of this show- kinako- there’s a perfect balance between sweet and nutty. The texture and taste of this wagashi are in harmony, making Sanontou Kinakonejiri a must try for any kinako fan or for anyone who likes subtle nutty flavors.

Texture: Flavor: Appearance: Packaging:

Sanontou Kinakonejiru gets an overall .

Wait, wait, I know, I’ll make amanatto yeahhhhh, that’s the ticket. Only problem is, there are zero recipes online. None. Zip. Zero. Checked high, checked low, checked the .jp, for what it’s worth. Well, that sucked.

“All is not lost yet!”, I thought to myself. I will attempt to create a recipe for amanatto. Yes, I’ll fa-diddle in the kitchen so that I may appease my hankering for candied beans!!!

So I tinkered: I used a bit ‘o this, a touch of that, a ton of sugar, a lot of time. I finally had something after all the hard work. Next, I had to taste test it. I had to make sure that this was an authentic Japanese wagashi. I loved it, David, loved it, my friends loved it, but would the Japanese?

I took this to the Japanese Festival and offered it the Japanese members of the bon odori group after our first performance. They clucked over it and tasted it. Then they asked me where I had bought the amanatto. Moment of truth…I made it. Nani? Sugoi! Sugoi! Then I was forced right then and there to hand over the recipe.

Now, I’m going to share this rendition of a classic wagashi with you. I assure you, amanatto is a must try wagashi that even non-fans of Japanese food will love. Make this tasty treat for your Japanese friends and watch as they love you forever for making fresh, made from scratch amanatto! Here’s the recipe for how to make amanatto. It’s Nihonjin approved!

These are ingredients for amanatto okonomi, or assorted amanatto. You can use a single bean variety (amanatto) or all. You can try this recipe with as many different beans as you like. These are the beans I have personally used in my own okonomi.

Okonomi Amanatto

Recipe Update 4-3-08: Coating the finished amanatto in white sugar is optional only. It gives the finished beans a touch of class, but will also up the sweetness. The sugar coating step may be omitted, but the amanatto must still be dried some before storing. An oven set on 170 degrees for five minutes should dry out a cookie sheet filled evenly with amanatto. Follow the tips for avoiding troubles with humidity

• 1 cup sorted dried lima beans, *soaked overnight in plenty of water
• 1/2 cup sorted dried, azuki beans or 1/2 cup dried red beans, soaked overnight in plenty of water
• 1/2 cup sorted dried navy beans, soaked overnight in plenty of water
• 1/2 cup sorted dried black beans, soaked overnight in plenty of water
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt to taste (I like my syrup to be a tad salty), optional
• Additional white granulated sugar, optional

*Why soak? Soaking beans overnight cuts their cooking time almost in half for starters. And the soaking process also removes the complex sugars which make beans “the musical fruit”, i.e. it gets rid of the farty part.

Directions

1.) Mix the water and 4 cups of sugar, and salt, if using, together in a medium-large size sauce pan. Bring to a boil then set to simmer.

2.) Drain beans and rinse them in cold water. Cook beans separately, according to directions (make sure not to boil the beans too much or the skins will break and make for an ugly amanatto). If you have a pressure cooker, nows a good time to use it! Drain and rinse beans in cold water.

3.) Pick out any cooked beans that are too broken or too mushy. Pick out any loose bean skins.

4.) Gently add beans to simmering sugar mixture. Simmer gently uncovered for one hour 20 minutes or until beans become translucent (*Note: Only lima beans will become very translucent).

5.) In a separate bowl, pour some of the extra sugar, set aside. Heat oven to lowest temperature (mine is 170 degrees) and have some cookie sheets handy.

6.) Strain hot beans in a colander. Gently transfer hot beans in small batches to the bowl with sugar. Shake bowl gently to completely cover beans with sugar. Use a large slotted spoon to sift out covered beans. Repeat till all candied beans are covered.

7.) Place covered beans in a single layer on the cookie sheets. Put in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until outside is no longer very moist. *Note: This step may not be necessary in dry climates. My initial run of amanatto did not need this step. My second run was done when the humidity was high and I then needed this additional step. Also, do not overdry these or you’ll ruin the amanatto!

8.) Let beans cool completely on baking sheet, otherwise, when you store them you’ll have unwanted condensation which will ruin the amanatto. After completely cooled, store beans in an airtight container, in a cool dark place (no need to refrigerate). Amanatto will stay good for about a month, in a cool, dark, dry place.

Makes approximately five cups.

*Note: Humidity is the bane of amanatto and will make the amanatto tacky to the touch. To combat moisture:

• Dry the amanatto in a humidity free locale and not necessarily in an oven with a consisitent low temperature. One good way to do that is to heat the oven to its lowest setting, turn it off, put the amanatto in, and let it coast overnight. Repeat as necessary, but be very careful not to over dry the amanatto. Over drying your amanatto will make it crispy and nasty (I’ve been there).
• If you live in a humid climate, chances are very, very good there’s moisture in your sugar. Make sure your coating sugar has absolutely zero moisture; any moisture in the coating sugar will make the sugar clump on the beans and be difficult to dry. Some people advise microwaving sugar on the lowest setting for about one minute to remove any moisture.
• Candy and dry like sizes of beans with like, that way, there’s less of a chance of over drying the finished amanatto. If you use lima and mung beans for example, the mung beans will dry out much faster than the lima. Prepare beans which differ that much in size separately.
• Make sure the amanatto is at room temperature when storing; the slightest bit of heat will cause condensation in an airtight container.
• Get some food safe silica packs and place them in the container with the amanatto.

Making amanatto at home is a time consuming process, although thankfully, it’s fairly easy to make- the steps consisting mainly of boiling beans in various fluids. My advice to you then, which I myself took when I made amanatto the second time, is if you like amanatto, double or triple this recipe. I did and my amanatto still only lasted a little over two weeks. Make lots of this at a time since the time involved is relatively the same – give or take 10 minutes- if you make one batch or three.

A great thing about making amanatto at home is the money you’ll save. The amanatto I bought at Mitsuwa cost $3.50 for two and a half cups. That factors out to $1.40 a cup. After I bought the bags of beans and sugar – $0.72/ 2 lbs. lima; $1.00/ lb. black beans; $1.80/ lb. adzuki; $1.20/ lb. navy beans; $1.99/ 5 lbs. sugar – it cost me about $0.45 a cup for made from scratch amanatto. And, let’s face it, if you don’t live near an Asian market, your only chances of trying this stuff are practically non-existent unless you make it, buy it online, or go to Japan.

Amanatto is great as a stand alone snack, but it’s even better as an ingredient or additive! Try sprinkling amanatto on green tea ice cream or adding it to yogurt parfaits or ice cream sundaes. Make a fun Japanese snack mix with amanatto, plain kaki no tane, soy nuts, toasted pumpkin seeds, crunchy non-wasabi peas, and candied ginger! Add amanatto to muffins, cupcakes or to a spice cake instead of raisins. When making daifuku, toss some adzuki or black bean amanatto (lima beans would be too big) into the hot mochi for amanatto daifuku. Come Christmas, revamp that sorry fruit cake recipe with a Japanese twist by adding amanatto along with almonds, chestnuts, and candied ginger instead of the blasé stand-bys of candied cherries and pineapple, raisins, and walnuts. The culinary possibilities for this high protein fat-free treat are almost endless. Experiment with amanatto and expand your cooking horizons!

I liked amanatto since:

• It’s a delicious way to enjoy beans!
• Amanatto is a fat free treat that’s super high in fiber and protein.
• It’s a Japanese wagashi everyone can make!
• Amanatto is a versatile ingredient in creative cooking.

I have zero complaints about amanatto.

I love amanatto, and once you try making this at home, you and yours will too!

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 2-3.5 hours | Ingredient Availability: Easy