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!

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