Hanami Dango. Chewy sweet, flavoured rice balls that come in three variations – strawberry, matcha and plain. A fun and delicious Japanese dessert that is simple to make at home!
This is a great dessert to impress your guests or to get the kids involved as it is fun to roll out the dough balls. My simple dango recipe only requires only 4 ingredients, without the flavouring!
Other recipes you may like!
GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS (TANG YUAN)
JAPANESE MOCHI DONUTS
MOCHI PANCAKES
JAPANESE MOCHI ICE CREAM
HAWAIIAN BUTTER MOCHI
KUIH SERI MUKA
Dango mochi is easy to make!
Japanese Hanami Dango is easily made with just 4 ingredients (without the flavouring) and about 30-45 minutes of your time, I am being generous with the latter time. Most of the ingredients can be found in your pantry except for water.
If you want to keep these sweet dango dumplings super simple, skip the flavours and just make the plain sweet kind!
A Unique Dessert
When I first heard of this Hanami dango recipe, my jaw dropped. Firstly, I was amused by how cute this dessert looks from the shape to the colours. Also, can we all agree that food on a stick always tastes better? I was so fascinated by this dessert that I knew I had to make my own version of it.
So, I did lots of research for Hanami Dango and realized the best way to approach this was to keep it simple. This dessert is quite like mochi on a stick to be honest! The texture is very similar, but I personally think that Dango is chewier because it’s made with rice flour too unlike mochi which is just made with glutinous rice flour. The two ingredients are quite different in texture despite a very similar name.
Should I use soft tofu?
A lot of Hanami Dango recipes call for soft tofu to make it softer but I decided not to for the purposes of ease. I was able to achieve this dessert in just 4 ingredients that are mostly from your pantry except for water!
Made from scratch
In addition, many other recipes or videos will instruct you to use a dango mix but here in Canada, that is hard to find! So, I figured, let’s make it from scratch especially since it’s very few ingredients and they’re all pretty accessible.
Where can I buy strawberry powder?
This can be purchased at most whole foods stores but if you still can't find it, I purchased freeze dried strawberries at this link and blended them in the blender to make a powder.
Tips for making Dango
- Whisk your dry ingredients well, especially if you decide to incorporate the flavouring powders. This allows for an even colouring of the balls. It is much harder to incorporate the flavour powders after you’ve formed the dough.
- To make an even number of balls, roll out the dough into a long tube and then cut into half. Then line the two tubes together and slice it into 5 even pieces.
- Pre-roll your balls and then roll them again just before boiling. This will give you a more even sphere.
- Once your balls hit the water, give it a quick stir with a spatula to prevent it from sticking to the pot as they will sink to the bottom.
- Once the balls have floated to the top and are cooked in the center, quickly rinse them under cold water and keep the balls separate from each other on a slightly wet plate or a parchment lined plate to prevent the balls from sticking.
- When the balls are cool enough to handle, use chopsticks or a skewer and push them through and don’t worry about the wooden stick getting sticky with green matcha dough. This is normal and it’ll get covered by the white and strawberry ball.
FAQ about these sweet dumplings
Dango is a Japanese dessert made of chewy rice balls that consist of rice flour, glutinous rice flour, icing sugar and water. Sometimes they are flavoured with flavour powders like matcha and strawberry. Other times they come with a dango sauce.
Dango tastes like a sweet chewy sticky rice ball. Sometimes it is flavoured with strawberry or matcha powder or even with a sauce.
Dango is made of consist of rice flour, glutinous rice flour, icing sugar and water. Some recipes call for soft tofu.
They are similar but they are not the same. Dango is made with rice flour and glutinous rice flour whereas mochi is made with just glutinous rice flour.
Dango can be eaten warm or cold. Both ways are delicious!
For this recipe
You will need the following dango ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- 1 cup + 6 tsp water
Optional:
- 1 tbsp strawberry powder
- ¾ tsp matcha powder
Required: 10 wooden skewers
How to make Hanami Dango
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together glutinous rice flour, rice flour, icing sugar.
Once dry ingredients are well combined divide into three separate bowls at equal portions. Tip: Use a kitchen scale to help you with this or divide the into about 1 cup each.
Optional: Into one of the bowls, whisk into matcha powder. In another bowl, whisk in strawberry powder. Leave one bowl plain without any flavouring.
Into each bowl, add ⅓ cup + 2 tsp of water and mix well until it forms a dough that you can work with. It should wet enough that it comes together but also dry enough that it stays intact and doesn’t stick all over your fingers.
Knead the dough into a ball, then into a long tube. Cut the tube into half and then line the tubes together, slicing the tubes into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a sphere. Repeat this process for your other pieces of dough.
Bring a large pot of hot water to boil and then reduce to medium high heat. Before carefully lowering each ball into the pot, give it a quick roll to make it circular again as the balls will flatten on your working surface. After adding your balls to the water, make sure to give them a quick stir. You may need to do this in batches due to the second rolling.
Boil for 7-8 minutes until they float and until the inside is cooked. Strain and rinse the balls under cold water and strain. Place them on parchment paper.
Once they are cool to touch, skewer 1 of each colour onto your stick. There should be 3 balls per stick. Enjoy warm or cold!
To store:
Store in the fridge in an airtight container and they should last 3-4 days. To make them softer again, you can re-boil them for a few minutes to enjoy.
Give it a try!
Well, I hope you give my Hanami Dango a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed my Japanese dango recipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media!
Take a picture if you've made my Hanami Dango and tag me on Instagram @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!
Made this recipe and loved it?
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Take care,
Christie
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Easy Hanami Dango
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- 1 cup + 6 tsp water
Optional
- 1 tbsp strawberry powder
- ¾ tsp matcha powder
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together glutinous rice flour, rice flour, icing sugar.
- Once dry ingredients are well combined divide into three separate bowls at equal portions. Tip: Use a kitchen scale to help you with this or divide the into about 1 cup each.
- Optional: Into one of the bowls, whisk into matcha powder. In another bowl, whisk in strawberry powder. Leave one bowl plain without any flavouring.
- Into each bowl, add ⅓ cup + 2 tsp of water and mix well until it forms a dough that you can work with. It should wet enough that it comes together but also dry enough that it stays intact and doesn’t stick all over your fingers.
- Knead the dough into a ball, then into a long tube. Cut the tube into half and then line the tubes together, slicing the tubes into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a sphere. Repeat this process for your other pieces of dough.
- Bring a large pot of hot water to boil and then reduce to medium high heat. Before carefully lowering each ball into the pot, give it a quick roll to make it circular again as the balls will flatten on your working surface. After adding your balls to the water, make sure to give them a quick stir. You may need to do this in batches due to the second rolling.
- Boil for 7-8 minutes until they float and until the inside is cooked. Strain and rinse the balls under cold water and strain. Place them on parchment paper.
- Once they are cool to touch, skewer 1 of each colour onto your stick. There should be 3 balls per stick. Enjoy warm or cold!
These dango are so cute with all the various flavours and colours!
The texture and the playful colors of these tasty little treats are so fun! What a fabulous dessert idea!