Quick & Easy Hanami Dango

Hanami Dango. Chewy rice balls with a very subtle sweet taste skewered on a stick. A fun and delicious Japanese dessert that is simple to make at home with minimal ingredients.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Japanese

Servings skewers

Calories per serving 182 kcal

Ingredients

¾ cup + 1 tbsp Shiratamako glutinous rice flour
½ cup Joshinko rice flour
5 tablespoon icing sugar (aka confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar)
10 tablespoon hot boiling water
1 drop red food coloring
1 drop green food coloring

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together glutinous rice flour, rice flour, icing sugar. Add hot boiling water to the dry ingredients. Then whisk together everything together. It's normal for it to look clumpy and dry.
Then knead until you form a ball of dough inside the bowl. It may be tacky to begin with but when you knead it, it'll dry out a bit.
Dust a clean working surface with enough glutinous rice flour and transfer the dough ball onto the surface. Knead the dough into a smooth ball.
Then roll it into a thick log, about wide 4-inches wide x 9-inches long. Slice the log into 3 equal portions.
Transfer each portion into three separate bowls. To the first bowl, add 1 drop of red food coloring and mix into the dough until well combined. Repeat this for the second bowl with green food coloring. Leave the third bowl as is so it's white.
Roll each piece of dough into a 1 inch thick log. Cut each log into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball, so you have 18 balls in total.
Bring a medium size pot of water to boil and reduce to medium high heat. Give each ball a quick roll before lowering into the hot water and stir occasionally so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
Boil for 7-8 minutes until they float and until the inside is cooked. Remove the rice balls with a slotted spoon and transfer into an ice bath.
Once they are cool to touch, skewer 1 of each colour onto your stick starting with the green, then white and lastly pink. There should be 3 balls per stick. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Storage

- Hanami dango is best enjoyed fresh and warm.

- Leftovers can last up 3-4 days stored into an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, re-boil them in hot boiling water with the skewers for a few minutes, strain and enjoy warm.

- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing hanami dango as the rice balls will turn hard.

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