Do you know the Japanese sweet called Dango? Have you heard of Dango Dai Kazoku? Do you want to learn how to make Dango? In this article, we will see some curiosities and recipes about this Japanese sweet.
You have probably heard about this sweet in some drama called Hana Yori Dango, or while watching the famous sad anime called Clannad.
Dango [団子] is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour). It is served on a skewer with 3 or 4 dangos and is usually eaten with green tea, a classic Japanese dessert.
The Mochiko Sweet is available in many varieties, its texture is similar to mochi. The name Dango literally means group of children, as it refers to a skewer with several balls forming a family.
To understand some terms in this article, we recommend reading:
Table of Contents
The History and Origin of Dango
The Japanese have been eating dango since the Jomon period, many prepared from forest nuts, which they crushed to bloom and mixed with porridge to survive the winter.
The legend says that Emperor Godaigo (1288-1339) came to worship at the shrine and took some water to purify his hands, until a large bubble appeared first and then four more bubbles.
He interpreted these bubbles as the human body, therefore, four dumplings and one smaller on top became a special offering at this shrine for purification purposes.
After offering them to the gods, people took them home, shouted a bit about fire, and added soy sauce for seasoning, then ate them in hopes of bringing good luck.
Since the Muromachi period, the dumplings were placed on sticks, in the 16th century, five dumplings
on a stick were the rule. One representing the head, two the arms, and two the legs.
It is said that the first traditional dango known as mitarashi dango was originally made in a tea house in Kyoto called Kamo Mitarashi, located near the Shimogamo Shrine.
Mitarashi Festival
Mitarashi, the name of the river, ended up becoming the name of the sauce used on traditional dango. A sticky golden sauce, with a mix of sweet and salty flavors, made from soy sauce, sugar, water, and starch.
The name of the sweet was inspired by the resemblance of the dumplings to the bubbles made by the purifying water of the Mitarashi river. Water used to purify the person before accessing the shrine.
The Mitarashi Festival takes place in the summer at the Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto. During this festival, people walk through bubbling water that comes from an underground stream in order to walk in front of the Inoue Shrine to make their offering.
During the Mitarashi festival at the Shimogamo Shrine, dango is the main offering to the deities. These offerings usually come in 3 colors: white, red, and green.
For 4 days, thousands of Japanese walk through the cold water in their Yukata, drinking the water for purification. Some say that the black stones of the stream have a deterrent power against demons, especially tantrums in children.
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Different Types of Dango
There are many types of dango that are generally named according to the ingredients present in them. We will list the main ones below and then a complete list with their ingredients.
Mitarashi – The most popular type, commonly found in convenience stores and supermarkets. They are covered with a sweet and salty syrup made from soy sauce, sugar, and starch.
Bocchan – It has three colors, red made from anko, yellow made with eggs, and green made with green tea.
Hanami dango – This also has 3 colors and is served in spring during the cherry blossom season.
Denpun – A variety from Hokkaido made from sweet potato flour and cooked with beans. Besides these flavors, there are dangos made entirely of anko (bean paste), green tea, soy derivatives, teppanyaki, kinako, etc.
- Anko dango – Commonly made with red azuki bean paste;
- Chadango – With green tea flavor;
- Denpun Dango – From Hokkaido made of potato with azuki;
- Chichi Dango – Slightly sweet, the father of dangos;
- Kibi Dango – Made from corn flour;
- Kinako Dango – Made with roasted soybean flour;
- Kushi Dango – On a skewer;
- Nikudango – Meatballs;
- Teppanyaki Dango;
- Sasa Dango – Wrapped in sasa leaves;
- Sasa Dango Onna – Anko;
- Sasa Dango Otoko – Kinpira;
Generally, the name can refer to practically anything round on a skewer, a ball-shaped object; something round or lumps grouped together forming a family.
Dango is a very fragile sweet and should be consumed in one day. The mochiko sweets we find in markets and convenience stores have a lot of sugar to make them last longer, a taste different from the original.
Hana Yori Dango – Japanese Proverb
Dango is so popular that there is a proverb that says “hana yori dango” [花より男子] which can be literally translated as “better dango than flowers.” There is even an anime, manga, and drama with this name.
This proverb is commonly understood as “better sweets than flowers.” It refers to the importance of the practical or useful compared to aesthetics. This is because dango is something very practical and easy to make.
In a deeper way, the proverb says that we should cherish and value important things instead of appearances or trivial things. The work we mentioned portrays these things well.
“Hana Yori Dango” is written as a critique for people who give too much importance to money, status, and appearance. Besides being a good romantic comedy, it shows a great contrast of values such as wealth vs. poverty and arrogant vs. humble.
The work written by Yoko Kamio and released in 1992 portrays a girl named Makino from a poor family who, despite the difficulties, managed to enter an elite school for rich people.
The story shows her involvement with the 4 most popular students in the school named Flower Flor or F4, making a direct reference to the flowers in the saying hana yori dango.
There are references to the dango sweet in other animes. Let’s list them below:
Ai yori Aoshi Kamisama hajimemashita Kamigami no Asobi Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Brave 10
Dango Daikazoku in Clannad
The anime and visual novel called Clannad has several references to the sweet dango. The protagonist Nagisa appears several times eating the sweet and with a set of plush toys in the shape of the sweets.
In fact, the ending and theme of the anime is a song that talks about dango forming a family. You can see below the song and its lyrics. It is a really cute song that makes fans shout: moe moe moe!
| Lyrics | Translation |
| Dango 5x daikazoku (2x) Yancha na yaki dango yasashii an dango Sukoshi yumemigachi na tsukimi dango Osumashi goma dango yotsu ko kushi dango Minna minna awasete hyakunin kazoku Akachan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de Toshiyori dango wa me o hosometeru Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo Machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo Machi o tsukuri dango boshi no ue minna de waraiau yo Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai otsuki-sama Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete Dango 6x daikazoku Dango 5x daikazoku (3x) | Dango… the big dango family (2x) A naughty and disobedient dango, a sweet and gentle dango The dango that sees the moon is a little dreamy The proper sesame dango, the four dango on the skewer Everyone comes together and becomes a family of a hundred A baby dango is always being rocked in happiness An old dango looks with its narrow eyes The dango friends will join hands and make a big circle They will find a village on a dango planet and everyone laughs together The rabbits are waving from the big moon Enjoy all things, happy and sad The dango friends will join hands and make a big circle They will find a village on a dango planet and everyone laughs together The rabbits are waving from the big moon Enjoy all things, happy and sad Dango 5x big dango family (3x) |
I also created an old flash game based on Clannad that you can play by clicking here.
Dango Recipe – How to make Mochiko sweet
If you want to cook your own dango, know that it is the easiest thing in the world! You just need:
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup of joshinko or regular rice flour;
- 2/3 cup of shiratamako or glutinous rice flour (mochiko) plus one tablespoon of cornstarch;
- 1/2 cup of warm water;
Preparing the Dango:
- 1. Mix the regular rice flour with the glutinous rice flour;
- 2. Gradually add the warm water, always stirring the mixture. The dough should be soft and not fall apart with too much water;
- 3. Make small spheres about 4 cm in diameter;
- 4. Cook them in boiling water. As they cook, they start to float, like gnocchi;
- 5. Wait another 3 or 4 minutes and remove them with the help of a slotted spoon or strainer;
- 6. Dip them in cold water to stop the cooking;
- 7. Skewer 3 to 4 balls on a stick;
Mitarashi-dare – Dango Topping:
- 2 tablespoons of shoyu
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of mirin
- 4 tablespoons of water
- 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch
- 1. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan;
- 2. Cook until it forms a thick syrup, remembering that it hardens more as it cools;
- 3. Cover the cooked dangos;
You can use other toppings like kinako, azuki beans, or whatever you like;
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