
Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子), a traditional Japanese snack of rice dumplings paired with a sweet soy sauce glaze. This classic spring treat is soft, chewy and incredibly easy to make!

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Mitarashi Dango
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 skewers 1x
Description
Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子), a traditional Japanese snack of rice dumplings paired with a sweet soy sauce glaze. This classic spring treat is soft, chewy and incredibly easy to make!
Ingredients
Dango
- 50g shiratamako (sweet rice flour)
- 30g joshinko rice flour (optional, or sub with more shiratamako)
- 110–115g silken tofu
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (15ml)*
- 1/2–1 tbsp mirin (7-15ml)**
- 3 tbsp water (45ml)
- 2–3 tbsp coconut sugar (24-36g // or cane sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp potato starch
Instructions
- Soak the bamboo sticks in water. This makes it easier to slide the dango on and it prevents it from burning if using a blow torch.
- Roughly mash the tofu with a fork. Add the shiratamako flour and knead it together until a smooth soft dough forms
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces (15g each). Roll them into balls.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add all the dango. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so they do not stick to the bottom. If they float to the top before 3 minutes is over, continue to cook to ensure the inside is done as well. Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to remove the dango and place in ice cold water.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a small sauce pan and stir. Once the potato starch has dissolved, turn on the heat to medium high. Whisk continuously– once it begins to thicken remove from the heat and transfer it to a bowl.
- Pierce 3-5 dango onto a skewer. From here you can keep as is or add some charring for flavour with a grill, pan fry or blow torch. Pour the sweet soy glaze on top and enjoy!
Notes
- *Japanese soy sauce tastes different than Chinese soy sauce. Please use Japanese shoyu for the right flavour. If you only have Chinese soy sauce, adjust amount as well as the sugar.
- **If you do not have mirin, replace with sake or water and sugar.
- Helpful Equipment: blow torch, skewers, mixing bowls, whisk
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer)
- Category: dessert
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 skewer (3 balls)
- Calories: 130
Keywords: dango, mitarashi dango
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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This was good, super easy recipe. I made the adjustments to the sauce as noted since I used Chinese soy sauce and no mirin. I think I will halve the sauce next time I make this since I had a lot leftover.
So easy and so yummy !
★★★★★
turned out so good!
super simple & easy too
★★★★★
It was really easy to make and I love the fact that we need only 2 ingredients to make the dango !
My dango didn’t really look as cute and i have any stick to put them on but i enjoyed it so much ^^
Thanks for that recipe 🙂
★★★★★
This was so so fun and simple. Something I’ve been wanting to make for a while, this recipe was so easy.
★★★★★
Very easy to make and so delicious!! I never thought it would take only ten minutes 😋😋
★★★★★
I’ve never had dango before so I really wanted to try making it, and I’m so glad I found this recipe. The instructions are very clear and straightforward, so it was quite fun to make! I also loved the taste of the sauce.
★★★★★
I tried them once without silken tofu but the texture is not as good. Silken tofu is essential ! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
★★★★★
These are so perfect! The most yummy and easiest Dango recipe on the internet! The texture is just spot on!
★★★★★
They turned out amazing and brought me right back to Japan. They were soft and the perfect amount of chewy and the sauce was sweet and salty (my favorite flavor combination) 😍
★★★★★
Adding silken tofu is such a good idea!
I found that just half portkon of the sauce is good enough for me for the portion of dango.
★★★★★