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1
Combine joshinko and shiratamako in a bowl. Add hot water (70–80°C) gradually, mixing continuously with a spatula or by hand until the dough is smooth, cohesive, and free of dry flour. The dough should feel like soft earlobe flesh — neither crumbly nor wet. Under-mixed dough will produce dango that break apart on the skewer; continue mixing until the texture is fully uniform.
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2
For hanami dango, divide the dough into three equal portions. Knead yomogi or matcha powder into one portion until the colour is even and deep green throughout; work sakura extract or pink colour into a second portion to an even blush; leave the third portion white. For mitarashi dango, keep the dough undivided and uncoloured.
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3
Roll each dough portion into balls of approximately 20–25 g each, between lightly dampened palms, until the surface is smooth and crack-free. Uniformity of size ensures even cooking.
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4
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Lower the dango balls in, in batches, without crowding. Cook until the dango rise to the surface and float. This is the standard doneness indicator: the dumplings rise when the interior starch is cooked through. Remove promptly — extended boiling produces gummy, shapeless dango. Transfer immediately to a bowl of cold water to set the texture and prevent sticking.
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5
Lift the dango from the cold water and allow them to return to room temperature. Cold dango is slightly brittle; skewering at room temperature or while slightly warm ensures the balls seat cleanly on the skewer without cracking. For hanami dango, thread one pink, one white, and one green ball onto each skewer in that order. For mitarashi dango, thread three to four white balls per skewer.
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6
For mitarashi dango only — this is where the dish lives or dies. Place the skewered dango over a gas flame, on a grill pan, or under a broiler. Turn the skewers, exposing all surfaces, until faint char marks appear and the exterior is lightly coloured. The joshinko in the dough blend provides the structural integrity to hold shape under heat; pure glutinous rice dango would collapse. Without this light char, the soy-sugar glaze cannot caramelise against the dango surface and the defining savoury-sweet-bitter complexity of mitarashi dango is absent.
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7
Prepare the mitarashi glaze: combine soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and starch dissolved in cold water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens to a glossy, pourable syrup that coats the back of a spoon. Apply immediately to the grilled dango — the glaze should be applied after grilling, not before, so that it caramelises against the charred surface rather than burning before the dango is cooked through. The finished dango should gleam under a translucent, amber-dark coat.