-
1
Combine the joshinko and shiratamako in a bowl. Add hot water gradually, working the dough with the hands until it comes together into a mass that is smooth, cohesive, and free of dry flour. The dough is ready when it passes the earlobe test — it should feel as soft and yielding as an earlobe, firm enough not to stick, soft enough to roll without cracking.
-
2
Divide the dough into equal portions and roll each between the palms into smooth balls of uniform size. Uniformity is required: balls of different sizes cook at different rates. Thread three to five balls onto each bamboo skewer.
-
3
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Lower the dango into the water. Cook until each ball rises to the surface, then continue cooking for a further one to two minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: sinking dango means the centre is undercooked; the float signals that structure has formed, and the additional time ensures the interior is cooked through without a raw flour taste.
-
4
Remove the dango immediately and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Hold briefly until the surface is slightly firmed. This shock prevents the balls from sticking together and corrects the surface texture — dango not shocked will become unpleasantly soft.
-
5
For mitarashi tare: combine soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the katakuriko dissolved in cold water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly throughout. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens, turns glossy, and coats the back of a spoon evenly without running. Under-cooking at this stage leaves the starch ungelatinised and the sauce will not adhere.
-
6
While the dango are still warm from the cold shock — not chilled through — brush or dip each skewer in the tare. Warm dango accept the glaze more fully than cold. For yomogi dango, the finely chopped, blanched, squeezed yomogi is incorporated into the dough before rolling; the finished dango should show an even green colour derived from the chlorophyll in the fresh mugwort. For an dango, coat each ball evenly with anko after the cold shock. Serve immediately or hold covered with a damp cloth — dango harden within hours at room temperature.