Dango
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Related to mochi, dango (Japanese: 団子) is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour). It is sticky and filling. It is often served with green tea.
Dango is eaten year-round, but its different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons. Three to four Dango are often served on a skewer. One variety of dango from Hokkaido is made from potato flour and baked with shoyu (soy sauce).
In 1999, dango experienced a surge of popularity in Japan: a song entitled "Dango-san-kyoudai" (three dango brothers) was released and a craze for eating dango developed at that time. (In a play on words, the song is a tango.)
Dango is used internationally amongst go players as a deprecatory term for an inefficient, dumpling-like cluster of stones in a go game. It is also the name of an interesting go variant (http://www.new-ideas.org/games/dango) invented in 1991.
Different Types
There are many different varieties of dango which are usually named after the various seasonings served on or with it.
- An: Very sweet bean paste. An-Dango is the most popular flavor in Japan.
- Mitarashi: A syrup made from shoyu (soy sauce) and sugar. Popular with children.
- Kinako: A toasted soy flour. Recently kinako has been identified as a healthy food.
- Goma: sesame seeds. Also considered to be a "healthy" food. It is both sweet and salty.
- Chichi-Dango
- Nori: dried and seasoned seaweed
See Also
- Wagashi
- Go
- Dorodango (Kyoto University) (http://www.kyokyo-u.ac.jp/youkyou/4/english4.htm)