Beautiful sanshoku or hanami dango! Perfect to make for an outdoor picnic!
ABOUT SANSHOKU DANGO
Sanshoku dango (三色団子), literally meaning “three color rice dumpling”, is called as such because of its beautiful colors. It is also called hanami dango (花見団子), meaning “flower viewing rice dumpling,” because it’s commonly eaten during the flower viewing custom in Japan. Typically around the end of March, the cherry blossoms begin to bloom in Japan until about early May. There’s even a sakura forecast announced yearly to predict the blooms which is helpful for those making plans to view the blossoms. During this season, many people plan gatherings outdoors to have picnics or festivals to view the flowers. These sanshoku dango are perfect to pack for such picnics! We may not be able to participate in hanami in Japan, but in many places around the world, there are cherry blossoms as well as other beautiful seasonal flowers. Here in southern California, there are also some parks where you can view the cherry blossoms in bloom, but the season is short so I’ve never actually seen them myself. What I’ve heard of as southern California’s “hanami” is actually the season during which the jacarandas bloom. No matter what flowers bloom in your area, we can all enjoy a picnic together under the trees. To complete the perfect picnic set, pack some sandwiches and sushi then enjoy these sanshoku dango for dessert! Enjoy this for a picnic while you admire the beautiful nature, or make it to share at a get together with friends!
THE COLORS OF SANSHOKU DANGO
The beautiful colors of this dango actually carry a symbolic meaning! There are a few theories regarding the colors. Read through them and let me know your thoughts!
One theory is that the colors represent the bloom cycle of the cherry blossoms. The pink represents the blossom bud, the white represents the flower in full bloom, and the green represents the trees’ leaves after the blossoms have fallen off at the end of the season. Another theory is that the colors represent the arrival of spring. The pink represents either the red spring sun or the cherry blossoms, the white represents the last remaining snow of winter, and the green represents the green grass beneath the snow that follows spring. Other alternative representations are that the white represents amazake – a traditional sweet drink made from fermented rice – which traditionally drank during new year’s shrine or temple visits or that the white represents the white clear and warm spring sky.
Regardless of the differences between these theories, they all convey a beautiful story of nature. Therefore, it’s important to order the colors in this way to accurately portray this message. I hope you can also look at this sanshoku dango and experience the feeling of spring.
COMPONENTS OF SANSHOKU DANGO
- ☆ Pink dango: Typically strawberry or sakura flavor. It may also be a plain flavored dango dyed pink.
- ☆ White dango: Plain dango. You can taste the sweet taste of the rice.
- ☆ Green dango: Typically matcha or yomogi(mugwort) flavor. Yomogi is my favorite, but it is typically harder to find than matcha which has become so widespread, so I recommend you try matcha!
MATERIALS
- ☆ Skewers
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
- ☆ Shiratamako
- Glutinous rice flour or sweet rice flour. This makes mochi chewy and stretchy. If you can’t find shiratamako, you can use mochiko, but keep in mind that its flavor and texture are different from shiratamako. Mochiko is finely ground and takes longer to dissolve. So if you are using mochiko, you may need to use less water to help it absorb better. Additionally, mochiko is not as stretchy as shiratamako, so the dango won’t be as elastic and may harden quickly.
- ☆ Joshinko
- Japanese rice flour. Joshinko is made from ground Japanese short-grain rice. I have never made dango with other kinds of rice flour, so I can’t guarantee that if you use other Asian rice flours the results will be the same.
- ☆ Water
- You will need to prepare water to be added to the flours twice. The water for shiratamako should be room temperature, and the water for joshinko should be hot. This makes the flours easier to work with.
- ☆ Sugar
- ☆ Matcha
- We use matcha to flavor and color the green dango. Alternatively you can use yomogi. If you don’t have either or don’t like the flavors, you can simply use green food coloring.
- ☆ Red food coloring
- I used red food coloring to make the pink dango because I don’t have sakura powder or strawberry powder. If you have either, you may use that to color as well as add flavor. If not, then you can use food coloring like I did!
METHOD FOR MAKING SANSHOKU DANGO
There are many ways to make dango. A popular method involves using tofu and shiratamako which is very convenient for achieving soft dango. However, I prefer using shiratamako and joshinko because I have more control over the end product’s texture. I want to share this method here so that you may adjust your dango’s texture to how you like. If you would like to learn how to make it with tofu, please let me know and I can write a recipe for that version too!
Anyway, let’s prepare the flour ratios. A typical dango recipe uses shiratamako and joshinko in a 1:1 ratio. However, you can adjust this to make your dango as chewy or as soft as you like! Joshinko makes dango more chewy and firm, while shiratamako makes dango more soft. If you make dango with a ratio of 2:1 joshinko to shiratamako, your dango will be more firm, hold its shape better, and be more chewy. If you use 1:2 or even 1:3 ratio joshinko to shiratamako, then the dango will be more soft. After boiling, the dango won’t hold its sphere shape as strongly, but the tradeoff for this is a super soft and stretchy dango. Try it out and see which ratio you like best! In this recipe, I used mostly a 1:1 ratio with slightly more shiratamako than joshinko. I don’t think this makes too big of a difference, but I do it like this because I prefer a slightly soft dango that holds its shape really well. No matter what ratio you do, you want to use about a 0.8-0.9:1 ratio of water to flour. The dough should have a texture similar to an earlobe, and that’s how you know you made the dough correctly.
WHY ICE BATH?
After boiling the dango, we quickly transfer it to an ice bath. This stops the cooking and allows the dango to cool completely enough for us to handle. Additionally, allowing the dango to cool completely brings back the bouncy, chewy texture of the dango.
TIPS FOR MAKING SANSHOKU DANGO
- ☆ If your dough is too dry, you can add room temperature water little by little to hydrate the dough. On the other hand, if your dough is too wet, you can add a little more joshinko or shiratamako. You can add as much of both as you need, just try to keep in mind the ratio of flours as discussed earlier.
CHECK OUT MY OTHER OUTDOOR PICNIC RECIPES! ♡
MORE WAGASHI/JAPANESE SWEETS RECIPES! ♡
If you recreate this Outdoor Picnic Sanshoku Dango recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Sanshoku Dango (Outdoor Picnic Set)
Equipment
- Three skewers
Ingredients
- 70 g shiratamako
- 60 ml water
- 75 g joshinko
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 60 ml hot water
- Matcha
- Red food coloring
Instructions
- Soak the skewers in a glass full of water. This is optional, but it will help the dango slide onto it later.
- In a bowl, mix together the shiratamako and 60ml water until it has formed a bit of a shaggy dough.
- In a separate bowl, mix the joshinko and sugar. Add the hot water and mix until it has formed a smoother soft dough.
- Combine the two doughs and knead together until fully incorporated. It should have a texture similar to an ear lobe. You can adjust with more water or more joshinko as needed.
- Roll the dough into a log and cut three equal pieces. Set two of the pieces aside for now, and roll the remaining piece into a log like earlier. Cut the piece into thirds as well and roll the pieces into balls. They should be about the size of a golf ball. Set aside for now.
- In a small container, mix about half a teaspoon of matcha with a little bit of hot water until it becomes a paste-like consistency. Grab one of the two pieces that were set aside and slowly add the matcha paste to it, kneading to fully incorporate, while minding the texture of the dough. You can also just use the powder. Roll into a log and cut into three equal pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and set aside for now as well.
- With the remaining piece of dough, slowly add red food coloring until the color is pale pink. You can also use strawberry or sakura powder if you have it instead of food coloring. Cut and roll into three balls as well.
- Heat water in a large pot until it has reached a rolling boil. Carefully drop the dango in the water. They should sink to the bottom immediately, so be careful they do not stick to the pot or each other. Once the dango float, carefully scoop them out using a slotted spoon or spider and immediately place them in an ice bath. Allow the dango to cool completely.
- Start skewering on the dango in this order: green, white, then pink. When you look at the dango, from the top it should be pink, white, then green. Repeat with the other two skewers, and the sanshoku dango is done! 完成です！
Notes
- The ratio of shiratamako to joshinko you use affects the texture of the dango. Experiment with the different ratio explanations above and see which you like best!