Dango

  団子, だんご

Dango is a Japanese mochi dumpling dessert made using glutinous rice flour. It is one of the easiest Japanese dessert to make. 

Ingredients:

150g Glutinous rice flour - I use Shiratamako (白玉粉), Japanese short grain glutinous rice (mochigome)

184g silken tofu (1.23x of flour)

matcha green tea powder (optional)

water for boiling

bamboo skewers (optional)

Method:

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water.

2. In a mixing bowl, add glutinous rice flour and use dough scrapper to 'chop' the coarse flour granules into smaller pieces (for easier kneading later).

3. Add the silken tofu into the mixing bowl and use dough scrapper to mix until the texture resembles scrambled eggs. Use your hand to knead the mixture into a smooth and pliable dough, as soft as the earlope when pressed. It should not be sticky. If the fough cracks easily, add a bit of tofu. If it is sticky, add a bit of glutinous rice flour.

4. Shape into balls of 10g each. For green coloured dango, take out a portion of dough and mix in matcha powder. I used 2g matcha powder for 100g of dough. Note that the green colour only shows after boiling the dango balls.

6. Boil a small pot of water over medium heat. Hently drop the dango balls into the boiling water. Cook until the dango balls floats to the surface. Once the float, let them cook for 2 minutes longer to ensure they are cooked through.

7. Scoop the cooked dango balls out and transfer them to a bowl of ice water. Once cooled, transfer the dango balls to a plate.

8. Thread the dangos through a skewer,  if using.

9. Add your preferred toppings e.g. red bean paste (anko) and roasted soy powder (kinako).

Miso Yong Tau Foo

 

Miso paste is often used to make miso soup. Today, I used some of the paste to cook with Yong Tau Foo and turn it into a very delicious dish. Reminds me of my late mother-in-law who made her own Yong Tau Foo including the fish paste, and stir fried with fermented soy beans (commonly called "tau cheo") sauce.

Ingredients:

15 pieces of store bought assorted Yong Tau Foo

1 tablespoon miso paste

100ml water

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

corn starch slurry (1 tbsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water)

Method:

1. Heat up the wok with 1 tablespoon of oil.

2. Pan fry the pieces of Yong Tau Foo until the fish paste is cooked through and the sides of each piece of Yong Tau Foo is golden brown. Remove from wok and drain on kitchen towel.

3. In the same wok with remaining oil (top up if necessary), saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the miso paste and stir to mix in. Add water and bring to a boil. Stir in the corn starch slurry and simmer for a few minutes until it thickens into a viscous sauce. Finally, add the pieces of Yong Tau Foo and mix in. Simmer for a few minutes and off the heat.

4. Transfer to serving plate and serve hot.