Japanese chewy rice-flour dumplings skewered three to five on a bamboo stick — a simple sweet or savoury snack eaten at festivals and with green tea, in dozens of seasonal varieties.
The rice-flour family
Dango belongs to the same Japanese rice-based sweet family as mochi (wagashi). The primary difference: mochi is made from pounded whole glutinous rice (mochigome), while dango uses dry rice flour mixed with water into a smooth dough, then rolled into balls and boiled. Dango is slightly firmer and less sticky than mochi.
Classic types
- Mitarashi dango — the most common; plain white dumplings brushed with a glossy soy-sugar-starch sauce that caramelises lightly over a grill
- Hanami dango — three-colour skewer of pink, white, and green, eaten during cherry blossom (hanami) season
- Kushi dango — generic term for skewered dango
- Goma dango — rolled in black sesame paste
- An dango — covered in sweet red bean paste
Festival food
Dango are inseparable from Japanese festivals (matsuri). Along with yakitori and takoyaki, they are a defining street food of the Japanese festival experience. Stalls sell them freshly made — the mitarashi version grilled over charcoal is especially fragrant.
The moon connection
Tsukimi dango (moon-viewing dumplings) are made for the harvest moon festival (Otsukimi) in September. Fifteen white dumplings are stacked in a pyramid on a special stand as an offering to the moon.
Find more foods by letter
Dango starts with D and ends with O. Browse other foods along the same letter.
Foods that contain a letter from "Dango":