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Hanami Dango - Regular & Bunny Shaped!

If the "coquette" aesthetic can be a dessert, the Hanami Dango would be IT. They are soft, chewy, bouncy, and just sweet enough but not too much. You only need TWO main ingredients to make them and they are high in protein, sugar-free, and naturally gluten-free!

Hanami Dango is a traditionally Japanese dessert typically made and enjoyed during the cherry blossom season (which is right about now). Hanami, or èŠ±è¦‹, literally means flower viewing in Japanese. And it is said that the three colors are to represent the life cycle of cherry blossoms - pink buds, white bloom, and eventually green leaves. So poetic isn't it? ^^

This recipe is a simplified method, traditionally, Hanami Dango is made of TWO types of rice flour - shiratamako, aka glutinous rice flour and joshinko, short grain rice flour. But it’s kinda hard to find both these flours in regular grocery stores so I used only glutinous flour plus silken tofu. Using silken tofu is a great trick to keep the dango soft and moist and also it never hurts to add a little more protein in the dessert.



I shaped some of the rice balls into bunny shapes so these are also perfect for Easter! Watch the video for how I shaped them and if you have any other questions find me on Instagram and Tiktok.


INGREDIENTS:

120 g glutinous rice flour, about 1 cup
120 g silken tofu
¼ cup powdered monk fruit extract
½ teaspoon matcha powder
½ teaspoon pink pitaya powder
5-6 bamboo skewers
Prepare an ice bath

TO MAKE:

- Soak the bamboo skewers in a glass of water, this is to make the threading easier;
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and monk fruit extract, add in the silken tofu, and crush it with your hands and mix it into the flour;
- Continue to mix and knead until you have a soft, smooth dough, the dough should be soft but not tacky, different brands of glutinous rice has different levels of moisture in them, so if it's too wet, add a little more flour, if too dry, wet your finger tips and continue to knead;
- Divide the dough into three equal portions, start working with one portion and cover the rest with a damp towel;
- Roll the first portion into a cylinder shape, cut into bite sizes, and roll each piece in the palms of your hands to form a smooth, round ball, I put bunny ears and tails on some of them, that is optional of course;
- With the second portion of the white dough, add the matcha powder, knead it in to mix the color evenly, then repeat the shaping process;
- And with the last third portion of the dough, add the pink pitaya powder, knead the color in evenly, and repeat the shaping process again;
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, gently drop the rice dumplings/balls into the water, if some appear to be stuck on the bottom, gently stir the water to lift them up;
- Cook till they float to the surface, then immediately drop them into the prepared ice bath to cool down;
- Thread three pieces on a skewer, one of each color, serve immediately or you can also further chill them in the fridge then serve, enjoy!
 

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