As spring approaches, Japan turns into a shade of pink. It is a time of renewal of life and beauty, and we celebrate this turn of the season with cherry blossom viewing (or Hanami in Japanese). A tradition dated back as early as the 8th century. During the cherry blossom viewing, the Japanese also enjoy different types of wagashi (traditional confectionery) including Hanami Dango (花見団子).
What is Hanami Dango?
Hanami (花見) means flower viewing (of cherry blossom), and during this season, many people go out for strolls through the magnificent columns of the flowering trees. The Japanese have long been celebrated and admired the beauty of cherry blossom by having picnics beneath the blooms. At the picnics, we enjoy spring-themed foods in bento and wagashi which often incorporate seasonal flavors. One of the popular treats includes Hanami Dango (花見団子) or sweet dumplings made with rice flour and skewered on a stick. Hanami Dango is made with 3 dumplings in pink, white, and green (top to bottom in that order) on a skewer. The pink and white sweet dumplings consist of sweetened rice flour, and the green one has a mild earthy taste as it is mixed with yomogi (mugwort) grass. You can find pop-up food stalls that sell hanami dango during the cherry blossom season. Or you can make these sweet dumplings at home and bring them to a picnic to enjoy under the blooms.
Key Ingredients for Hanami Dango
1. Joshinko (Rice Flour) and Shiratamako (Glutinous Rice Flour/Sweet Rice Flour)
Dango is traditionally made with 100% (regular) rice (Uruchimai うるち米) or rice flour called Joshinko (上新粉). This is why dango is different from mochi, which is made with 100% glutinous rice/sweet rice (Mochigome もち米). I find dango made with 100% Joshinko a bit too chewy and tough. So when I make dango at home, I always make it with half Joshinko and half glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour called Shiratamako (白玉粉).
It’s very important to know that both rice flour and glutinous rice flour are made from Japanese short-grain rice. I had never used other Asian variety of rice flour or glutinous rice flour (not made from Japanese short grain). If you end up using non-Japanese flours, I would not know how it would work for dango in terms of flavor and texture.
Although shiratamako and mochiko are both glutinous rice flours, mochi made with these two flours is slightly different, especially in texture and flavor. Mochi made with shiratamako has a very smooth, more refined, and elastic bouncy texture while mochi made with mochiko is less elastic and more doughy. My personal preference is shiratamako because it’s much easier to make delicious mochi, with a much better texture and flavor.
2. Red Food Coloring or Substitute
Traditionally the pink dango was colored with purple shiso (we say red shiso 赤しそ in Japanese), salted pickled cherry blossoms, or fruit of cape jasmine (kuchinashi クチナシ). However, red food coloring has been used to dye the pink-colored dango in recent years. The natural options are harder to get when you live outside of Japan. If you prefer natural food coloring, I recommend using beet juice or crushed freeze-dried strawberry/raspberry to make the pink.
3. Yomogi (Mugwort) or Substitute
Yomogi (mugwort) grass is used for the green-colored mochi. However, it’s probably hard to get yomogi if you live outside of Japan. My local grocery store sells one brand (left product in the above picture), but I used the right one that my friend sent me from Japan since it has a nice dark green. You can substitute yomogi with matcha green tea powder instead.
Why Pink, White, and Green in that Order?
There are a few theories on why Hanami Dango starts with this particular order of pink, white and green. Here are the main two theories: Theory 1: It represents the life cycle of cherry blossom – Pink buds, white flowers, and then green leaves. Theory 2: A scenery symbolic of the spring arrival – red sun or pink cherry blossoms, leftover snow, and yomogi (mugwort) grass or green sprouts beneath the snow. Which theory do you think is correct? They both sound good to me as Hanami Dango brings the happiness of the spring season.
Hanami Dango & Hana Yori Dango 花より団子
There is a Japanese saying “Hana Yori Dango” (花より団子), which literally translates to “dango (dumplings) rather than flowers”. It means to prefer substance over form, as in to prefer to be given functional, useful items (such as dango) instead of merely decorative items (such as flowers). What are your thoughts on this? I’m definitely looking forward to eating foods as much as admiring beautiful sakura!
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Other Dango Recipes
Mitarashi Dango Tsukimi Dango
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 21, 2017. The post has been updated in March 2020.
