You only need 3 ingredients to make a deliciously sweet Okinawan treat called Sata Andagi. It’s a type of deep-fried donut or dango from Okinawa, Japan that is the winning combination of crispy and cakey!
During our short stay in Okinawa, we had a few chances to enjoy different flavors of Okinawan doughnuts, Sata Andagi (サーターアンダギー). Not only these doughnuts were on a list of must-eats when we visit, they are also known as an easy homemade snack in Okinawa. Since the idea of easy is always appealing, it had been on my mind to try my hand at these yummy doughnuts for a while.
Of all the various fun flavors, I decided to make Black Sugar Sata Andagi first. Relatively unrefined, black sugar is a common sugar in Okinawa and its deep malty, caramel-y characteristic enhances the flavor of the doughnuts tremendously.
What is Sata Andagi?
Sata Andagi (サーターアンダギー or サーターアンダーギー) is a doughnut made with 3 ingredients – cake flour, sugar, and egg. The name comes from Okinawan word: sata means sugar and andagi means deep fried (food). The texture of sata andagi is very dense, and less airy and fluffy like the regular doughnuts.
When deep fried, the round balls crack with lines that resemble smiley faces, which is why the doughnuts are considered good luck in Okinawa and are used for many happy occasions such as engagements and birthdays.
In Okinawa, where the weather is hot and humid, sata andagi keep well at room temperature for a few days. No wonder they have been enjoyed as homemade snacks for generations. If you visit Okinawa, the easiest place to spot sata andagi is at touristy places where you’ll see tiny kiosks selling these sweet treats. You can also find sata andagi specialty stores throughout Okinawa.
Popular Sata Andagi Flavors
Many sata andagi shops carry similar flavors (shown in bold) but there are other delicious flavors that I didn’t get to try.
- Plain
- Beni imo (Okinawan sweet potato)
- Black sugar (Kokuto)
- Black/white sesame
- Black tea
- Caramel
- Cheese
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Coconut
- Coffee
- Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin, Kabocha squash)
- Kinako (soybean flour)
- Mocha
- Peanut
- Walnut
Sata Andagi has no fillings or fancy frosting. The ingredients are mixed in with the dough to make different flavors. Does any of the flavors above catch your attention?
If you haven’t made doughnuts before, you’d be happy to know that these Okinawan doughnuts are rather straightforward. The only caveat is the deep frying, but since they were delicious in the way that deep fried dough is, it’s worth the effort. My family loves that they are not overly sweet, but more of a snacking doughnut, not a heavily glazed dessert doughnut that can bog you down easily. And yes, you can definitely eat them on a more regular basis. Okinawans say so! 🙂
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Sata Andagi
Video
Ingredients
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- ⅓ cup black sugar (packed; I used dark muscovado sugar that I bought on Amazon, but you can also purchase Okinawan black sugar on Amazon)
- 1 tsp neutral oil
- 1 cup cake flour (plus more if needed; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can make your own cake flour at home)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 cups neutral oil (plus more for rolling the dough)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
To Make the Dough
- In a large bowl, combine 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) and ⅓ cup black sugar. Whisk together until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add 1 tsp neutral oil and whisk together.
- Sift 1 cup cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt over the egg and sugar mixture.
- Using a silicone spatula, start to combine the dry and wet ingredients. If the dough is too wet, you can add extra flour. Humidity and moisture in the air affects your dough. If you feel that your dough is too soft and wet, add more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time. The consistency is similar to cookie dough, but slightly softer. Let the dough rest for an hour.
To Roll the Dough and Deep-Fry
- Bring 3 cups neutral oil in the deep fryer or medium saucepan to 300–320ºF (150–160ºC) over medium-low heat. In order to cook the inside of the doughnut, we deep-fry at low temperature. (You can use less oil, but you will need to rotate the balls often as they won’t be covered by oil.)
- Prepare some extra oil (for rolling the dough) in a small bowl and rub it on your palms to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
- When the oil in the deep fryer reaches 300–320ºF (150–160ºC), scoop the dough with a cookie scooper into your hand and roll it into a ball. It should be around 3 cm (slightly bigger than 1 inch) or about the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Tip: To achieve the same portion size, a cookie scooper is a great tool to have.
- As soon as you are done rolling the dough, start adding the dough balls to the oil. They will expand as they cook, so do not add too many and crowd the pot.
- Once the dough balls are cooked through, they will start to float. They rotate themselves, but you can help them rotate to achieve even coloring.
- When golden brown, after about 7–8 minutes of deep-frying, pick them up and drain excess oil on a paper towel or wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks.
Hi Nami, we are craving for donuts but it’s a cold day here in Melbourne, so decided to try this as it doesn’t need proofing/kneading. A few things I can share: I have one of those big ice cream scoop that shops use, so I find that sizing is half of it. Used the lowest heat on my stovetop with about the same cooking time as your recipe. Used brown sugar and turns out like your photo (my kid said that 🙂 Doubled your recipe as we have five people in the house, made 12 medium size donuts.
Result: super yummy!
Thanks!!!
Hi Henny! Thank you so much for your kind and useful feedback for us! Now I want to eat some of these… Thank you for trying this recipe, Henny!
Hi Nami. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes. I’ve been using them to introduce new foods at home. I’m curious to know how much coffee would you recommend adding to the batter to make a coffee sata andagi. Would I need to add more flour to accommodate the extra liquid? Thank you!
Hi Jenn! Most home cook recipes use instant coffee (for this amount, 1-2 Tbsp instant coffee). I’m not 100% sure how the batter will be like by introducing water. I wish I can tell… Sorry…
How many does one batch make?
Hi Kai! 8 doughnuts with this recipe.
Thanks ^^
If i wanted to make chocolate flavor would i have to add a certain amount of cocoa powder or is there a different recipe?
Hi Kai! I think a lot of people dip the regular one in chocolate, but I’d add some cocoa powder in the batter too. 🙂
Thanks for the advice 😁
[…] were also beautifully wrapped little cakes, which turned out to be – Sata Andagi – Okinawan fried doughnuts. Our variety had peanuts, white sesame and orange peel, though […]
今回ナミさん!
I love your recipe!! I just made it and it came out great! I added a little bit of sifted confectioners sugar on top for a little added sweetness ????. Thanks so much for the great content!
Hi アレックス! Thank you so much! My daughter rolled on granulated sugar even though I said this is BLACK SUGAR doughnuts and sweet already. 😀 I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for trying this recipe!
Do you have recipe for Okinawa Potato version of this doughnut?!! Sounds yummy AND pretty =)
Hi Jacquelyn! I haven’t seen Beniimo here but if I see it I’ll give it a try!
In Hawaii we make poi andagi, but I would love to try your recipe and possibly add some pumpkin puree. Thanks for sharing this, Nami!
Hi Donna! What does “poi” mean? Pumpkin flavors… that must be so good!!!
Did a quick search. I think this is what was being referred to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(food)
Searched “poi andagi” too. It looks like instead of flour, poi is used instead.
Thank you for letting us know, TJ! Very interesting!!
Thanks for the tip Nami, this will be our breakfast next Sunday.
Always a pleasure to read your cooking recipes.
Thank you very much indeed for all the effort!
Hi albyJP! How nice you’ll get to eat this next Sunday for BREAKFAST!!!!! I’d love to join! Thank you for reading my blog! xo
Nami , I totally Love this recipe this so simple , I don’t like deep fried food as it makes my stomach upset , will would love to try the baked version of it , can u please tell me how to adjust the batter consistency and the oven’s time and temperature for baking . It will mean a lot to me , thank you very much for the recipe :D!!
I’m sorry I wish I can tell, but I haven’t tested this recipe with oven so I am not sure. If you give it a try, please share your experience with us!
I love these! One of the many things we miss from Okinawa. Thank you for sharing the recipe ????
Hi Diana! Me too, I miss how easily I can get delicious sata andagi on streets in Okinawa… 🙂 Hope you enjoy making them at home!
Love reading your recipe my wife is Okinawa so we do get alto of these things one thing I like in the sat pan is pineapple tried it in Okinawa its good but I guess you can add any flavor but I like them all
Hi Thomas! You’re lucky that she’s from Okinawa and she gets to make all the delicious food from her home! Pineapple sata andagi? Wow that sounds so delicious!!!
Hihi, will ot yaste soggy after cool?
Will the texture change after i leave it overnight to serve next day for breakfast?
Hi Meixiu! We didn’t have any leftover for the next day so I can’t tell… but we did leave at room temperature for several hours and they are surprisingly kept well. It’s best when it’s out of the deep fryer though. 🙂
So exciting!! We love these! We would buy them every chance we got when we lived in Okinawa. Best was when we could get them hot and fresh!
Hi Leticia! Hope you enjoy making these at home! You get to eat super hot and fresh making them at home. 😉
You might remind people to only dip their fingers in the cool oil, some novices might mistakingly put them into the 300° stuff for quite a surprise!
Hi Drsea! LOL! Okay I improved my sentences. Hopefully my English is clear now…. 🙂 Thank you for pointing that out!