If you enjoy wagashi (Japanese confectionery) and wish to make them at home, this post shows you how to make Shiratama Dango that are found in many Japanese sweets. Chewy & gooey in texture, this type of mochi uses glutinous rice flour made from shiratamako or mochiko.
Shiratama Dango (白玉団子) or Japanese mochi balls is a type of mochi and we use glutinous rice flour to make it. This glutinous rice flour is made from mochigome (もち米/糯米) and it’s different from other types of glutinous rice flour because mochigome is Japanese short-grain rice (other kinds may use long grain rice, etc).
There are two types of glutinous rice flour you can use: shiratamako (白玉粉) or mochiko (餅粉) (or combine both). I recommend using shiratamako because mochi made with shiratamako has a very smooth, more refined, and elastic bouncy texture. And it also tastes better in my opinion. Also, shiratamako is much easier to use compared to mochiko. You can read a little bit more details on these glutinous rice flour on shiratamako page.
How To Use Shiratama Dango
Shiratama Dango is often served in a bowl or included in other Japanese desserts called wagashi (和菓子, Japanese confectionery) such as Anmitsu or Zenzai (Oshiruko).
Here’s how to make Shiratama Dango. A lot of readers told me it’s much easier to find mochiko in grocery stores, so I’m using mochiko in this video. However, the recipe below includes measurements for both mochiko and shiratamako and the methods are the same.
Recipes with Shiratama Dango
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Shiratama Dango
Video
Ingredients
For Dango with Mochiko
- ⅓ cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour)
- 2½ Tbsp water
- ½ tsp sugar
For Dango with Shiratamako (I prefer this over mochiko)
- ⅓ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour)
- 3 Tbsp water
- ½ tsp sugar
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Combine ⅓ cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour), ½ tsp sugar, and 2½ Tbsp water in a large bowl. (If using shiratamako, combine ⅓ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour), ½ tsp sugar, and 3 Tbsp water.) Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.
- Use the mochiko ball to pick up crumbs in the bowl like this. We say the texture of the dough should be like an “earlobe.”
- Then, roll into a nice smooth ball and then form into a log.
- Pinch off dough from the log and roll each one into a ¾-inch (2-cm) ball and then flatten it into a thick disc, about a scant ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. You should be able to make about 16 balls.
- Use your index finger to make an indentation in the center (this will help cook faster and less doughy in texture after cooking).
- Add the Shiratama Dango to boiling water. Once they float to the surface, cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from the water and soak in ice water to let them cool.
To Serve
- Serve the Shiratama Dango in your dessert.
To Store
- Shiratama Dango are soft and chewy within 30 minutes after they are made. If you are not using them right away, keep them in water and store in the refrigerator. Shiratama Dango will become hard, so you need to reheat them in boiling water to soften them before serving.
I appreciate your thoroughness, especially with the ingredients as I am trying out new types of cooking, so this is a learning experience.
Thank you.
Hi Leanne! Thank you for your kind comment. I’m glad my recipe is helpful. 🙂 Happy cooking!
Hi! I just found out about your page and I love it!
My kids love daifuku, and I decided to make some on my own but bought the shiratama dango instead of mochiko by mistake. Is it possible to fill the dango, or to add some colour, or to vary it somehow? I think my kids will like it, but since it is not exactly what we expected, I thought I might try something “different” to make up for the missing azuki-filling…
Thanks so much for sharing all your recipes!! I’m definitely trying a few.
🙂
Hi Bettina! Thank you so much! Do you mean… you already bought the pre-made dango? Or do you mean that you purchased “Shiratama dango flour” instead of mochiko?
You can make daifuku with shiratamako.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/daifuku/
Where do I add food coloring if I wanted to make to the Dango a different color? Do I mix it in the indent?
Hi Dylan! You will need to add it in from the step 1. 🙂
Instead of mochi flour can you use normal wheat grain American flour? ????
It has to be sweet force flour or gluttonous flour to make mochi/dango like texture… Otherwise it’s just dumplings, not Japanese dango. 🙂
Hey, Namiko! How long do we need to reboil the dango for? 🙂
Hi Bella! Sorry for my late response. You just need to re-heat it to get texture back, so just a few minutes will be enough. 🙂
I made this because even in the HUGE city I live in I couldn’t find anyone who sold dango anywhere….it’s good, but not sweet enough for my taste, and I liked it way better cold. I also discovered that in the heat of the summer where I live, with the stove going making the kit ch end hot, the e dough just melted and stuck to my hands and wouldn’t form. I ended up having to cook half, chill the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes, cook half of that then repeat for the last bit
Hi Melissa! We usually eat shiratama dango with something sweet (red bean paste, ice cream, red bean soup, etc – more like toppings), so most recipe doesn’t include much sugar. I think you probably want to make the regular dango and the recipe is here:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/mitarashi-dango/
Hope that helps. 🙂
Hey – could I possibly use this recipe to make Hanami dango? Or is Hanami dango a bit different?
Also, I’m packing it for a lunch – so I would have to put it in a lunchbox for a few hours before it’s eaten… Is there anyway I could pack it for a lunch without having to worry about it getting hard?
Thanks.
Hi Natsu! Use the following recipe for Hanami Dango (3 color dango).
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/mitarashi-dango/
You will need to use yomogi (for green) and red color to make three colors though.
I recommend to wrap with plastic wrap (individual skewers) to avoid getting dry out. Nothing is better than fresh one though. 🙂
can I dye the dough different colors with a drop of food coloring?
Hi Taylor! Sure, you can do that. 🙂
can u like add food di and do u have to press in the middle
You can add food coloring if you like. The pressing middle will help cook the dango evenly and faster, but you don’t have to do that. 🙂 Hope that helps!
I used this recipe a few weeks ago and it’s awesome! Now I’m about to make some for a potluck at work! 😀
Hi Amanda! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! I hope your coworkers will enjoy this as well! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Question. After the dough is all incorporated can i also roll it out and cut into strips to put in the oven/toaster oven as mochi? The kind that puffs up. “baked mochi”?, not sure what it’s called exactly.
http://theculturedcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/baked-mochi.jpg
never mind, i googled a lot and found my answer i think.
regardless, thanks for the recipe. hope to make this particular one soon. :}
Hi Blueck! So sorry for my late response! You need “kiri mochi”
https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A%E9%A4%85&hl=en&rlz=1C1_____enUS441US441&prmd=imvnse&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VLJdT9quIJDKiALi96nPCw&ved=0CEcQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=736
Is there anyway to make your own flour or use already cooked sweet sticky rice? We live in an area with a decent Thai ppopulation and I can find sweet sticky rice everywhere and also thai brand sweet rice flour but Japanese products are hard to come by.
Hi LeLy! For Shiratamako, we use Japanese glutinous rice (it’s short grain, not long grain). You can make it with non-Japanese glutinous rice, but the result will be different as short grain and long grain rice is very different in texture and flavor. If you cannot find shiratamako, you can use other kinds; however, I’m not sure how the result will be close to Japanese style….should be close enough… 🙂
Hi LeLy
I’ve made these with Thai brand glutinous flour/sweet flour. They turn out great.
Hope this helps.
Hi Elisa! So kind of you to leave a feedback for Lely and others who have same question! Thank you very much!!!
I don’t come from a very large town, and I couldn’t find shiratamako or mochiko. However, I did find some stone ground rice flower at the local grocery store. Could I substitute with that?
Hi Katie! Sorry for my late response. Rice flour is not the same as glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice flour). It’s not as sticky like mochi texture, so please note that using different rice flour will change teh flavor and texture. You can buy mochiko on Amazon too. Hope this helps. 🙂
It was delicious 😀
Thank you Juane! 🙂
Just made this twice in the past 20 minutes!
Yummy! Thanks Nami!
xx
Catt
Hi Catt! Awesome! I hope you are enjoying delicious shiratama dango now. 🙂