Recreating Mitarashi Dango from Demon Slayer: A Journey of Trial and Error

As I began this episode of Anime with Alvin, I was excited to recreate one of my favorite anime snacks, mitarashi dango. The video started with a shot of the ingredients needed for the recipe, including joshinko and shiratamako rice flours, bamboo skewers, and silken tofu. The host explained that these two types of rice flour were used to make dango, but he would be using them from scratch.

The first step in making the dango was to soak some bamboo skewers in water. The reason for doing this was not immediately clear, but the host would explain later. For now, it was time to move on to the dango. The host explained that he would be balancing two different kinds of rice flour: joshinko and shiratamako. Joshinko added a nice chewy and bouncy texture to the dango, while shiratamako provided a smoother, fresher, tender texture. Because this was the host's first time making dango, he had referenced two recipes for guidance.

The rice flours were mixed together with chopsticks, slowly adding water while mixing simultaneously. The goal was to mix the water and flour together evenly and slowly without any huge lumps or clumps. Once the flour had been sufficiently hydrated, the host went in directly with his hands, kneading it into a smooth ball and rolling it out into one long even snake. Next, he used a bench scrapeto cut these into evenly-sized dumplings, kind of like gnocci. After probably one of the most satisfying shots the host had ever seen, he was ready to roll each of these dumplings into a smooth ball.

The balls were delicately placed onto a plate and left to rest for a moment before being skewered onto bamboo sticks. The host explained that traditional dango are often grilled on a Japanese-style grill with some charcoal. However, the host had not used this method professionally before, and he was eager to try it out at home. He mentioned that Andrew had told him about binchotan, a highly prized and expensive type of charcoal that burns cleanly and silently without smoke.

The host decided to use the binchotan to grill his dango, but he soon realized that it didn't get hot enough. Instead of getting a nice crispy outside, the dango started to melt. The host improvised by taking the grill rack upstairs and onto the stove so that the dango could be cooked directly over an open flame. This was not the method he had originally planned, but he was determined to make it work.

After two hours of perseverance from both Andrew and Jess, the host was finally able to glaze his crispy dango. The glaze had cooled by then, so after warming it up on the stove for a little bit, the host slowly spooned the honey-like substance over each skewer of dango. This was the payoff he had been waiting for – watching that beautiful golden glaze melt over the smooth whiteness of the dumplings.

The host took both plates of mitarashi dango and snacked on them as he watched the finale episode of Demon Slayer one more time. The quick inspection revealed that both versions of the dango were amazing, with sweet, salty glazes paired perfectly with crispy but chewy soft dumplings. However, the tofu version was slightly firmer and bouncier than the original, made with shiratamako.

In conclusion, recreating mitarashi dango from Demon Slayer required trial and error, perseverance, and a willingness to experiment with new ingredients and methods. The host's journey was not an easy one, but it paid off in the end with two delicious versions of this beloved anime snack.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(speaking foreign language)- Hello! Welcomeback to another episodeof Anime with Alvin.We are gonna be recreatingthe mitarashi dangofrom one of my favoriteanime, Demon Slayer.This is dangoko, apre-made mix of rice floursused to make dango, but we aregonna make ours from scratch.But before we get to that,the first thing we have to dois soak some bamboo skewers in water.The reason for doingso will be shown later.All right, onto the dango.We're gonna be balancing twodifferent kinds of rice flour.The first one is called joshinko.It adds a nice chewy andbouncy texture to the dango.The second one is called shiratamako,which you might have seen fromour Jujutsu Kaizen episode,where we made mochi.This flour adds a smoother, fresher,tender texture to the dango.And because this is myfirst time making dango,I've referenced two recipesfor the version I'm showing you today.One is from Miss Wagashi,and the other is from Leo's Japanese Dojo.Both of them have wonderfulJapanese recipes on YouTube,so please check them out.So once both rice floursare mixed together,I'm slowly streaming in waterwhile mixing simultaneouslywith some chopsticks.The goal is to mix the waterand the flour together evenlyand slowly without anyhuge lumps or clumps.Once the flour has beensufficiently hydrated,I go in directly with myhands, kneading this intoa smooth ball and rollingit out into one long even...Snake? Followed by using a bench scraperto cut these into evenly-sized dumplings.Kind of like gnocci.Now, after probably one ofthe most satisfying shotsI've ever seen, I'm gonnaroll each of these dumplingsinto a smooth ball.As a Chinese person, thisis quite similar to makingsomething called tangyuan,but we'll save that episodefor another day.And after these balls havebeen delicately placedonto a plate, I'm wrappingthem up, setting them aside,and trying out a reallyinteresting version I sawfrom Miss Wagashi's video.So this version still beginswith the same joshinkorice flour, but instead ofthe shiratamako and water,we're going to substitute in silken tofu,which I believe accomplishes two things.Shiratamako might not bethe easiest thing to find,and silken tofu is more readilyavailable for the home cook.And not only does the silken tofu providethe liquid content, it also should act asa tenderness substitutefor the shiratamako.But the process is thesame, kneading them togetheruntil they form a smooth dough ball,rolling it out until it becomesa long smooth rice snake,and finally cutting themup and rolling them upinto beautiful small rice dumplings.And while these go offto the side to hang outwith their non-tofu brethren,we are gonna make the mitarashi sauce.This is gonna be the glazethat goes on top of our dango.It's a pretty simplesweet and savory saucemade from mirin, soy sauce,water, and after the liquidsare combined in a mediumsaucepan over medium heat,I'm adding in the dry ingredients,first mixing the potato starchand sugar to avoid any lumpswhen it hits the liquidsand constantly stirringas the syrup thickens.If it gets too thick, Iadd a little bit of water,but the end result should be a beautifulhoney-like consistency.And this is gonna gooff to the side to coolwhile we cook our dumplings.Now, into a big pot of boiling water,I'm dropping in the dumplings one by one.For efficiency's sake, I'mthrowing in both kinds,but the key here is just to make surethat they don't stick to the bottom.So a little shake, alittle stir, and these cookfor about three to five minutes,until they start to float.Once they float, these go foranother two to three minutes,and then these come straightout of the hot waterand into an ice bath, bothto stop the cooking processand to shock them into achewier, bouncier texture.Once the dumplings are cool,they come out onto a traylined with parchment paperto dry for a little bit,and it's very importantthat these are separatedinto two differentbattalions with even ranksof perfectly lined upsoldiers, ready for war.This is because it looks nice.If any of the dumplings break rank,it is important to eatthem to send a message.Now that order has been maintained,it's time to skewer theseonto the bamboo skewers from earlier.This can range anywhere betweenin three and five dumplingsper skewer, but in the show they do four,so I am also doing four.And both for appearanceand safety reasons,I like to make sure thatthe final dumpling on topis only skewered about 75% through.Now, this is where thingsget kind of interesting.I mentioned to Andrew thatdango are often grilledon a Japanese-stylegrill with some charcoal,and he mentioned that he happenedto have something similar,as well as some charcoal.This is binchotan.It is a highly prized andexpensive type of charcoalbecause of the way it burns cleanlyand silently without smoke.It is often used in restaurantsto impart really niceflavors to whatever ever isbeing grilled, usually meat.We have never reallyused it professionally,so what you see here is two amateurstrying to figure out the bestway to make this work at home.After a lot of YouTubevideo-watching article-readingtrial and error, we managedto heat the charcoal somewhatbefore putting it inside the grill,where, once again, theball is back in my courtto see if I can do something with this.We definitely didn't dothis the correct way.The charcoal didn'tseem to get hot enough,and rather than gettinga nice crispy outside,the dango kind of started to melt instead.So we improvised by takingthe grill rack upstairsand onto the stove so thatthe dango could be cookeddirectly over an open flame.This dango can also begrilled in a non-sick pan,but I'd love to knowhow we could have donethe charcoal part better,so please leave a comment.But after two hours ofperseverance from both Andrewand Jess, we're finally ableto glaze our crispy dango.And the glaze haddefinitely cooled by then,so after warming it up onthe stove for a little bit,I'm slowly spooning thishoney-like substanceover each skewer of dango,and this is the payoff.Watching that beautifulgolden glaze just slowly meltover that smooth whitenessof the dumplings...It's amazing.I can totally see whysomeone would fall in lovewith this snack and justwant to eat it all the time.So after a lot more effortthan usually required,this is my version of themitarashi dango from Demon Slayer.A little quick inspectionbefore we go for the quality check.This is amazing.You have the sweet, salty glazewith the crispy but chewy soft dango.It's amazing. I love this.But we also need to try the tofu version.Huh. So the one made withtofu instead of shiratamakois actually a little more firm and bouncythan the one from before.Personally, I prefer the onemade with the shiratamako,but if it's not somethingyou can find at home,I think the tofu versionworks extremely well.But if you'll excuse me, I'mgonna take both of these platesand slowly snack on them as I watchthat crazy finale episode one more time.(smooth music)\n"