129 replies to this topic

[Hiroyuki]

What's the difference between kushi dango and sanshoku dango, other than sanshoku dango coming in three colors? The pictures I've seen online...the kushi dango looks the same to me. Because I've only managed to dig out kushi dango recipes.

Kushidango is any dango on a skewer. Kushi means skewer.

Sheena, yomogi is all over Japan. Is it grassy tasting? Probably it is, but in a good way. Is moxa common in Korea? See this Wikipedia entry for details.

[JasonTrue]

I don't find it grassy, but it is hard do describe.

蓬 is the rarely used kanji for yomogi, which may help your Chinese grocer, if the same kind of yomogi is used. I've found that for some herbs and vegetables common in Japan, China, and Korea, there are often fairly substantial differences; also, some kanji have slightly different meanings... the kanji for yuzu seem to be understood as grapefruit in China.

correct me if I'm wrong, but mugwort is really grassy tasting.  I love the taste of it and it's so hard to explain.  It grows all over the place in korea, even in the city and I bet it's all over the place in japan too

[miladyinsanity]

Can someone translate "上新粉" for me?

Google tells me it is upper new powder. The sad thing is, that's what I would have read it as--it translates the same way in Mandarin.

Also, I bought dango today (I simply cannot resist) that was dipped in some sort of black sesame sauce. Yummy! I think the sauce is just black sesame seeds, sugar, a touch of salt ground with a little water and will be off shortly to experiment.

[sanrensho]

Can someone translate "上新粉" for me?

It's "joshinko." You should be able to find it at any Japanese grocer. It's very common.

[JasonTrue]

My blog has a black sesame sauce recipe describing how to make godoufu. I more or less stole that from a Japanese recipe.

I think Jo-shinko just translates as rice flour. It's non-glutinous.

Can someone translate "上新粉" for me?

Google tells me it is upper new powder. The sad thing is, that's what I would have read it as--it translates the same way in Mandarin.

Also, I bought dango today (I simply cannot resist) that was dipped in some sort of black sesame sauce. Yummy! I think the sauce is just black sesame seeds, sugar, a touch of salt ground with a little water and will be off shortly to experiment.

Edited by JasonTrue, 16 March 2007 - 11:35 AM.

[miladyinsanity]

I've gone through about a half kilo of rice flour today.

Please tell me that Joshinko is just ordinary rice flour, right? Because I've gone through several recipes for mitarashi dango now, and each time the first step involves mixing the flour and water to form a dough--I'm using english recipes, so it can't be me reading the recipe wrong. So far, I form a batter, not a dough, Every Single Time.

Any ideas what's wrong?

The various proportions I've used include:

1 cup (150g) rice flour and 3/4 cup water (this one I've seen on several places)
200g rice flour and 200cc water--this recipe had 50g sugar too

In the meantime, I shall go bang my head on the wall. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

[Hiroyuki]

Do you use boiling or hot water? Most recipes call for not just water but boiling (or hot) water.

[helenjp]

Add the water very gradually at the end - rice flour is peculiar stuff, and it takes only a tiny bit of water to go from dry crumbly mix to batter!

Also, your recipe may have been written for a much finer ground flour than you are using - coarser grinds absorb much less water. Get your water ready, and then just add it till you have the texture right, and STOP right there.

The perfect texture is traditionally described as "like your earlobe" and that really is about it.

[miladyinsanity]

I will try again.

You guys should start buying stock in rice flour mills, as I foresee kilos and kilos and kilos of rice being wasted in my mad experiments.

I shall put your advice to good use, Hiroyuki and helenjp.

I wonder if mixing by hand, as opposed to with a spoon, will help.

[GlorifiedRice]

Ive read about mochi pounding but never have I seen it.
This video is amazing!

http://shizzville.co...al-pud-whackers