Dango 101

Another day, and more time spent with an attractive occupant of the burrows. Call Yama shallow if you must, but this rabbit likes who he likes, choosing to admire the confectioner. Their personalities seemed similar, Yama also appearing to look perpetually grumpy, conversation short. The only thing that seemed to be different between the two was, well, Yama had a habit of forming crushes rather easily. Which is exactly why he stood in Dan’s shop, listening as the mochi expert instructed him sternly on the ways to make dango.

Stealing a few glances at Dan, Yama slowly turned his attention to the ingredients in front of him. First thing was first, mixing boiling water into the rice flour with chopsticks, making sure to only add the water in batches while keeping a close eye on the consistency of the dough. With the dough starting to clump together, Yama could use his hands, squishing all the dough together before rolling it out of the bowl.

Yama began to knead away, keeping in mind Dan’s description of what to look for to know when to stop. Smooth to the touch, an easy task for Yama who used his hands often in his own craft. While Yama continued to work out the dough, his typical grumpy expression melted away, replaced by pure concentration. While he hadn’t initially shown up to make dango, now that he was in the process of making the confectionery treat he was determined to do it right, perhaps he could impress Dan, whose personality seemed rather indifferent.

“How is this?” Yama spoke up, tilting the bowl towards Dan to show him the progress. The shop owner gave it a look, only offering a nod of approval. It seemed like Dan really was a man of few words. Yama wouldn’t let it bother him though, busy with seeing this task through.

Breaking the dough apart, Yama worked to create equal size balls, using the scale provided to make sure each ball was the recommended weight Dan had told them. It didn’t take long to assemble them, dropping them into the pot of boiling water, and doing the excruciating task of just watching them boil, stirring to keep the dumplings from sticking to the bottom. Yama would attempt conversation at this point had his eyes not been so locked onto the pot. He came this far, he couldn’t slip up. Out of the boiling pot, and immediately into a bath of cold water, the dumplings were done... or well, almost it would seem.

Turning his head to look behind him, Yama watched as Dan handed him some bamboo sticks, the other rabbit turning away to fan the flames of the grill. Oh, right, this was Mitarashi dango, a more savory treat and one that could be grilled for an added bonus of smokiness.

Three dumplings to one stick, Yama carefully moved the treats onto the grill, letting them get that beautiful char before they were removed and plated. The final touch was a ribbon of soy glaze, and just like that, the Mitarashi dango was done.

Yama gently nibbled on his own serving, though his main focus was on watching Dan’s reaction to trying it. While the other bun’s expression didn’t change, he got an approving nod, a small swell of pride forming inside Yama at the approval.

“Well, I suppose that’s all there is to it.  Thanks, it wasn’t so hard with your guidance.” Yama hummed, packing the leftover dango that remained.  He was going to stuff himself with it tonight, saving himself from having to make dinner.

 Perhaps he could return and learn about the makings of mochi after all.