Hecchoko Dango (Three-Grain Dumplings in Sweet Azuki Soup)

Wash the azuki and soak overnight in plenty of cold water.

Drain, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 60 to 75 minutes, until the beans crush easily between fingers.

Pass the cooked beans through a sieve for smooth paste or crush only half for texture.

Combine with 800 ml water, sugar, and most of the salt, bring to a boil, and keep at a gentle simmer.

Mix a pinch of the remaining salt into the sorghum flour, add 50 ml boiling water, and stir with chopsticks.

Once cool enough to handle, knead to an earlobe-soft dough.

Shape the sorghum dough into 2 cm balls and press the center with an index finger to make a navel-like hollow.

Even the edges without making them too thin.

Mix the foxtail millet flour with 35 ml boiling water and the proso millet flour with 26 ml, kneading each to the same firmness as the sorghum. Shape both into 2 cm balls with center hollows.

Add all three dumpling types to the gently boiling azuki soup without crowding.

Stir once to prevent sticking, then cook 3 to 5 minutes after all float, until no raw flour remains, and divide among six bowls.