Ikinari Dango (Steamed Sweet Potato and Red Bean Dumplings)

Ikinari Dango (Steamed Sweet Potato and Red Bean Dumplings)

Quick answer

Total time
110 min
Level
Medium
Servings
10 servings
Ingredients
8

About this dish

A thick round of sweet potato and a ball of red bean paste are wrapped together in dough and steamed, so a cut bun shows three separate layers: soft wrapper, bean paste, and fluffy potato.

Read more

These dumplings come from the Kikuchi area of Kumamoto, where they were made as a snack during the autumn sweet potato harvest.

Ingredients

servings

Instructions

5 steps
  1. 1

    Chamfer the sharp edges of the sweet potato rounds.

    Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry.

  2. 2

    Mix the wheat flour, dango flour, sugar, and salt.

    Add the water gradually, then the oil, and knead until the dough forms a smooth, cohesive mass.

  3. 3

    Cover the dough and rest it at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

    Divide it into 20 pieces and roll each into a thin circle wider than a sweet potato round.

  4. 4

    Divide the bean paste into twenty 15 g balls.

    Put one on each dough circle, top with a sweet potato round, and pull the dough edges around both layers to enclose them completely.

  5. 5

    Set the dumplings seam-side down in a steamer with space between them.

    Steam over abundant steam for about 20 minutes. Serve hot when a bamboo skewer slides easily through the center of the potato.

References checked

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Tips

Rest the dough for at least 1 hour so it stretches around both fillings without tearing. Unrested dough tends to split at the seam.
If the potato is thicker than 1.5 cm, its center may stay firm after the wrapper cooks. Check the center with a skewer before removing the dumplings.
Edited by Charim Team