While browsing Nijiya market, I picked up some sasa dango. This is the first time I’ve seen them at Nijiya and the first time I’ve tried one. I loved the colors and how they are presented in the bamboo leaves.
Sasa dango is a Japanese mochi with red bean paste filling, wrapped in a bamboo leaf. The pink and white colors of the mochi reminded me a lot of the chinese sticky rice soup balls (tang yuan), which are usually pink and white if you buy the frozen pre-made ones.
They tasted pretty good, though very sweet. I’m still trying to figure out how the mochi is made in Taiwan because it’s not the same as Japanese mochi. Fresh Taiwanese mochi have a much chewier, thicker outside layer and the outside rice flour layer is not nearly as sweet as Japanese mochi. When trying to make mochi, mine taste more similar to the Japanese ones I buy. I personally prefer the taste of Taiwanese mochi, as they are less sweet and super chewy and I love chewy foods. But the Japanese mochi are so pretty, I can never resist buying them.
These were purchased at:
Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 121
San Diego, CA 92111
www.nijiya.com
It’s nice to realize that the resemblence of Japanese mochi is similar to Taiwanese tang yuan. If you want a more chewy texture to that of tang yuan you should use a mixture of both rice flour and rice glutten. the glutten is what gives the chewyness that you are looking for and also you can varry the sweetness by how much sugar you are using in the mixture. It might take a bit to find the right texture to your apeal so play around with the flour and glutten.
Thanks for the tips
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