Let’s make this year’s Halloween more fun, creative and delicious with Halloween Three Coloured Dango. These dumpling balls are vividly and naturally coloured black, yellow and purple. So perfect for Halloween!
Let your imagination and creativity run wild like the Japanese do.
By now in Japan, you will find Halloween themed and decorated shop fronts. The Japanese go crazy for Halloween. For instance, you will even find Halloween special flavoured kitkat chocolates! Check out my other posts, for example: Halloween pull apart bread, Halloween temari sushi, Halloween pocky, Halloween kabocha mont blanc cake, and Kabocha pumpkin bread.
The Original Three Coloured Dango
The original three coloured dango (San-shoku-dango) is typically coloured in light green, pink and white. The green represents new growth of spring, the pink represents cherry blossom and the white is sake. They all describe the scenery of Spring in Japan.
What about Autumn?
It is also said that those three colours represent each of the seasons in Japan. Pink/red (sun) is summer, white (snow) is winter, and green (new growth) is spring. No Autumn? Aki ga nai? In Japanese this also means “never get bored”. So these three colours imply a punch line.
So now, Let’s make Autumn coloured Dango
Purple, represents supernatural and all things mystical. So I used Purple Sweet Potato Fine Powder 
to give the purple colour.
Yellow/Orange, symbolises and celebrates the life and bounty of the Autumn harvest. So I used Pumpkin Fine Powder 
for this.
Black, is the colour of death and also naturally associated with Halloween, because it is celebrated at night time. So I used black sesame paste for this darkness.
The flour used to make Halloween three colored Dango
There are many different types of rice flours available to make dango in Japan. I usually use rice flour called “Shiratamako” because it is made from a type of rice called “sweet rice”.
Why Add Tofu?
Adding tofu improves the texture of Dango. This is because it gives dango a more chewy and bouncy real “Mochi (rice cake)” like texture. Moreover, it also increases the protein intake, and it is vegan which is a double bonus.
How to store Dango?
Wrap them gently and individually. Place them in a airtight freezer container and it will store for about 2 weeks.
Toppings
The Halloween three coloured dango dumplings themselves don’t have much taste themselves. So you may want to drizzle Japanese brown sugar syrup (Kuromitsu) or sugar added soy bean powder (Kinako) over them.
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Here are my instructions for Halloween Three coloured dango. So if you like it, please rate it and leave a comment or any questions below. And don’t forget to check out my other Halloween recipes such as Halloween pull apart bread, Halloween Pocky and Halloween Mont Blanc Cup Cake.
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Halloween Three Coloured Dango ハロウィーン三色団子
Ingredients
- 5 g purple sweet potato powder *1
- 2 tsp water
- 5 g kabocha pumpkin powder *2
- 2 tsp water
- 10 g black sesame seed paste *3
- 90 g Shiratamako
- 120 g Silken Tofu *4
Instructions
- Mix purple sweet potato powder and water in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- Mix kabocha pumpkin powder and water in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- Place Shiratamako and silken tofu in a large mixing bowl. As you drop the tofu in, break tofu in your hand.
- Knead them all together until all are combined well and the softness is like your ear lobe.
- Divide the dough into three equal portion.
- Add sweet potato paste into one dough, Kabocha pumpkin paste into the second dough and black sesame paste into the third dough.
- Knead them into each dough, until each colour is spread and mixed in evenly.
- Divide the each dough into 6 equal portions.
- Shape them into round balls with your hands and wrap them gently with cling wrap so that the balls don't become dry.
- Boil about a litre of water in a large saucepan over high heat.
- Add the dango dough into the boiling water and turn the heat down to medium.
- Let the water simmer until all the dango dumpling dough balls float up to the simmering water surface.
- Use a strainer to drain the dango dumplings out, and put them into a bowl of cold water to cool down.
- When all dango are cooled, drain them out again using the strainer and place them on a plate.
- Put one black, one yellow and one purple onto a skewer. Repeat the process for all dango dumplings.
- Serve them on a plate with Japanese brown sugar syrup or soybean powder (kinako) *5
I love this idea of the Halloween colors in the Dango.
Great recipe and was so easy to follow.
I have stored them in the fridge and they look a “treat” … not too “tricky” either 😉
Ohhhhh, Thank you Frank their colour is tricky but they are delicious treat 😀
I love the creativity you put into this recipe. We try to make different dishes and treats for Halloween each year and this time we will make this dango recipe!
Hi Brandi, I am glad that something Japanese can be added to your Halloween this year 😀
These are just perfect for a Halloween treat!
And your instructions are so clear!!
Thank you Claire 😀