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Kibi dango (吉備団子, Okayama soft millet rice cakes)
Soft little rounds of glutinous rice and millet sweetened with sugar and syrup
Kibi dango is Okayama's souvenir sweet, sold in boxes at the station and tied to the folk tale of Momotarō, the peach boy, who shared them with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant on his way to fight the ogres. It is a year-round snack with green tea. Today's version is a gyuhi, a soft, cooked dough of glutinous rice flour, sugar and starch syrup, with a little millet flour for a pale-gold colour and a gentle, grainy sweetness. The small flat rounds are pillowy, smooth and stretchy, dusted with potato starch. The cakes are naturally egg-free: cooking the glutinous rice flour with sugar and syrup turns it into an elastic dough that binds itself, and the sugar keeps it soft for days. Chef's tip: add the sugar in three goes and stir until each lot is absorbed; the common mistake is tipping it in at once, which makes the dough seize and go lumpy. Cut them small for children and supervise, as with any mochi.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 oz gluten-free millet flourkibi or proso millet
- ¾ cup water
- 4 oz caster sugar
- 1 ⅜ oz starch syrup (mizuame)or light glucose syrup
- 1 ⅜ oz potato starchfor dusting
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz glutinous rice flour (shiratamako) and 1 oz gluten-free millet flour in a non-stick pan and whisk in ¾ cup water gradually until smooth.
Step 2: Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring hard with a wooden spatula, for 4–5 minutes, until it thickens and starts to turn translucent.
5 minStep 3: Add a third of the 4 oz caster sugar and stir until absorbed and the dough is smooth again. Repeat with the rest in two more goes, 2–3 minutes each.
7 minStep 4: Stir in 1 ⅜ oz starch syrup (mizuame) and keep cooking for 3–4 minutes, until the dough is glossy, stretches in long ribbons and pulls away from the pan.
4 minStep 5: Dust a tray thickly with 1 ⅜ oz potato starch and tip the dough onto it. Dust the top and leave to cool for 15 minutes until it can be handled.
15 minStep 6: Pinch off pieces of about 12 g, roll into balls and flatten them slightly into rounds. Brush off excess starch and serve; they keep 3 days, wrapped, at room temperature.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kibi dango (吉備団子, Okayama soft millet rice cakes) take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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