Kabocha Dango with Mitarashi Glaze
This Kabocha Dango is my favorite recipe for a quick veggie snack. If you’re searching for a way to use Japanese pumpkin, try this chewy, starchy, and delicious treat!
Looking for simple kabocha dishes? Try these 16 easy kabocha recipes!
I’ll walk you through the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you enjoy it!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Kabocha Dango:
How To Make Kabocha Dango: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.
Step 1
Set a steamer basket in a pot and water and steam kabocha squash.
Step 2
Mash steamed kabocha and mix in potato starch to make the dough.
Step 3
Make a round shape with the kabocha dough, and pan-fry over medium heat.
Step 4
Put mitarashi glaze ingredients in a small pot and stir until thickened.
Here you go! Enjoy these yummy dango while hot! We love it as is, but adding the glaze will make it a more special treat! You can also make potato mochi and Japanese sweet potato mochi using the same cooking method!
Storage
It will last up to five days in the fridge and one month in the freezer. Freeze them before cooking and pan-fry them without thawing them when eating.
Variations
Dive Deeper into Cooking Kabocha!
To learn more about kabocha, you can explore these articles:
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Easy and Tasty Kabocha Recipes
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Leave a Rating!
I hope you enjoy this Kabocha Dango! If you try it, don’t forget to leave a rating to share your thoughts—I love hearing from you!
Kabocha Dango with Mitarashi Glaze
Print Pin SaveEquipment
- Medium saucepan
- Steamer basket
- Frying pan 22cm (8.6 inches)
Ingredients
- ¼ Kabocha, 250g
- 2 Tbsp Potato starch
- 1 Tbsp Oil for cooking
Mitarashi Glaze
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Mirin
- 1 tsp Potato starch
- 3 Tbsp Water
Instructions
- Steam kabocha: Cut kabocha into small pieces and steam them in a pot for about 10mins
- Make a dough: Transfer the kabocha to a bowl, add potato starch, and mash to make a dough.
- Make a round shape: Grab a piece of dough, roll it, and press it with your palm to form a shape.
- Pan-fry: Heat a frying pan over medium heat, pour some oil, place the kabocha dango and pan fry for 2 minutes for each side
- Mitarashi glaze: Add sugar, soy sauce, and mirin to a pot over medium heat, bring it to a boil, add a mixture of water and potato starch, and cook until thickened
Video
Notes
- Storage: It will last for three days in the fridge and one month in the freezer.
- Portion: This will make 15 pieces of dango, 5 cm (2 inches) round in shape.
- You can also boil or microwave kabocha instead of steaming.
- When cooking in a frying pan, pressing the kabocha a little with a spatula will cook the entire surface, making it more fragrant and delicious.
- You can eat the kabocha skin, but you can remove it if you don’t like it.
Hi! This sounds so delicious. especially stuffed with cheese. I want to try it. I was wondering, tho, could I substitute mochiko flour for potato or corn starch? I’m curious to try..
Thanks for your comment, Lacey! I haven’t tried it with Mochiko yet, but since it’s rice flour and often used for making chewy desserts, it should work! Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
I have a lot of pumpkin steamed after we got an extra pumpkin on top of the ones we carved for Halloween. Recipe reminds me of similar dish I ate in Poland where I grew up we call them kluski or kopytka. Since I was familiar with preparation (Polish ones are usually made with mashed potato and potato starch) I just went fir it with my super watery pumpkin. A bit if extra starch and some coconut flour got me the consistency I needed. The sauce was really good with slight sweetness of the pumkin. Had some leftover japanese curry on the side. Tasty, filling with a hint of homemade Polish food nostalgia. The husband loved it, and I ll make it again. Perfect Halloween midweek dinner 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Happy cooking, and I hope you make it again soon!
this is such a great idea for kabocha squash! The simple ingredient list and easy preparation was great. The taste is so yummy. I took your suggestion to add cheese and I think I like it better that way (is there anything cheese doesn’t improve?). Thank you for the out-of-the-box use for kabocha!
Hi Julie, Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for trying the kabocha dango recipe!!
Hi! This is my first time seeing this interesting recipe, and would love to try it! However, I cannot eat starches. Do you think the potato starch can be replaced with something like coconut flour or a nut flour as a binder to hold the patties together? Without the starch, the texture will probably not be chewy and be more like a flat pancake?
Hi Sharon, Thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried but regular flour should work ok (less chewy though) so coconut flour or nut flour might be ok too. I hope it helps!
Can I use corn starch instead of potato starch?
Yes, you can!
Hi. I would like to make this, but I don’t have Mirin. Is that required for the sauce? Is there something non-alcoholic as a substitute? Thank you.
Hi Chava, thanks for your question! Mirin adds sweetness so you can add more sugar (1/2-1 Tbsp) instead or you can just omit it. I hope you will like the recipe!
I tried to make this recipe tonight but messed it up! The dough ended up really stretchy and mochi-like. I think I oversteamed the pumpkin so it was too wet and added too much potato starch. Very annoying as in the recipe they look delicious!
Hi Bron, Thanks for trying kabocha dango recipe! I’m sorry it didn’t come out good…I understand cos that happens to me many times too. This recipe is pretty simple so taste and texture is pretty depend on kabocha itself. Some kabocha contains more water and it’s so wet when it’s cooked. In that case, please add potato starch gradually. So I suggest try to pick a starchy kabocha when you go to a store. If the seeds are full and stringy pulp is tightly packed(if you buy cut kabocha), it is a sign that it’s aged good and starchy and sweet. I hope you will have a good result next time!
Flavor is great and the sauce is a wonderful recipe to have as well! So simple and so delicious. _/\_
Same happened to me, with an aged kabocha that was olive green and orange with dry pulp. My mistake though was to use a pressure cooker instead of a steamer. Maybe letting the squash sit in the water, plus the pressure, added too much moisture.
My solution was to spread it on an oiled baking sheet, 350°F oven for 20 minutes to dry out before then frying it in squares. Still a bit mochi-like inside, but better!
Hi Ricky! Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing your solution! That is a great idea 😉
I have written a children’s vegetable cookbook and have never heard of pumpkin Dango. Can you tell me where the name comes from and if this dish is served with anything else? I definitely will try it! I ailso have a children’s cooking column in Grandparents Day Magazine-4waystoyummy. Thank you very much!
Thanks for your comment! Children’s vegetable cookbook sounds great! Pumpkin dango(sweet dumpling) is local food from hokkaido(north island of japan) where is main produce area of pumpkin. It’s perfect snack for kids and our children love it. We usually eat as it is but sometime i cook it in miso soup or red been soup which is good too. Hope you like it!
You so much for this recipe! Does the steamed kabocha need to be cooled before adding starch? Thank you!
Hi Luka, thanks for your comment! No need to cool it down. It’s easier to add potato starch while kabocha is hot. I hope you enjoy the recipe!