Chichi Dango (Hawaiʻi Local Mochiko Candy for Girls' Day)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Two 8-inch square metal baking pans, or one 9-by-13-inch metal pan for a single-color batch
• •Fine-mesh sieve for smoothing batter and dusting starch
• •Plastic knife or bench scraper for cutting sticky mochi

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pans

   Heat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch square metal pans, line them with foil or parchment with overhang, and grease the lining too. Chichi dango is friendly after starch hits it, but before that it's all grip, so give yourself help now.

2. 2

   Whisk the dry

   In a large bowl, whisk the mochiko, sugar, baking powder, and salt until the sugar is even and no flour pockets are hiding. Mochiko clumps once the liquid hits, like wet sand getting stubborn, so break it up while it's still dry.

3. 3

   Pour the milks

   Whisk the coconut milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Pour the milks into the dry mixture and whisk from the center outward until the batter is pourable and glossy, like heavy cream. If you see stubborn lumps, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve. No shame in clean batter.

4. 4

   Tint and divide

   Divide the batter evenly between two bowls. Leave one bowl white. Tint the other with red food coloring one drop at a time until it turns gentle Girls' Day pink, not neon. Pour each color into its own prepared pan and tap the pans lightly on the counter to settle the batter.

5. 5

   Bake covered

   Cover each pan tightly with greased foil, doming it a little so it doesn't rest on the batter. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, rotating once, until the centers are set, shiny, and spring back softly under a fingertip. A skewer should come out with sticky crumbs, not thin batter.

   Glass pans bake slower than metal. If the center still moves like liquid, give it another 10 minutes and check again. No blame the dango. It just needs its time.
6. 6

   Cool completely

   Set the pans on a rack, remove the foil, and cool at least 2 hours, until the slabs are room temperature all the way through. Warm mochi tears and grabs at the knife. Cool mochi cuts clean. Patience again, even for candy.

7. 7

   Dust and cut

   Sift potato starch over a cutting surface. Lift out each slab, peel away the lining, and dust the tops and sides. Use a plastic knife or bench scraper dusted in starch to cut 1-inch squares, dusting every fresh sticky edge as you go.

8. 8

   Tray and share

   Mix the pink and white squares in a wax-paper-lined tray or cookie tin. Brush off heavy clumps of starch, but leave enough so fingers don't stick. Serve at room temperature, the way it sits on a mochi-shop counter, soft and quiet and ready for one more hand.

Chef Tips

• •Use a metal pan if you have one. It gives a cleaner set than glass, and the middle catches up without the edges getting tough.
• •Go easy on the coloring. Girls' Day pink should look soft, like the auntie who made it had restraint, yeah?
• •Potato starch gives the cleanest finish, but cornstarch works when that's what you have. Eat what you have. Just dust lightly so the candy tastes like mochi, not powder.
• •For a dairy-free batch, replace the evaporated milk with a second can of full-fat coconut milk plus 1/4 cup water. It will taste more coconut-rich, and it still belongs in the Hawaiʻi Local kitchen.

Advance Preparation

• •Bake chichi dango the morning of the celebration or the day before; it needs at least 2 hours to cool before cutting.
• •Store cut squares airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days, with wax paper between layers. The refrigerator makes them firmer, so use it only if your kitchen is very warm.
• •For the cleanest tray, bake ahead, cool fully, then dust and cut the day you plan to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 33g)