Celebrate Girls’ Day in Hawaii with Chi Chi Dango

HONOLULU (KHON2) – Hinamatsuri, better known as Girl’s Day or Doll Festival, is a public holiday in Japan celebrated annually on March 3rd. It is also observed in Hawaii.

To celebrate the day, locals often buy a sweet, soft, and chewy Japanese treat called chi chi dango.

‘Ono Hawaiian Recipes has a recipe and tips you can follow to make a local Hawaiian-Japanese version of these sweet treats. Behind the recipe is Maui native Tani Belliston, who said that making chi chi dango is different from making mochi, while sharing a similar flavor and gooey shape.

Chi Chi Dango uses mochiko flour and is very sticky. Mochi is made from rice that has been ground, steamed and pounded into a sticky ball.

The recipe below uses sugar, coconut milk, and coloring to give these treats a pastel-like color.

• 3 1/2 cups mochiko flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 2 cups of water
• 1 can (15 oz) coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• red and green food coloring (optional)
• Potato starch can replace cornstarch

• Mix the dry ingredients by sieving them in a large bowl; mochiko flour, sugar and baking powder. Put aside.
• Combine water and coconut milk. If the coconut milk is clumpy, try to break it up by mixing it thoroughly. Then add the vanilla extract.
• Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix it up well.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.

Tricolor mochi:

• Divide the batter evenly between three separate bowls. Put a few drops of red food coloring in a bowl. If it’s not light enough, add a few more drops. Repeat the same process for the green color. Leave a bowl untouched to get a white layer.
• Generously grease a 9×13-inch skillet. Pour in the green batter, making sure it’s evenly distributed in the pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and add the white layer. Cover with foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and add the pink layer. Cover with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Plain Mochi:

• Add a few drops of food coloring of your choice. Generously grease a 9×13-inch skillet. Pour in the batter, making sure it’s evenly distributed in the pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Sprinkle potato starch on the work surface. Remove the mochi from the pan and with a plastic knife, Cut mochi into bite-sized pieces. Roll pieces in potato starch and dust off excess. Serve and enjoy!

When you’re ready to pour the batter into the pan, grease it liberally! Spraying on grease works wonders, but if you’re careful with the product, trimming can work, too. Dab some of the shortening onto a paper towel and rub onto the pan.

Before putting the Chi Chi Dango in the oven, cover the pan with foil to avoid cracking the top.

Most of the recipes behind ‘Ono Hawaiian Recipes are created by Belliston. Some are family recipes and others are from old Hawaiian cookbooks that she modified to make her own.