[Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipes: Kibi Dango from Yuri!!! on ICE

8:00 AM April 17, 2017

Yuri!!! on ICE basically destroyed the world in one fell swoop. On one side, the fujoshi were left screaming and frothing at the mouth over the very homoerotic relationship between Yuuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov. For once, a relationship between two men did not show one as an outfit away from being a woman, or a crying, messy uke who is not sure of what he wants. The other side left everyone with a rather engaging story that kept fans interested while Yuuri trained to get back on the ice and become a world champion. The best part too? Food is EVERYWHERE in this series. It’s in the cards before and after a commercial break as well as Yuuri is obsessed with Katsudon, a very famous Japanese dish.

In fact, food is what has made it a bit hard, among his mental state, for Yuuri to get back on the ice. He has gotten out of shape because of his desire to eat everything in sight when he did not do well and in general. Training hard, he gets his body back, but food is still everywhere. Today, we are going to be talking about another VERY cultural dish from Japan. It is a sweet known as Kibidango! Let’s go~!

Kibi Dango from Yuri!!! on ICE

Kibi dango is rooted all the way back in Japanese mythology. Originally hailing from Okayama Prefecture, it was a snack that has been traced back all the way to a shrine known as the Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama. The god of this shrine known as Kibitsuhiko, is known for killing ogres and supposedly is the Japanese folklore legend Momotarou. Yes, the boy that comes from the peach. While the recipe has evolved over the years and centuries that it has existed, the original were millet dumplings that were served at the request of the lord of Okayama castle. Today, it uses little to not millet but rather uses rice, syrup, starches, and sugar. So rather than something that would be dry, this is a rather sweet treat!

The widely held misconception about this dessert is that it was invented in the early Ansei era in 1856. Historians have tried to trace back further the history of this humble dessert often paired with green tea, but the problem is that it is hard to do so. Every path found has a slightly different story or the details behind it are murky. Whether the series does or does not reveal that Yuuri likes Kibi dango, we are almost sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would love it. Without further ado, we hope you are hungry because today we will be exploring how to make this Japanese wagashi (confection). Thankfully this recipe is rather easy and just requires some mixing.

What You Will Need:

Millet flour

2 tbsp

All-purpose flour

2 tbsp

beet sugar

1 teaspoon

salt

A pinch

water

½ cup

Kinako (Roasted Soybean flour)

Anko (Sweet red bean paste)

Optional Notes:

Want to be extra? Make double this recipe and form them into a medium sized ball about the size of two fingers bent in, and then put them on a stick or skewer. Then you just need to roll them in Kinako and dig in.

How to Cook It:

1
Mix both flours, the beet sugar, and salt together in a bowl.
2
Then with a rubber spatula, mix in the water bit by bit until it forms a thick mixture. If you add it all in at once, it will not taste good so be careful!
3
Form these into small round disc-like shapes no bigger than the size of your palm.
4
Bring water to a boil in a pot and then very slowly and carefully, drop the discs or mochi into the water. Be very, very careful here not to burn yourself. Use cooking chopsticks to lower them in or, even better, a soup ladle.
5
Make sure to break apart any mochi that may begin to stick together.
6
Once they have all begun to float on the surface of the boiling water, carefully remove them from the water and let them cool just slightly. A few minutes is all you need.
7
Generously or just lightly, coat them with the kinako powder and anko to your liking.
8
They are best warm, so as long as they are not too hot, dig in!

(Note: You do need to lower things into boiling water and then fetch them after. Please be VERY careful when you do this as even if you do not touch the water, the steam can still burn you. )

Yum!

Final Thought

Yuri!!! on ICE may be off the air, but this simple, traditional Japanese sweet can be enjoyed in season or off season. All you need it a little bit of time and then you can make these. Oddly too, these snacks are great for people who have high blood sugars, diabetes, or on diets as it is not going to send you into a sugar coma when it is finished. What are your thoughts on this delectable dish? Have you made it or heard about it before? Is there anything you want us to explain how to make? Let us know below. Till next time!

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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