[Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture] What is Hecchoko Dango? Detailed explanation from the meaning of the name to how to make it

In the days when agriculture was not mechanized, the moment when a year's work came to an end was probably a happy time for farmers to finally take a breather.

we will explain in detail Hecchoko Dango , a traditional dish from Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture that brightens up those moments

Hecchoko Dango ?

is one made in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture, when farmers close their gardens after finishing their outside work and moving on to work in the mountains. Roll each piece of flour into a ball, make a dent in the center, and add it to the boiling red bean soup.

The name "hecchoko dango" comes from the fact that the shape of the dango, which is concave in the middle, resembles a hecchoko (belly button), and because it is a way to express gratitude for one's hard work in farming over the past year. It is said that there are.

It is also called `susuri dango' because the shiruko is slurped ``ukiuki dango'' because it floats in the shiruko when boiled

At the end of the garden, we used new glutinous rice from the rice field to make it sticky in the fall, and offered it to the gods along with sake and appetizers to thank the gods for the harvest and for the health of our families and the ability to work for a year.

In order to reward the hard work of the whole family, the housewives of the farm work hard to gather all the ingredients they can to make a feast, and one of the dishes they make at that time is hecchoko dango.

Nowadays, it is made as a hospitality dish and featured on the menu of school lunches in Ninohe City, and its taste has been passed down from generation to generation.

Link: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries “Our Local Cuisine” – Hecchoko Dango/Ukiuki Dango

Why don't you use Joshinko or Shiratamako for Hecchoko Dango

Hecchoko dango uses kakibi flour, mochiawa flour, and inakiki flour as ingredients, but why don't they use joshinko or shiratama flour, which are commonly used as ingredients for dango?

Ninohe City was originally severely damaged by yamase, and there was a culture of eating the following types of grains in order to save on rice.

  • Hie
  • bubbles
  • Soba
  • millet
  • amaranth
  • wheat
  • Takakibi

These grains can be cooked as whole grains, used as flour, or made into rice cakes, and are transformed into a variety of dishes through creativity, one of which is Hecchoko Dango.

Because rice cannot be harvested in abundance in Ninohe City, when making hecchoko dango, it was not possible to use joshinko, which is made from glutinous rice, or shiratamako, which is made from glutinous rice. It can be said that a rich food culture using miscellaneous grains such as dango was born.

How to make hecchoko dango

I will show you how to make traditional hecchoko dango.

Ingredients (for 1 person)

<Dango>

  • Takakibi powder (30g)
  • Boiling water for Takakibi powder (1 tablespoon)
  • Mochiawa powder (15g)
  • Boiling water for glutinous flour (1 teaspoon)
  • Millet powder (15g)
  • Boiling water (1 tsp) for powdered chives
  • salt (a little)

<Red bean soup>

  • Red beans (30g)
  • Water (130ml)
  • sugar (1 tablespoon)
  • salt (a little)

How to make

  1. Soak beans in water overnight
  2. Boil the soaked red beans
  3. Strain the boiled azuki beans to make a strained bean paste, add sugar and salt to make azuki bean soup (you can also use grained bean paste if you like)
  4. Add a pinch of salt to the takabi flour, add boiling water, mix, and knead until it is as soft as an earlobe.
  5. Roll it into a 2cm ball and press the center with your index finger to make a navel-like indentation.
  6. Use the same procedure to make dangling with glutinous flour and inakiki flour.
  7. Heat the red bean soup and bring it to a boil, then add the dango, and when the dango floats to the surface, it's done.

When making red bean soup, the trick is to make it a little looser and to use less sugar to bring out the original flavor of the grains.

summary

Hecchoko dango is one of the ceremonial foods made in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture, when farmers close their gardens after finishing their outside work and moving on to work in the mountains.It is a festival food that is made to show that the farmers have been able to successfully farm for a year. I learned that it is a dish that is served at the end of the garden to express gratitude.

If you want to experience the rich grain food culture of Ninohe City, please give it a try.

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