Mitarashi Dango

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Combine Shiratamako, Joshinko, and sugar in a bowl.
3. Stir in warm water a little at a time and knead slowly until the dough is smooth. The texture should be like an 'ear lobe' (how the tenderness of this mochi is described in Japanese).
4. Divide into 2 equal pieces, then work down until you have 8 balls; divide each into 3 equal balls for 24 pieces total.
5. Gently place the dango into a large pot of boiling water.
6. The dango will sink first, then float to the surface. Once floating, cook 1 minute, remove and transfer to ice water.
7. Drain well and thread three pieces onto each bamboo skewer.
8. On the stovetop, grill the skewered dango over direct medium-high heat for 4 minutes, rotating slowly to char (or heat a lightly oiled pan and grill on it).
9. For the sauce, combine sugar, soy sauce, mirin and water in a saucepan. Stir occasionally and bring to a boil.
10. Once boiling, add the cornstarch-and-water mixture and stir until dissolved. When the sauce thickens, turn off the heat.
11. Place the dango on a plate and brush with the sweet soy sauce. Serve with green tea.

Notes: Shiratamako is made from sweet/glutinous Japanese short-grain rice and Joshinko from regular short-grain rice; combining them gives the right texture (shiratamako alone tends to be too soft). To keep dango: freeze formed raw dango up to a month (boil frozen without defrosting); or freeze cooled cooked dango up to a month (microwave to room temp); or keep a few hours in ice water or refrigerated water.