In mid-autumn, under the full moon, the Japanese celebrate the harvest and marvel at the passing of seasons, and this festival is called Tsukimi (お月見), the Mid-Autumn Festival (Chushu no Meigetsu 中秋の名月). On this day, we display Tsukimi Dango (月見団子) by stacking fifteen rice dumplings in a special pyramid arrangement on a tray. Today I’ll show you how to make dango and arrange them for the display.
What You Need to Make Tsukimi Dango
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dangoko (Japanese rice dumpling flour) Water Kabocha squash
It’s really easy to make dango, and I talked in detail about the type of flour available to make a dango in this post. Unlike typical dango which is served on a bamboo skewer, Tsukimi Dango is plain rice dumplings. You will need 15 rice dumplings for the display for the Tsukimi festival. And my recipe will make between 16-17 equal-sized dumplings. To represent the full moon, I make a yellow dango to put on top of the pyramid. The yellow color comes from kabocha squash, which is in season between the late summer to fall. You can use other types of squash, but kabocha is bright orange in color that is perfect to mix in with the dough. You will only need a small amount as you make just two balls.
How to Arrange Tsukimi Dango
I used a black plate so that the white dango will stand out more, but if you do not have a black plate, you can use a darker tray or any other color that looks great for the display. You will put 9 balls on the bottom of the pyramid arrangement, placing 3 x 3. Then for the second layer, you put 4 balls (2 x 2), followed by the 2 yellow balls on top. Tsukimi Dango can be displayed along with decorations such as pampas grass (susuki), bush clover (hagi), and autumnal flowers near windows from which the moon can be seen. Rabbits are also associated with this festival as the Japanese believe that they inhabit the moon. So Mr. JOC also folded an origami rabbit for me following this YouTube video tutorial. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this holiday with your family and friends! Happy Otsukimi!
Other Recipes to Make for Celebrating Tsukimi
Simmered Kabocha Kabocha Salad Chestnut Rice Yaki Imo (Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes) Sweet Potato Rice Japanese Sweet Potatoes
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