When I was looking for Halloween themed food, I found Eyeballs made with Bocconcini (small Mozzarella balls) and Green & Black Olives. What a brilliant idea! I decided I was going to make my own Halloween Eyeballs. The first thing I thought about was Dango Dumplings, which are small white balls. I decorated with coloured dough. The sauce was delicious Mitarashi Sauce. These ‘Eyeballs’ are chewy and yummy.

Makes

24 Dango Eyeballs

Ingredients

150g Glutinous Rice Flour
50g Rice Flour
*Note: I used these Flours. You can use 200g ‘Shiratamako’ (Japanese Glutinous Rice Flour)

220ml Warm Water *approximately, can be less amount if ‘Shiratamako’ is used
Food Colour (Black, Blue, Green, Brown, etc.)
*I used Matcha Powder for green and Black Sesame Paste for black. You can use Soy Sauce for brown. There are many natural colour options.

Mitarashi Sauce
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Mirin
1 tablespoon Potato Starch OR Corn Starch
1/2 cup Water
Food Colour (Red) *optional

Method
  1. Combine Glutinous Rice Flour and Rice Flour in a mixing bowl, add Warm Water gradually, mix and knead to achieve the firmness of the dough same as firmness of your earlobe. (*This is traditionally taught.) It is a bit dry to the touch. Roll into 2-3cm size balls. Save a small amount for decoration.
  2. *Note: Rolled balls should not touch each other as they will stick to each other.
  3. Add a very small amount of green colour (OR colour of your choice) to the saved dough and mix well. Adjust the firmness by adding extra Flour or Water. *Note: I used Matcha Powder, so I added extra Water, but only a very small amount.
  4. Make 7-8mm size balls, and save a small amount of dough to make the pupil. Flatten each ball into a thin round, and place each round on an eyeball. Using a chopstick, make a small hole in the centre.
  5. Add a very small amount of black colour to the saved coloured dough. Make 2-3mm size balls. Place each ball in the hole that you made in the centre of the coloured dough. Roll each eyeball to smooth the surface.
  6. Cook the dango dumplings in rapidly boiling water. When the dumplings are floating, cook a few more minutes, then drain and place them in icy cold water to cool.
  7. Place all Mitarashi Sauce ingredients in a saucepan, stir well, and cook over medium heat, constantly stirring, until thick. *Note: You may wish to add red colour to make the sauce look like blood.
  8. Pour the sauce into a serving deep plate, arrange the dumplings, and serve.