Miyazaki Prefecture
Futatabi dango

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- Main lore areas
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Northern part of the prefecture (coastal area)
- Main ingredients used
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yawami, wheat flour, bean jam, mugwort
- History/origin/related events
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Nobeoka City, located in the northeastern part of Miyazaki Prefecture and facing the Sea of Hyuga to the east with five rivers flowing through it, is rich in nature and has a popular snack called "Futatabi Dango" among the locals.
The process begins with mixing glutinous rice flour and wheat flour in the ratio of 6 to 4, adding water, and kneading until the mixture is as soft as earlobes. The key to making "futatabi dango" lies in this process, which is also the origin of its name. In the usual process of making dango, the dough is kneaded only once, but in "Futatabi-dango," the dough is first kneaded and then kneaded again. The resulting dough is very soft and fluffy. Finally, the dough is filled with a special sweet bean paste and sprinkled with soybean flour. The "Futatabi Dango," fragrant with fresh mugwort, is a bright, young grass color.
Yawami" used for dango is a dango flour blended with glutinous rice flour and Kamishinko, which makes dango softer in texture than regular dango flour.
- Opportunities and times of eating habits
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Since ancient times, mugwort has been eaten as a medicinal herb, roasted, or used to remove odors due to its antiseptic properties. The tender leaves of mugwort come out in early spring, and "futatabi dango" is often made during this time of year.
- How to eat
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Mix yawami with flour and water, knead until the mixture is as soft as an earlobe, then wrap the yomogi in the flour and boil it in a pot of boiling water. After boiling, put the mixture into a mortar and pestle, add a pinch of salt, and knead so that the color of the mugwort covers the whole dough. Take a ball about the size of a ping pong ball, fill it with bean jam, roll it up, and sprinkle soybean flour on it. The result is a soft, young grass-colored dumpling with the aroma of mugwort.
- Efforts for Preservation and Succession
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(Outline of the people who have passed on the dumpling, preservation groups, use of SNS, and modern efforts such as commercialization, etc.)
Although there are fewer opportunities to make dumplings at home because yomogi leaves are not as abundant as they used to be, the Igata Morning Market Group of the Igata Branch of the JA Nobeoka Women's Club has been selling fresh produce and a variety of processed products including "futatabi dango" at the morning market that has been held for 25 years.