Ikinaridango

Ikinaridango is a sweet that is famous in Kumamoto prefecture. It's made of a slice of sweet potato and a dab of anko (red bean paste) wrapped in a dough and steamed.

Today I made these with the second grade students at my small elementary school. For science class they grew vegetables, including about a million sweet potatoes and two giant (even by American standards) pumpkins. To use some of the potatoes the kids spent the morning making these treats. When I didn't have class, I helped them out. It was fun and the dango where delicious!