Dango 101

Leaning against the archway to Dan’s workshop, Arsene waits for the owner with polite consideration. This wasn’t his usual M.O. but the buns back at the gang had a sweet tooth that was on par with their big boss and honestly, who was he to deny them their treats? Instead of spending carats on sweets, he figures he could learn a thing or two or even use this apprenticeship as a worthy side hustle. Well, that is if Dan found him worthy. Anything that required knowledge to be handed down meant needing someone who wouldn’t discard it on a dalliance; that much, Arsene could understand. Before he could delve further into his musings, Dan appears and regards him with a nod. He returns it and peels himself away, tailing after the other back inside.

“Hope I didn’t make you wait too long.” The response was to-the-point as Dan often was. The dango-making setup was made, ready before the duo. Every tool and ingredient was in their proper place, duplicated for Arsene to follow along.

“Not at all,” The teal bun responds, shrugging off his jacket to neatly hang on the nearby coat rack. “I am in no hurry. Besides, I can imagine the process to make these is about the same, right? No sense in rushiung through the process, however long it takes.”

With a satisfied grunt, Dan nods. “Yeah, that’s about right.” He gathers the ingredients together and waits until Arsene is beside him. When he is, he begins his dual explanation-demonstration. “If you rush through, it might not come out how you want it; how it should be. The consistency might be off and it’ll be a waste of ingredients.” He folds the rice flour over and over, building upon it with meticulous expertise. Arsene can only watch on in admiration and curiosity, sticking the instructions in his mind as best as he can. It doesn’t take more than a few more moments before he takes the ingredients laid out before him to mimic the other as best he can.

At first, it’s awkward and more taxing than he realizes. It’s sticky and elastic, almost to a frustrating degree. Dan provides very little advice, his stoic front giving nothing away as Arsene continues to knead. Eventually, he falls into a rhythm and finds his pacing, taking Dan’s nods as a sign of approval. They move on from kneading to rolling, then to placing the dango balls onto their sticks.

“Not bad right?” Dan inquires after a while, lighting a fire underneath a rectangular grill for the mochis to roast over. Arsene shakes his head, wiping away sweat from his brow while the owner finishes off.

“It was rewarding. You sure I can take all these back?” Arsene shoots back, reaching to flip over a danger closest to him. Dan nods and heads around to grab some glaze to-go, packing it up neatly for the teal bun to have.

“And what, sell these novice dangos? I don’t think so. Keep coming back and maybe I’ll have you help me with the real stuff.” Dan places the rest of the dangos into a container and hands it back to Arsene, who nods back with a small smile. With that, he takes his treats back to his companions, glad that he’s got the opportunity to return but also to spare their wallets from buying these for a while.