Andagi is Okinawan's doughnut. It is like a cake donut in ball-form.
In Hawaii, with our diverse cultures, we are lucky and can eat both malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts) which are made from yeast, and andagi (Okinawan doughnuts) which like I said, are like cake donuts.
Since the weather has been on the cooler side, I figured that I wouldn't be able to make a yeast based dough, so I decided to try making andagi.
My overall problem was trying to keep the temperature at 150C (300F) to 160C (320F) on a candy thermometer.
In the end, most of the andagi got brown (some black) very quickly and the insides weren't cooked.
Not wanting to trash them, I stuck everything into the oven and baked them at 150C (300F) for about 30 minutes.
Here's the recipe if you'd like to try:
Sa-ta- andagi translated from "Obaa no sukina Okinawa chura ryoori" : makes about 15
300 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 medium eggs
200 grams sugar
1 tablespoon oil
oil for frying
1. Sift flour and baking powder, set aside
2. In another bowl, add the egg and sugar and mix without beating or adding air.
3. Put the dry into the wet, stirring as you go along, and when 80% of the dry has gone in, add the oil.
4. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in refrig for 30 minutes.
5. Heat oil to 150C (300F) to 160C (320F)
6. With a spoon scoop some batter then with wet hands, roll into a ball about 3 or 4 centimeters in diameter, then put into oil.
7. When frying a little "crack" in it may form, this is okay.
8. Poke with a bamboo skewer to check if done.
NOTES: In Hawaii, we call them "andagi" but in Okinawa they are known as "sah-tah-ahn-dah-ghi"...In Okinawan, "sa-ta-" is the word for sugar, "anda" means oil and "agi" means to fry.
I have often helped fry these but never made the batter myself.
I didn't roll the batter in wet hands because I was somehow afraid of having the oil splatter, plus the dough was really thick and sticky and I thought trying to roll it would make a big mess.
I also didn't have a bamboo skewer to test. I guess I could've used a chopstick but thought the hole would've been kind of big.
Like I said, I had problems with the temperature of the oil and most were uncooked, so I put everything into the oven to bake.
Texture-wise, these were good and I liked that it was not too sweet.
Next time I make these, I'm going to make them smaller so they cook more evenly, and maybe I'll use my hands like the recipe suggests.
Andagi is Okinawan's doughnut. It is like a cake donut in ball-form.
Here's the recipe if you'd like to try: 
Next time I make these, I'm going to make them smaller so they cook more evenly, and maybe I'll use my hands like the recipe suggests.
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Saturday evening, my Grandma wanted to go to the Pearl City Hongwanji's O-bon service so I took her.
I overheard that most of the food was sold out by about 19:00! 
Day 2 started with a buffet breakfast. Taro imo (like sato-imo, sometimes called dasheen) a thick potato soup with corn, cubed aloe with shi-quasa (sometimes called hirami lemon, is like a mix between a lime, lemon and orange), salad with goya (bittermelon), okinawan carrots, spam, egg, weiners made with ukon (tumeric), fried taro imo and beni-jagaimo, papayairichi(green papaya stirfried with chives and carrots).
We then went to the Churaumi Aquarium. Chura means beautiful in Okinawan and umi means ocean in Japanese. This aquarium is big! and has 3 jinbeizame (whale sharks). There were a lot of tropical fish and also some fish that we see in Hawaii fish markets. There were also some species that I've never seen before, like these chinanago (garden eels)--(eew sea worms!!)
Our next stop was the Yanbaru Anettaien, this garden area has a rainforest atmosphere with hego (fern) that are over 10 ft tall!
Lunch was Okinawan style bibimba (rice with Okinawan vegetables cooked in a stone bowl). Bibimba is actually a Korean dish. And aloe sashimi (sliced aloe). Aloe is quite bitter, but tasted good with a splash of lemon and soy sauce.
There was an area where you could try your hand at making chinsuko (Okinawan shortbread) and andagi (Okinawan donuts), I didn't get to try this but the man who was frying them gave me a free one to eat!
Blue Seal ice cream is also very popular in Okinawa. The American name is Foremost. I had Mint chocolate chip (since I can't find this flavor in Japan, not even at Haagen Datz) and Satoshi had beni-imo (red sweet potato).
Our first sight seeing stop was Shuri-jo (Shuri Castle). This castle is modeled after a castle in China. One thing you will notice is that there are a LOT of Chinese influences in Okinawa. 
In the Shuri-jo bathroom, there were shisa faucets. The shisa is a lion-like figure that is usually found at the entrances of Okinawan homes. The shisa on the right will usually have its mouth open. This symbolizes the male who is protecting the home. The shisa on the left will usually have its mouth closed. This symbolizes the female who "grabs" onto happiness and doesn't let it go. 
Since it is spring in Okinawa, there were lots of flowers, this was an area with a lot of impatiens.
Our next stop was Okashigoten, a large factory which makes a lot of Okinawan cookies and sweets. One item that they sold were andagi. Andagi is the Okinawan donut. These donuts are fried but no sugar is put on the outside. We tried 3 different kinds (From left clockwise: kokuto (black sugar), goma (sesame) and plain). Many Okinawan families have their own original recipes.
and have them cut in line to take their food...
