Nikuman
肉まん · butaman
Japanese steamed buns descended from Chinese baozi, commonly sold warm in convenience stores during colder months. Its Japanese name means “meat bun.”
About this dish
Japanese steamed buns descended from Chinese baozi, commonly sold warm in convenience stores during colder months. Its Japanese name means “meat bun.” The recipe here chooses one named variation from that wider tradition; household fillings, shapes and serving styles may differ.
Recipe
Japanese nikuman with pork and shiitake
Dough
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 170 ml lukewarm water
- 3 g instant yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 20 g sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
Filling
- 250 g ground pork
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and minced
- 100 g cabbage, chopped
- 1 scallion, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1
Dough: 300 g all-purpose flour; 170 ml lukewarm water; 3 g instant yeast; plus the remaining ingredients listed for this component. Knead dough ingredients 10 minutes; cover and rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Mix dry ingredients first, knead until elastic and cover during rising. Judge by doubled volume.
- 2
Filling: 250 g ground pork; 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and minced; 100 g cabbage, chopped; plus the remaining ingredients listed for this component. Squeeze cabbage and soaked mushrooms dry. Mix all filling ingredients until cohesive; refrigerate. Soak mushrooms until pliable, discard stems and squeeze dry. Finely chop cabbage and squeeze well. Keep filling chilled.
- 3
Deflate dough; divide into 8. Roll each into a 13 cm circle with a thicker center. Add an eighth of the filling, lift and pleat edges together, then seal the top. Thin rims more than bases, keep unused dough covered and seal the top firmly.
- 4
Put buns on parchment squares and proof 20 minutes. Steam over simmering water 18-20 minutes, until pork reaches 71°C/160°F. Turn off heat; wait 3 minutes before lifting the lid. Leave expansion room and time from steady steam. Keep the lid closed until the off-heat rest; check a filling center and open the lid away from buns.
Note
Leave plenty of room in the steamer. This Japanese version uses yeast plus baking powder and an uncooked filling, unlike the cooked-filling baozi recipe here.