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Japan, Asia · Nikuman (Japanese Steamed Pork Buns)

Crispy Nikuman Pork Toast with Karashi Mayo

The seasoned pork filling of a nikuman spread on bread and pan-fried until crisp: all the flavour of the steamed bun with no dough or steamer.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time24 min
Soaking the shiitake+ 20 min
DifficultyEasy

Method

  1. Soak the dried shiitake in warm water for 20 minutes. When soft, squeeze them dry and chop into 3 mm pieces.

    Add in this stepDried shiitake mushrooms 1

  2. Chop the onion into 3 mm pieces too. In a bowl, combine the pork, onion, shiitake, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, potato starch, salt and white pepper and work with your hand for about 1 minute, until sticky.

    Add in this stepMinced pork 120 gOnion 40 gGrated fresh ginger 1 tspSoy sauce 2 tspOyster sauce 1 tspSugar ½ tspToasted sesame oil 1 tspPotato starch 1 tspSalt 1 pinchGround white pepper 1 pinch

  3. Spread the pork mixture over one side of each slice of bread in an even layer about 7 mm thick, right to the edges, and press it on firmly with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the meat and press them in lightly.

    Add in this stepThick-sliced white bread (about 2 cm) 2Toasted sesame seeds 2 tsp

  4. Heat the oil in a 26 cm frying pan over medium heat, lay the toasts meat-side down and cook for . If two pans are shown, use two pans or cook in two batches. When the meat you can see along the sides of the bread has turned white and the underside is golden brown, it is time to flip.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbsp

    medium heat

  5. Turn the toasts over, reduce to medium-low heat and cook for more, until the bread is crisp. Cut into the centre to check there is no pink meat (75 °C in the middle); if it is underdone, flip back meat-side down for 1 to 2 minutes more.

    medium-low heat

  6. Mix the mayonnaise with the karashi, drizzle it over the meat and scatter over sliced spring onions. Cut each toast into four and eat hot.

    Add in this stepMayonnaise 2 tbspJapanese hot mustard (karashi) ½ tspSpring onions 10 g

Cook's tip

Keep the meat layer about 7 mm thick; any thicker and the bread burns before the pork is cooked. Spreading right to the edges stops the meat shrinking away from the bread as it cooks. If you have no karashi, English or Dijon mustard works.

Cooking it at camp

Make the pork mixture at home, pack it in a sealed tub in the cooler (4 °C or below), then spread it on the bread at camp and fry on a griddle or pan. If the burner heats unevenly, rotate the pan, and always check the pork is cooked through.