Nikuman (Japanese Steamed Pork Buns)
Fluffy white buns filled with a juicy pork, shiitake and bamboo-shoot filling: the classic Japanese winter snack, made at home.
Method
First put the dried shiitake to soak in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder and salt. Pour in the warm water (about 35 °C, comfortably warm to the touch) and the oil and stir into a shaggy dough, then knead on the counter for until smooth, soft and no longer sticky. Return it to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for about 40 minutes, until it has grown to about one and a half times its size.
Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 140 gSugar (for the dough) 14 gInstant dried yeast ½ tspBaking powder ½ tspSalt (for the dough) 1 pinchWarm water (for the dough) 75 mlVegetable oil or lard (for the dough) 2 tsp
Squeeze the shiitake dry and chop them finely with the onion and bamboo shoots (3–4 mm pieces). In a bowl, mix the pork with the salt, soy sauce, sake, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger and pepper, and work it hard with your hand for about 1 minute until sticky. Add the chopped vegetables, potato starch and sesame oil and mix well. Keep the filling in the fridge until you shape the buns; cold filling is easier to wrap.
Add in this stepMinced pork 120 gOnion 50 gDried shiitake mushrooms 1Boiled bamboo shoots 30 gGrated fresh ginger 1 tspSoy sauce 2 tspOyster sauce 1 tspSugar (for the filling) 1 tspCooking sake 2 tspPotato starch 2 tspToasted sesame oil 1 tspSalt (for the filling) 1 pinchGround black pepper 1 pinch
Press the air out of the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces; divide the filling into the same number of portions. Roll each piece of dough into a 12 cm circle, a little thicker in the middle than at the edge. Put the filling in the centre, gather the edge in small pleats with your thumb and forefinger all the way round, and pinch the top tightly closed. Set each bun on an 8 cm square of baking paper, cover with a cloth and let rise for , until slightly puffy.
Fill the steamer pot with water, cover and bring to the boil over high heat. Set the buns in the steamer at least 3 cm apart, as they expand; if they don't all fit, use two tiers. Wrap the lid in a tea towel so drips don't land on the buns, then steam over medium-high heat for . Don't open the lid while they steam.
high heat→medium-high heatTurn off the heat and leave the lid on for more; opening it straight away can make the buns wrinkle. Cut one open: the filling should be piping hot with no pink meat (75 °C in the centre). Serve hot with a little karashi and soy sauce for dipping.
Add in this stepJapanese hot mustard (karashi), to serve ½ tsp
Cook's tip
If the dough feels dry, add water a teaspoon at a time; if it is too sticky, add a little flour. A warm spot such as an oven with just the light on is ideal for rising. Cooled buns freeze well: steam them from frozen for 10 to 12 minutes.
Cooking it at camp
Shape and steam the buns at home, cool them and carry them in the cooler. At camp, reheat them in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water on a burner for 8 to 10 minutes, or wrap them in foil and warm them at the edge of the grill, turning, until hot right through.