Japanese Pork Buns
Fluffy steamed Japanese pork buns (nikuman) with a savory ground pork and leek filling. Makes 8 buns. Recipe originally inspired by kitchme.com.
🍽️ Makes 8
Ingredients
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Active dry yeast |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Sugar (for yeast) |
| 1/4 cup | 60 ml | All-purpose flour (for yeast) |
| 1/4 cup | 60 ml | Warm water (for yeast) |
| 1 1/2 cup | 360 ml | All-purpose flour |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | Salt |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | Sugar |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | Warm water |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Oil (avocado or other light oil) |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | Baking powder |
| 1/2 medium | Onion, chopped | |
| 1/2 large | Leek, white and light green part, chopped | |
| 1 clove | Garlic | |
| 4 oz | 115 g | Ground pork |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Soy sauce |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Sake |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | Sugar (filling) |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.6 ml | Salt (filling) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | Black pepper |
| — | Asian mustard or sriracha, to taste |
Instructions
- Mix together the yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup warm water in a stand mixer. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Into the yeast mixture, mix the remaining warm water, flour, salt, sugar and oil. Knead on medium-low speed until the dough comes together into one piece and the surface is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise 3 hours or until tripled in size.
- Sprinkle flour and baking powder evenly on the work surface and turn out the dough. Knead 5 minutes. Divide into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a slightly damp towel and let stand until doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the filling: in a bowl combine the ground pork, chopped onion, chopped leek, garlic, soy sauce, sake, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Bring one ball at a time to the work surface and flatten with your palm. With a rolling pin, roll into a 3-inch circle, keeping the center slightly thicker than the edge.
- Put 3 to 4 tbsp of filling in the center and bring the edge up, pleating and pinching with index finger and thumb to seal while pushing the filling in. Place each sealed bun on a parchment-lined steamer, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between them. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes.
- Bring water to a boil in a wok. Set the steamer rack of buns over it, making sure the water does not touch the steamer or buns. Cover and steam 15 minutes until the buns are fluffy and fully cooked. Remove the lid before turning off the heat to avoid water dripping onto the surface and forming yellowish blisters. Steam remaining batches. Enjoy!
To freeze: as soon as cooking is done, transfer to a ziplock bag or airtight container (separate with parchment) and freeze immediately. To reheat: microwave 30-60 seconds in the container, then re-steam 5 minutes; or place in a rice cooker on "warm" for about 1 hour (add a little water and a small rack if the cooker is empty).