Nikuman
A yeasted bun proved twice and steamed white, with the filling set firm by chilling.
Pork. Not vegetarian — contains oyster sauce, pork.
Ingredients
dough
- 400 g plain flour
- 40 g caster sugar
- 6 g instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 220 ml warm water
filling
- 400 g minced pork
- 100 g bamboo shoots, finely diced
- 4 shiitake, soaked and diced
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 20 g ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon potato starch
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Method
- A YEASTED BUN PROVED TWICE, which is the whole difference from the manju on this site. Manju is a thin unleavened skin stretched round a sweet filling and steamed in twelve minutes; this is bread -- fluffy, thick, savoury, and it needs two hours.
- BAKING POWDER AS WELL AS YEAST. The yeast gives flavour and the lift, the baking powder gives the final burst in the steamer that makes the surface smooth and white rather than wrinkled.
- CHILL THE FILLING UNTIL FIRM, at least an hour. The potato starch and the cold set it solid enough to handle; a loose filling soaks the dough from inside and the base goes gummy.
- Beat the filling against the bowl 2 minutes until tacky, then chill.
- Dough: everything mixed and kneaded 10 minutes to a smooth soft dough. Prove 1 hour until doubled.
- Knock back, divide into 10, rest 15 minutes.
- Roll each into a disc THICKER IN THE MIDDLE than at the edge. An even disc gives a thick base and a thin crown that splits.
- Filling in, then gather the edge up in pleats, turning as you go, and pinch the top closed with a twist.
- Each on its own square of paper. SECOND PROVE 30 minutes.
- Steam 15 minutes over a rolling boil with a cloth under the lid. Then heat off and wait 3 minutes before lifting it -- a sudden draught wrinkles and collapses them.
Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.
Filed under Japan · All recipes