INGREDIENTS
For the Dough
For the Filling
DIRECTIONS
Dough
Put 300 g all-purpose flour (plain flour), 20 g sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp instant yeast, and 1 Tbsp neutral oil in a large bowl. While mixing the ingredients with chopsticks or a wooden spoon, slowly pour 160–170 ml water into the bowl and mix with the other ingredients until they are incorporated and there are no dry spots of flour left in the bowl. Tip: Start with 160 ml water and only add the rest if you need it to achieve the right dough consistency. You may need more or less depending on the humidity of your environment.
Lightly dust your hand with flour to keep the dough from sticking too much. Use your hand to knead the dough in the bowl, pressing it down and reshaping it until you can form it into a ball.
Sprinkle a working surface with flour. Transfer the dough onto the surface and start kneading. This is how I knead: First, press the top half of the dough, pushing forward slightly. Then pull it back and fold it in half and press it forward again with the heel of your hand twice. Then, turn the dough slightly, about 30 degrees, and repeat this process. Continue turning and kneading the dough for 10–15 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and silky. Sprinkle the dough with a little bit of flour at a time to help decrease the stickiness.
Form the dough into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking the loose ends underneath. Coat the bottom of the bowl with oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 30–60 minutes.
Filling
While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, make the filling. First, soak 2 dried shiitake mushrooms in 120 ml water. Place something heavy on top to completely submerge the shiitake. Set aside to rehydrate for 10–15 minutes.
Thinly slice 1 green onion/scallion. Remove the tough core of 4 leaves green cabbage and chop the leaves into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces.
Sprinkle the chopped cabbage with 1 tsp salt to draw out the excess water.
Once the shiitake mushrooms are rehydrated, squeeze the liquid out, cut off the tough stems, and mince the mushroom tops.
In a large bowl, combine 340 g ground pork, the sliced scallion, and the minced shiitake mushrooms. Squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage with your hands and add it to the bowl.
Grate the ginger and add 1 1/2 tsp ginger, grated (with juice), to the pork mixture. Then, add 1 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch, and freshly ground black pepper.
Knead the mixture until it is well combined and looks pale and sticky. Set it aside (or cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge) until the dough is ready.
Form the buns
Once the dough has doubled in size, place it on the work surface that you‘ve dusted with flour. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and then roll each piece into a log. Cut each log into 5 equal pieces and then cut each piece in half. You should have 20 pieces of dough. You can divide the dough into fewer pieces of dough to make bigger buns, if you wish. However, it‘s easier to work with a smaller piece of dough to make nice pleats when you wrap because it‘s hard to hold a big piece of dough plus filling in one hand. Form each piece of dough into a ball and dust the dough balls with flour to keep them from sticking to each other. Space each ball apart and cover loosely with a damp kitchen cloth to avoid drying out. Let them rest for 10 minutes.
Take a ball of dough and flatten it with your palm. Then roll it with a rolling pin into a round wrapper. Here’s how I roll the dough: Hold the top of the dough with your left hand and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough with your right hand. You only need to roll up and down on the bottom half of the dough. After rolling 1–2 times, rotate the dough about 30 degrees with the left hand. Repeat this process until the dough becomes thin. The center of dough should be thicker than the edge.
Scoop 1 1/2 Tbsp of filling (I use this 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop) and place it in the center of the dough.
Hold the dough with your left hand and seal the bun using your right index finger and thumb. First, pick up a corner of the dough with your right index finger and thumb and pinch together (left picture). Without moving your thumb, use your right index finger to pick up more dough and pinch it with your thumb while rotating the dough clockwise with your left hand (right picture).
Repeat this process about 10–12 times (for 10–12 pleats) until you seal the bun closed by pleating and pinching the last piece of dough tightly. Tips: Your left thumb should hold down the filling while you use your left fingers to turn the wrapper. Use your left index finger to help pleat the dough. Also, lift up the pinched pleats slightly while you make a new pleat so the filling stays inside the dough.
Once you finish sealing the last part of the dough, twist the pleats further with your right index finger and thumb to maintain a tight seal. If you’re left-handed, reverse the directions.
Easy Alternative Option: Wrap the filling by bringing the dough up around the meat to the top, forming little pleats with the excess dough, then slightly twisting the dough to close it and pinching it firmly to join the edges.
Place the bun on a square piece of parchment paper that fits the bun. Cover the finished buns with plastic wrap and repeat this process with the rest of the dough. Let the buns rest for 20 minutes.
Steam
Bring water to a boil in a large wok (or a pot) and set a steamer on top. Once the water is boiling, place the buns with their parchment paper squares in the steamer tray, leaving about 2 inches between each bun (as they will get larger while steaming). Close the lid and steam over high heat for 10 minutes for small buns (or 13 minutes for medium buns and 15 minutes for large buns). If you use a regular pot for steaming, wrap the lid with a kitchen cloth to prevent the condensation (formed on the lid) from dripping onto the buns.
Serve
Serve the hot Nikuman with soy sauce and Japanese karashi hot mustard on the side. Enjoy immediately.
Store
The buns keep well in the fridge until the next day and freeze well after steaming. Wrap them in plastic wrap and then pack them in freezer bags; I suggest to consume them within 1 week for the best flavor and freshness. To reheat, steam the frozen buns for a couple of minutes.