No-Yeast, Fluffy Homemade Pork Buns (Nikuman) with Baking Powder

Name: No-Yeast, Fluffy Homemade Pork Buns (Nikuman) with Baking Powder
Yield: Makes 4 buns
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 150 grams); scant 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/3 cup water (80 ml); 1 small amount of sesame oil; 3 1/2 ounces ground pork (about 100 grams); 1/4 onion, finely chopped; as needed Bamboo shoots in water, finely chopped,; 2 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped; Grated garlic, to taste; Grated ginger, to taste; 1/2-1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon sake (or dry sherry); 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules; 1 pinch black pepper

uta5 @cook_40057998

These buns have a fluffy dough and juicy pork filling! They take less time and effort than you might think. If you don't have a steamer, you can use the microwave—see the "Tips & Points" section.

Recipe Background:
I wanted to eat juicy pork buns packed with flavor.
*On 2009/02/07, I updated the photos to celebrate this recipe becoming popular.

These buns have a fluffy dough and juicy pork filling! They take less time and effort than you might think. If you don't have a steamer, you can use the microwave—see the "Tips & Points" section.

Recipe Background:
I wanted to eat juicy pork buns packed with flavor.
*On 2009/02/07, I updated the photos to celebrate this recipe becoming popular.

uta5 @cook_40057998

These buns have a fluffy dough and juicy pork filling! They take less time and effort than you might think. If you don't have a steamer, you can use the microwave—see the "Tips & Points" section.

Recipe Background:
I wanted to eat juicy pork buns packed with flavor.
*On 2009/02/07, I updated the photos to celebrate this recipe becoming popular.

These buns have a fluffy dough and juicy pork filling! They take less time and effort than you might think. If you don't have a steamer, you can use the microwave—see the "Tips & Points" section.

Recipe Background:
I wanted to eat juicy pork buns packed with flavor.
*On 2009/02/07, I updated the photos to celebrate this recipe becoming popular.

Saved

Ingredients

Makes 4 buns

Dough
1 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour (about 150 grams)
scant 1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoonsugar
1/2 teaspoonsalt
1/3 cupwater (80 ml)
1small amount of sesame oil
Filling
3 1/2 ouncesground pork (about 100 grams)
1/4onion, finely chopped
as neededBamboo shoots in water, finely chopped,
2shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
Grated garlic, to taste
Grated ginger, to taste
1/2-1 tablespoonsoy sauce
1/2 tablespoonoyster sauce
1 tablespoonsake (or dry sherry)
1 teaspoonsesame oil
1/2 teaspoonchicken bouillon granules
1 pinchblack pepper

Saved

Steps

1

Add all the dough ingredients to a bowl and mix with a spatula until combined into a rough dough.
2

Dust your work surface with a little extra flour (not listed in ingredients) and knead the dough for about 2–3 minutes.
3

Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature. While the dough rests, prepare the filling.
4

In a bowl, combine the ground pork and all the ingredients marked with ★. Mix well until the pork turns pale and sticky.
5

Add the chopped onion, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, and ginger to the pork mixture and mix until combined.
6

If you want to save time, you can put all the filling ingredients and seasonings into a food processor and pulse until mixed.
7

Set up your steamer. Add water and bring it to a boil.
8

Divide the rested dough into 4 equal pieces. (The photo shows a double batch, so there are more pieces.)
9

Cut parchment paper into squares to use under each bun when steaming (see photo in step 8).
10

Roll out each piece of dough from step 8. The dough is very stretchy, but it's best to leave it a little thick.
11

Place the filling in the center of each dough round, then seal the edges tightly and place each bun on a piece of parchment paper. Make sure to seal well so they don't open while steaming.
12

If sealing the buns neatly is difficult, you can place the seam side down, like a mochi, to help keep them closed.
13

Arrange the buns in the steamer, leaving space between them since they will expand as they cook.
14

As they steam, the buns will puff up like this. If you don't have a steamer, you can use a wok with a steaming rack or a similar setup. Steamer racks are available at dollar stores and similar shops.
15

Cover the steamer and steam the buns for 15–20 minutes until cooked through.
16

The filling is well-seasoned, but feel free to dip the buns in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar or add mustard to taste.
17

Be careful—the buns are filled with hot, juicy broth that can squirt out. Let them cool a bit before serving to small children.
18

If you have leftover meat sauce, you can mix in plenty of cheese and make pizza buns, as shown in the photo!
19

On 2009/2/7, this recipe became popular! Thank you so much to everyone who made it!