Nikuman (肉まん), also known as Bāozi in China and Pork Buns in the West, are the Asian equivalent to sandwiches. With a savory meat and vegetable filling wrapped in dough and steamed, these Japanese pork buns make a complete meal that can be eaten on the go without utensils.
While convenient, I've always been a little wary of the mystery-meat filled steamed Japanese pork buns you can buy at the store. They taste good, but the bleached white dough is often too sweet, the skimpy filling a little prepubescent, and the unidentifiable meat inexplicably pink.
On a recent trip to Kyoto, I made the mistake of boarding a noon train without buying lunch. By the time the bullet train reached Kyoto station I was ready to start gnawing on the seat in front of me. It didn't help that the guy sitting next to me had brought on a bento box and a tallboy of beer.
As I entered the station from the platform, the sweet smell of pork perfumed the air. Led by my nose like a bloodhound, I soon found myself standing in front of a stall called Horai 551, in line with a bunch of other hungry travelers.
I don't know if it was my hunger or Horai 551's recipe, but it was one of the best Japanese pork buns I'd ever had. With a relatively thin bun and incredibly soft and juicy filling redolent of onions, I ended up back in line for a second Nikuman.
I've been trying to recreate Horai 551's Nikuman since that trip, getting closer with each batch. Today's batch not only met my expectations, I dare say these steamed Japanese pork buns are better than Horai's. The filling is moist and tender with loads of umami flavor coming from the meat, mushrooms and onions. The fluffy, mildy sweet bun is a wonderful contrast to the dense texture of the savory filling.
The trick is to use a mixture of ground pork and sliced pork belly; the extra fat ensures that your filling is juicy. The trouble is, too much juice, and your bun gets soggy. That's where the cornstarch and egg white comes in. They not only act as a tenderizer, they also help bind the juices to the meat so they don't absorb into the bun, creating that perfect contrast in textures which makes Japanese pork buns so pleasurable to eat.
This recipe makes 8 large meal-sized buns, but you can just divide everything into 16 segments to make appetizer sized Japanese pork buns that are perfect for bringing to potlucks.
They're best straight out of the steamer, but they do take a bit of time to make, so I like to make a large batch and freeze them. Nikuman keeps for about a month in the freezer. To bring them back to life, just wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave for a few minutes for nearly instant gratification.
Other Japanese-Chinese Favorites
- Shumai
- Harumaki (Japanese Spring Rolls)
- Japanese Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Best Japanese Gyoza
- Chili Shrimp (Ebi Chili)
- Yakimeshi (Japanese Fried Rice)
Recipe
Best Nikuman (Japanese Pork Buns)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup warm water ~ 120° F or 48°C
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 5 scallions or green onions (white part only, minced)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 300 grams pork belly (thinly sliced, then roughly chopped)
- 100 grams ground pork
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated, then chopped)
- 2.5 centimeters fresh ginger (grated, about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons potato starch (halve is using cornstarch)
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Mix the 500 grams all-purpose flour, 100 grams granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder together in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, then pour in the 1 cup warm water and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and combine. When the ingredients are combined, affix the bowl to a mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead until the dough is elastic and shiny. You can also knead the dough by hand if you don't have a mixer.
- Form the dough into a ball and put it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until its doubled in size (about 1 hour). Cut 8 squares of parchment paper to place the buns on for steaming.
- While you're waiting for the dough to rise, make the filling. Sauté the 1 medium onion and 5 scallions or green onions with the 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil in a pan over medium heat until translucent, but not browned. Set them aside to cool.
- In a bowl, combine the 300 grams pork belly, 100 grams ground pork, 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, 2.5 centimeters fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sake, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons potato starch and 1 egg white and knead well with your hands (gloves are advisable), add the cooled onions and continue kneading until the meat is shiny and well combined.
- Punch down the dough and roll it into a log. Cut the log into 8 even pieces and form each piece into a ball. Space the balls apart on a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to divide the meat filling into 8 pieces. With your hands or a rolling pin, flatten a piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper until it's about the size of the piece of paper, and then scoop ⅛th of the meat filling onto the middle of the dough.
- Pinch one edge of the dough with your right hand and twist it up towards the center of the bun. Use your left hand to hold the flap in place. Repeat about 10 times, always bringing the flap up to your left hand and pinching together with the past flaps. Place each finished bun on a square of parchment paper.
- Cover the finished buns with a damp towel to keep them from drying out. Fill a steamer with water and boil the water. Place a few buns into a bamboo steamer, being careful not to overcrowd it as the buns will expand.
- Place the bamboo steamer over the pot of boiling water.
- Steam the buns for 15 minutes. Depending on your steamer setup it may take a little more time, so split one open at 15 minutes to make sure it's cooked through, or test filling with an instant read thermometer. It should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or 74 degrees Celsius. Serve the nikuman with spicy mustard, hot sauce, or vinegar.
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Amy says
Unless, of course, you make dousha baozi!
Marc Matsumoto says
They need to be steamed first otherwise they will stick together and make a mess. Just steam, cool and freeze. You can reheat in the microwave.
Gaijin says
do I steam them first and then freeze them or do I freeze the Nikuman's while they are still raw (pre-steam)?
recipetried says
I made it again. I figured out that I didn't underseason it the last time I made it. Instead, I weighed the meat which I know was a lot less meat than the last time I made it. This time, the results were so delicious. Perfect. This is the perfect nikuman recipe. Thanks.
recipetried says
I made it again. I figured out that I didn't underseason it the last time I made it. Instead, I weighed the meat which I know was a lot less meat than the last time I made it. This time, the results were so delicious. Perfect. This is the perfect nikuman recipe. Thanks.
recipetried says
I actually made these and they were great. Better than anything I've tried in restaurants. I'm going to add more seasoning next time. Maybe I didn't measure the seasoning right the first time, but they were still good.
recipetried says
I actually made these and they were great. Better than anything I've tried in restaurants. I'm going to add more seasoning next time. Maybe I didn't measure the seasoning right the first time, but they were still good.
Donn says
Oh my goodness... I'm salavating. I will have to give it a try.
Donn says
Oh my goodness... I'm salavating. I will have to give it a try.
Annie says
i really like this receipt since that's how we make baozi inChina, savoury(not deep sweet) and moist.
Annie says
i really like this receipt since that's how we make baozi inChina, savoury(not deep sweet) and moist.
peter353 says
Great recipe. Could use a bit of seasoning though, no?
peter353 says
Great recipe. Could use a bit of seasoning though, no?
Marilia says
My husband made these yesterday! So good! We steamed 3 and have 8 more waiting for us in the freezer!
Marc Matsumoto says
All yeast is alive, otherwise it would not leaven your dough. I made this using active dry yeast.
LJ says
Is that dry yeast or live yeast?
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, they'll keep in the fridge for a few days. If you want to keep them longer, wrap them up in plastic wrap and foil and freeze them. To rehear, just unwrap them, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave.
Lilianaw87 says
Adding some flour fixed it! The buns are a big success, thank you!! DELICIOUS!!
Marc Matsumoto says
You should be able to firm it up by adding flour, but the dough should be on the soft side. It will be sticky at first, but as you knead it the gluten chains that form should Make the dough shiny and less sticky. As for what went wrong it's hard to say. What kind of flour did you use? Was your kitchen scale zeroed out when you started measuring the flour?
Lilianaw87 says
Can I just put them in the fridge and re heat them tomorrow? Or is there a better way to store them? 🙂
Lilianaw87 says
My dough is waaayyy to sticky! I cant even roll it into a log 🙁 what went wrong and how can I fix it"??
Nipponnin says
What a great recipe. I love the nikuman sold in China town in Yokohama. This maybe very similar to that. Thank you for sharing.
Nipponnin says
What a great recipe. I love the nikuman sold in China town in Yokohama. This maybe very similar to that. Thank you for sharing.
Chau says
I used the steamer basket that came with the rice cooker. It's working great.
Chau says
I tried the recipe today, love the dough, very easy to make. Next time I will divide the dough to 12 portions to have smaller buns and add Chinese sausages and quail eggs to the filling. Thanks.
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, but it will effect the texture of the finished bun (it will be more like a meatball inside).
guest :) says
Hi, can I use ground pork (not chopped)? 🙂
Evelyn says
I really enjoy visiting your blog. What a fantastic job you have done! I am desperate to try this Nikumanni recipe. Looks scrumptious!
Evelyn says
I really enjoy visiting your blog. What a fantastic job you have done! I am desperate to try this Nikumanni recipe. Looks scrumptious!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lisa, I used a regular metal steamer (pot + elevated colander). I've never actually used a bamboo steamer, but my guess is that it's not retaining as much heat as using a metal steamer. Try making the buns smaller. Otherwise you might want to think about using a different steamer setup.
Lisa in NH says
Fabulous recipe, incredible taste, horrible steamer! Using my bamboo steamer has yet to go well for me. After 45 minutes of steaming, they still were not quite done. Any hints or suggestions on bamboo steaming...or alternate cooking methods?
Wok with Ray says
Your ingredients on steamed buns sounds flavorful and thank you for the tips on the binders.
canelakitchengloria says
mmmmm! look delicious!! gloria
Wok with Ray says
Your ingredients on steamed buns sounds flavorful and thank you for the tips on the binders.
Marilia says
I love love love 551's nikuman! I always looking for better nikuman recipe and I will definitely try this.
Hungry Jenny says
I didn't mean to post a massive pic of myself in my previous comment below, I thought that option was for the little profile pic on the side of the comment box, lol!
Hungry Jenny x
Hungry Jenny says
Wow, that looks amazing! I too always fear the risk of overly sweet (and sometimes rubbery ick!) white dough and minute filling of steamed buns. I also didn't realise how simple the recipe is (well, you make it sound easy anyway!) Sounds like a fiddly job though, but def worth it, from the look of it!
Hungry Jenny x
Marc Matsumoto says
Not sure if you've ever had the ones at Horai 551, but there is no nira or 5 spice in theirs. You're obviously welcome to add those ingredients in if you like.
Marilia says
Thanks, Marc! I'm going to Kyoto soon, so I'll check out Horai 551. And I'll try your version, too!
Jessica says
Ohhhh yum! I loovveee Meat Buns! I can't wait to get to try it out myself at home!
Sahara says
Chinese restaurant on Kagurazaka is still there and very famous. The name of the restaurant is Gozyuban 五十番. They are known for buns, shaomai, etc. The giant Nikuman is called Gomoku Nikuman ごもく肉まん. Some of the ingredients in the filling are boiled quail egg, whole shrimp, white mushroom, pork, and it may have had ginko nuts. On their website photo, the giant bun looked fluffier and smaller than the bun I had at the restaurant.
Sahara says
Sorry, the giant Nikuman was not 20", but 20 cm.
Sahara says
Thank you for the Nikuman recipe. I too have an issue with Baozi. I like Horai's, but yours look better. I'm going to make them asap! When I was in Japan three months ago, I missed buying Horai's Nikuman before the flight from Osaka to Tokyo. After reading your article, I must have some!
Did you ever have a giant Nikuman from Ichiban (not sure about the name of this old Chinese restaurant ) on Kagurazaka? It was about 20" in diameter (may have been larger). The bun was no very fluffy and thinner than normal Nikuman, and it was packed with a large amount of filling. The filling was a mixture of pork, usual Nikuman vegetable, bamboo shoot and shiitake. It was delicious! I haven't been to Kagurazaka in a while. I hope the restaurant and the giant Nikuman is still there.
When I think about Nikuman, I also think about Piroshki made by a Japanese bakery (can't remember the name). It has a filling somewhat similar to a Nikuman with chopped boiled eggs added. I need to figure out the recipe for this. Do you have a recipe for Piroshiki?
Anonymous says
Hold on! No nira or 5 spice powder?
Jessica says
Ohhhh yum! I loovveee Meat Buns! I can't wait to get to try it out myself at home!
Tina says
This looks amazing! Thank you for the very clear images and instructions. Taking the time to do step by step instructions is so helpful. I plan on trying this recipe soon.
Tina says
This looks amazing! Thank you for the very clear images and instructions. Taking the time to do step by step instructions is so helpful. I plan on trying this recipe soon.
Elektra says
i am sooooo hungry right now!
Anonymous says
Amazing!
Anonymous says
Amazing!
Lily says
I know perfect 🥨