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Meat Buns (not Nikuman)

March 4, 2022 By Karl Leave a Comment

STAND WITH UKRAINE!

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when making these, but I had seen a recipe for an Indian-influenced version of something similar, so I thought I’d make it with Japanese sanshoku bento ground pork, wrapped in pizza crust dough. I also had some bratwurst, which I cooked, sliced into chunks and wrapped in the dough.

These actually turned out pretty good, despite looking terrible in the photos. The bratwurst versions weren’t quite as good, but they were still passable—they needed larger pieces of the sausage in them for optimal taste.

If making again, I’d use thinner layers of bread, though the bread in the one close-up photo is not representative of how most of them turned out.

Now that I’ve tried these and met with moderate success, next time I’ll make the real-deal: Japanese nikuman.

What you’ll need for the meat:

  • 1 lb. or so of ground pork (or chicken, but not beef)
  • *2T + 1t soy sauce (original recipe calls for 0.25 cups)
  • *2T mirin
  • *2T granulated sugar (superfine is best)
  • *1T sake

*I actually used ratio below, and it tasted fantastic:

  • 2T + 1t soy sauce
  • 3T mirin
  • 1T superfine sugar—regular is OK, too
  • 2T sake

What to do for the meat:

In a cold fry- or saucepan, add the ground meat, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. Heat to a simmer, mixing the liquids and breaking apart the meat. Let it simmer until nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed or cooked off. Remove from heat and let cool until the bread dough is ready.

What you’ll need for the bread:

  • 1t active dry yeast
  • 0.66 cups warm water (105° to 115° F)
  • 2 cups bleached, all-purpose flour
  • 1t salt
  • A bit of olive oil
  • 1T each onion or garlic powder, optional 

What to do for the bread dough (in this case, not for pizza crust):

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it stand 1 minute, or until the yeast is creamy. Stir until the yeast dissolves.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and onion or garlic powder, if using. Add the yeast/water and stir until a rough dough forms. Turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes

Very lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, and roll the dough so it has a light coating of oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free place and let it rise for about an hour. 

Now you’re ready to assemble.

Tear off enough dough so that when it’s pressed and flattened, it’s a disk about the size of your palm. Spoon some of the meat into the center and wrap two opposing edges together, followed by the other pair of opposing edges. Pinch the edges together tightly and gently roll it into shape. Place seam down on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you’re out of meat and dough.

Cook at 350 degrees until the outside of the bun is golden, about 25-30 minutes.

Serve hot with your favorite type of Asian sauce (teriyaki, Korean bbq, spring roll sauce, or even kewpie mayo).

One of the bratwurst-stuffed buns.

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Filed Under: Appetizers & cheese, Japanese, Pork

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