June 9, 2013

Nikuman/肉まん

Today, I made nikuman after lunch.
nikuman = niku + man
niku = meat
man < manju
Nikuman is one type of chuka (Chinese-style) man. Anman is another. Other types, such as pizza man and curry man, have gained popularity.
The term nikuman is used in Kanto (Eastern Japan), while the term butaman (buta = pig) is used in Kansai (Western Japan). This reflects the fact that meat is pork by default in Kanto, while it is beef by default in Kansai.
    
今日は昼ごはんの後に肉まんを作りました。
肉まんとは、中華まんの一種です。あんまんもそうです。ピザまんやカレーまんなど他の種類も人気があります。
関東では「肉まん」と言い、関西では豚まんと言います。これは、関東で肉と言えば豚肉、関西では牛肉を指すからです。
 
Ingredients for 6 nikuman
 
Dough:
300 g cake flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
150 ml lukewarm water
 
Filling:
50 g ground pork
(I used 200 g!)
2 dried shiitake
(Sadly, I had none in the storage space!)
10 cm naga negi
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp potato starch
1 tsp sake
Pinch of sugar
Small amount of salt
 
Directions:
(The original recipe is more complicated. I have a bad habit of simplifying recipes.)
1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and water. Knead and make into dough.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, reconstituted shiitake, finely chopped naga negi, sesame seed, potato starch, sake, sugar and salt. Make into six balls.
3. Divide dough into six equal balls. Make each ball into a disc 8 cm in diameter, with the center thicker than the circumference.
4. Fill each disc with a pork filling ball. Close the disc.
5. Place each bun on a sheet of parchment paper, and steam in a steamer on high heat for 15 min.
肉まん6個分の材料

生地:
薄力粉 300 g
砂糖 大さじ2
ベーキングパウダー 小さじ3 1/3
ぬるま湯 150 cc
 
具:
豚ひき肉 50 g
(私は200 g使いました!)
干しシイタケ 2枚
(悲しいことに、収納スペースにありませんでした!)
長ネギ 10 cm
ごま油 小さじ2
片栗粉 小さじ1
酒 小さじ1
砂糖 一つまみ
塩 少々
 
作り方:
(元のレシピはもっと複雑です。私はレシピを簡素化してしまう悪い癖があります。
1. ボールに薄力粉、砂糖、ベーキングパウダー、水を入れ、こねて、生地にします。
2. 別のボールに豚ひき肉、戻したシイタケ、刻んだ長ネギ、ごま油、片栗粉、酒、砂糖、塩を入れ、6個のボールを作ります。
3. 生地を6等分し、ボールにします。それぞれ、周囲より中央が厚い直径8 cmの円形にします。
4. 円形それぞれで具のボールを包み、円形を閉じます。
5. クッキングシートに載せ、蒸し器で強火で15分蒸します。
 
My steamer was not big enough to place six buns at a time, so I steamed the three buns at a time.
家の蒸し器は6個一度に入らないので、3個づつ蒸しました。
Sorry for the ugly shapes. I'm not very good at these things...
醜い形ですみません。こういうのはあまり得意ではないので...。 
 
I had one immediately. The filling was very lightly seasoned, so I poured some soy sauce. The dough tasted very good.
すぐに一個食べました。具は薄味だったので、しょう油を少しかけました。生地はとても美味しかったです。 

12 comments:

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, you torture me! Your nikuman must have been delicious. The dough looks as if it was made with yeast! Incredible.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Yes, it is delicious. Much better than the store-bought.

Fräulein Trude said...

They really look alike yeast steam buns. I would like to have some right now with sweet Thai-chili-Sauce.
But I don't have any ground meat..

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Thai chili sauce? Thanks for the idea. I don't have it, but I guess yuzu kosho should be a good substitute!

Anonymous said...

Hiroyui-san, oishisou! Thanks for sharing the recipe. This is the perfect recipe for me because I have some cake flour that I need to use up. Can I substitute the pork filling with other fillings like red bean paste?

Hiroyuki said...

Anonymous: Of course, you can. You can also make anman.

The book I showed previously says:
200 g (approx. 1/2 pound) koshi an (i.e., red bean paste with skin removed, but "tsubu an" (paste with skin unremoved) should be fine, I suppose)
6 tbsp black sesame seeds, ground
2 tsp sesame oil

Anonymous said...

From my personal experience, make sure to use "double acting" baking powder for steam buns. (different brand also gives different result; so, try as many brands as possible) Then, avoid overcooking. I bet it will result nice buns!

Anonymous said...

And for the Chinese version, usually adds sodium carbonate to give better appearance.

Hiroyuki said...

Anonymous: Thanks for your comments. I will check if there are such things as "double acting" baking powder here in my rural area. Sodium carbonate? You must know more about Chinese buns than I do!

Anonymous said...

Not much...(laugh) I'm just used to prepare many kinds of dim sum(点心 = tenshin?) at hotel and restaurant.

Nippon Nin said...

肉まん大好きです! これを見ると作りたくなります。

Hiroyuki said...

Anonymous: Oh, I see. And, yes, dim sum, and tenshin in Japanese.

Nippon Nin: 私も肉まんは好きです。食べたくなるのは、だいたい冬ですけど(笑)。