Nikuman is Japanese Steamed Pork Buns filled with juicy ground pork, shiitake mushroom, and cabbage inside. The hot and fluffy buns fresh out of the steamer basket will warm your heart and soul. It‘s surprisingly easy to make this delicious snack at home!
Do you have any food that evokes a special memory of your life? One of my dearest memories is snacking on a warm steamed bun called Nikuman during my commute home from college in the cold months. For me, Nikuman (肉まん), or Japanese-style Steamed Pork Bun, was not only my favorite winter snack but also a taste of nostalgia.
I used to stop by a convenience store for my Nikuman treat; the steaming hot bun kept my hands and heart warm. By the way, Japanese convenience stores sell not only snacks and drinks but a dizzying array of items like a mini supermarket. If you visit Japan, it’s definitely one place you should take a peek inside – it’s literally a “convenient” store.
What is Nikuman?
Nikuman is the Japanese name for the Chinese baozi (包子,肉包), also known as Chūka Man (中華まん). These steamed buns are made from flour dough and filled with meat and other ingredients. In western Japan (西日本) including Osaka, they are called Buta Man (豚まん).
The savory buns are usually steamed inside the bamboo steamer and taste the best when you enjoy them right out hot and fluffy. The texture of the buns is tenderly soft and moist, and when you take a bite, the inside is bursting with sweet-savory, juicy meat mixtures.
During the winter months in Japan, convenience stores sell hot steaming chūka man including Nikuman, Kare–man (curry flavor), An-man (with red bean paste), and Pizza-man (pizza flavor).
Yokohama, Japan’s 2nd largest city I grew up in, has the largest Chinatown and I just loved walking around to see the traditional Chinese steamed buns that are as big as my face being sold at the stores. Or at least that’s how I remembered as a small child.
Homemade Nikuman
My mom used to buy packaged steamed buns from the store and they tasted pretty good as I remembered. I never thought this dish is something we could make at home until I visited my high school friend’s house for lunch years ago.
She made homemade nikuman for us and I was very impressed that she made the pork buns from scratch. To my surprise, she told me that they are very easy to make. The buns were so good as they were freshly made and everyone loved them. Since then I started to make my own and my family simply can’t get enough, especially my daughter who loves the soft white steamed buns.
You might wonder if it’s really worth your time to make the steamed buns at home, especially if you can just buy pre-packaged stuff from the grocery stores. But, let me tell you why you’ll love the homemade buns:
Why We Make Nikuman at Home:
- Healthier – Prepackaged steamed buns tend to have additives or less ideal ingredients. It’s different when you make the buns from scratch.
- Customization – Don’t like pork? Then use your favorite ingredients for the fillings. Make it vegetarian or vegan. These steamed buns are for YOU! I like to make them in two sizes, big ones for the adults and small ones (like today’s recipe) for the kids.
- An approachable recipe – I was so glad when I discovered how easy it was to make my own steamed buns. Watch my video, and follow the step-by-step instructions. You’ll see how easy and straightforward the recipe is.
- Taste fresh and delicious – Nothing is better than food made fresh, right in your own kitchen. Steamed buns are definitely one of those dishes. These nikuman are so fresh tasting and satisfying!
- Freezer-friendly – Leftovers can be kept frozen and reheated easily to enjoy later.
Making these steamed buns do pose some small challenges such as:
- Requires to rest the dough for some time – You have to let the dough rest and it’s necessary for good steamed buns.
- Needs lots of practice in folding and pleating – Making the steamed buns look good will require a little practice. But don’t worry. I’ll show you an easy method in the recipe and in my video tutorial, so you can follow along with confidence.
But don’t worry, nothing is too hard to stop anyone from giving the recipe a try!
Mastering The Folding & Pleating for Steamed Pork Buns
This is the part that intimidates people most. For many years, I folded the dough with the EASY method I shared in my recipe. My Nikuman tasted great, but the look could be better.
When my friend Maggie of Ominivore’s Cookbook shared her Kimchi Pork Steamed Bun recipe, she showed her mom’s technique of folding and pleating in her youtube video. Since then, I’ve been wrapping my nikuman the same way. I still need to perfect my skill, but I’ve seen huge improvements with the method.
So I leave it up to you on how you want to wrap the dough. The nikuman taste great either way. Meanwhile, I’ll keep practicing my folding and pleating!
PS: If you enjoyed these steamed pork buns, I think you ought to check out Shumai and Manju too!
Similar Savory and Sweet Treats You’ll Enjoy:
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Nikuman (Steamed Pork Buns)
Video
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (plus more for dusting; weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 2 scant Tbsp sugar (20 g; 2 Tbsp sugar is 25 g, so measure 20% less)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (plus more for coating the proofing bowl)
- ⅔-¾ cup water (start with 160 ml and add more, if needed)
For the Filling
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
- ½ cup water
- 1 green onion/scallion
- 4 leaves green cabbage (6.3 oz, 180 g)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¾ lb ground pork
- 1½ tsp ginger (grated, with juice; from 1-inch, 2.5-cm knob)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
- freshly ground black pepper
For Serving
- soy sauce
- Japanese karashi hot mustard
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.Prepare one square piece of parchment paper for each bun you will make, about 3 x 3 inches (7.6 x 7.6 cm) for small buns. Set aside.
To Make the Dough
- Put 2½ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour), 2 scant Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher 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 ⅔-¾ cup 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.
To Prepare the Filling
- While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, make the filling. First, soak 2 dried shiitake mushrooms in ½ cup 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 Diamond Crystal kosher 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 ¾ lb 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 1½ 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.
To 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 1½ Tbsp of filling (I use this 1½ 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.
To 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.
To Serve
- Serve the hot Nikuman with soy sauce and Japanese karashi hot mustard on the side. Enjoy immediately.
To 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.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Mar 16, 2015. It’s been edited and republished in April 2020.
Hello Nami
This is a beautiful recipe.
I was wondering if you knew if you can alter the recipe in order to use a sourdough start/levain? And also, when using pork, is there a risk of it not cooking all the way through when steaming it for the 10 minute amount of time? And if there is a risk, will it still be delicious if I precooked the filling?
Thank you so much!
Waloo
Hi Waloo! Thank you so much! I”m not sure about sourdough start/levain…. sorry!
Unless your filling is bigger than mine, 10-12 minutes should be good. Remember, mine is smaller than “typical” buns. For the first time, I recommend cutting in half to make sure.
If you pre-cook, the filling will be harder and lose all the juice. I highly recommend steaming it – it won’t hurt by steaming it for a longer time. In a store, they keep steaming (and keeping it warm). 🙂
Namiko, is it really fine to eat steamed ground pork? Since I was little I would hear my elders talk about the risk of trichinosis when cooking pork and am still afraid of preparing it to this day, even more if it’s only steamed (and I’m not sure if I could trust my country’s production practice to be completely clean) (perhaps I am just over-thinking things?) … Nonetheless, I’m sure this is a great warm snack for cold winters! I look forward to your new recipes
Hi Paola! Pork is commonly used in Asian dishes, and we are extra careful when we cook pork, making sure it’s no longer pink when you cook the meat. Steaming doesn’t mean weak cooking (if there is such word…). Stir fry can be more dangerous if you burn outside too fast and try to finish cooking while inside may not be cooked through. Steaming takes sometime and if your bun is bigger, it will need more cooking time. We always need to check if inside is cooked through before eating it. If you’re not comfortable, you can use other meat or shrimp, etc. 🙂 Let me know how I can help you. 🙂
I wasn’t sure how this would work, but I used this recipe last night and the pork was cooked perfectly (I steamed for 15 mins to be sure in a bamboo steamer on a wok). My first time ever trying a bamboo steamer or steamed buns 🙂
Hi Julie,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe! We are so happy to hear it came out perfectly!☺️
I want to make these buns, only I want to make them vegetarian. Can I still use this filling recipe, or will the filling come out too wet?
One of my favorite is veggie filling. Yes, you can. Make stir fry veggies and place in the middle. I use corn starch to make the filling thicker though, so that in case the water from vegetable comes out, it won’t be too wet. When you’re about to finish stir fry veggies, add corn starch + water mixture to thicken. That will help. 🙂
i’ll be trying to make these tomorrow morning to show my mother just how good steamed buns are! i hope i can also make successful curry-man in the future too since i love curry
Hi Scarlet! Good luck! I tried to explain in details in the recipe (not too many tips explained in the video) just in case you want to follow it precisely… Hope your mom will enjoy these! 🙂
Hi 🙂 I found your website months ago but only looked at your yakisoba recipe.
But in the last week or two I’ve started having a proper poke around.
Your site is awesome!
I really love it 🙂
I have question regarding these very delicious buns.
If I want to make medium or large sized buns, how should I divide up the dough?
Hi Food lover! I am so happy to hear you enjoy my site. Thank you for re-visiting! I’d say mine is small size, and with this recipe I can make 20 buns. I make 4 logs out of the dough, then cut each log into 5. For you, you can make 2 bigger logs into 5-8 pieces. So total buns can be 10-16, depending on how large you want to make. Make sure to steam for a longer time too. Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
Thank you very much! I’m making my nikuman tonight 🙂
These are now in our regular rotation–so good!!! I make a big batch of filling, freeze half, then defrost and make the dough. A couple of things that make life easier–I use my bread machine to knead the dough. I let it rise in the machine (manual setting) and then take it out and work with it. Saves so much time. Yesterday I threw the ingredients in after work, set it, walked the dog and did laundry and then made the buns. Also, I spray my metal steamer with nonstick cooking spray–otherwise I have a hard time removing the wax paper from the buns. LOVE this recipe. The best part–leftovers!!!
Hi Ilonka! I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your tip! It’s very helpful for us! Next, be creative with your filling! 😉
Actually, I had dough left over recently and had a can on anko–made an-man–they were great! I LOVE the classic pork filling, so it’s tough to think about anything else…
Actually, I agree. 🙂 It’s like me always eating matcha or red bean ice cream because I just can’t pass it… 🙂
Hi
I was wondering if the dough could be made ahead of time, like 6 hours
Great recipe!
I haven’t tried making the dough ahead of time. I’m a little bit worried about over-proofing the dough so I haven’t tested before. I have made the filling ahead of time but not the dough…
If anyone tried it let us know! 🙂
Hi Nami. I found you on YouTube and have to say your recipe are the best I’ve tried. Regarding this flour, their baozi flour sold at the Chinese grocery market . It’s much easier than making your dough and you don’t have to wait for the dough to rest. I live in San Jose and can easily get it. The package will have Chinese and Vietnamese writing on it. Banh bao.
Hi Kristi! I’m so happy to hear you found my site from YouTube! I didn’t know about baozi flour. I’ll check it out in the Asian shop next time I go! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
I made these this weekend and we loved them. Next time I will do a double batch of dough at once since I used 1 lb of meat and had more filling. Would it be OK to double the dough or make two batches? I used my bread machine for the kneeding and rising part–saved time and my wrists.
Hi Ilonka! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe! Yes, you can double the dough, but if you don’t eat all at once, I actually prefer to make the dough when it’s needed (especially you have bread machine!). Step 4 resting can be longer, but not Step 16 (20 mins max). When the filling is inside, you should not wait more than 20 minutes because the filling contains some water and you don’t want to make the dough wet and also, the pleats will get too puffy when you leave for a long time (dough will expand too much)…and it won’t look pretty. 🙂 Hope this helps.
Thank you, Nami, for such a yummy recipe. My family really loved it. I used ground chicken instead of ground pork because my local supermarket doesn’t carry any unseasoned ground pork. It turned out great. I should send you pics. Thank you.
Hi Carol! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and writing your kind feedback. I’m so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this dish! 🙂
Hi! Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour? 🙂
Hi Aina! Sure, you can. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading my blog and watching my videos! So happy to hear your enjoy them! Yes you can substitute pork with other meat, seafood, or vegetables of your choice. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe!
I love you Nami! Thanks :-). Can’t wait to try!!!
Hi Bastien! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! 🙂
I remember my mom making these in her rice cooker. She had a perforated metal plate that fit in the bottom of the rice cooker. She would add water, cover with the plate and put the buns on top. And push the start button. My rice cooker did not come with this plate, but I wonder if I could improvise?
HI Pam! Is your mom’s rice cooker Chinese one? My mother in law uses it to steam buns too. You basically need to elevate the plate from water. I’m not sure what kind of rice cooker you own, but any heat resistant cup or jar that you can put in and plate on top? But the height has to be low enough that you can put nikuman and cover the lid without touching it… Hope this helps. 🙂
That does help. And good to know I can use my rice cooker to steam these. I showed your video to my mom and she was impressed. I think she is now wondering when I will bring her nikuman for supper! Thank you.
Hahaha! I hope you and your mom will enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Hi Nami! This is another gorgeous recipe, I was wondering however,do you have any posts on hit to use pot instead of a steamer? I noticed the bit about the dish cloth, but other than that is there any trick? or can I just put them into a pot on parchment and heat it up? Sorry if this is a silly question!
Hi Victoria! Let’s say, you don’t own a bamboo steamer or a steamer (like stainless steel) and the biggest pot is a pasta pot. You can put water in the pot, put jar or mug that can sustain a plate that fits into the pot… then you can put the nikuman on top to steam. Make sure to cover the lid with cloth to avoid the condensation dripping down. It should work. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hi Nami! I have a question regarding the use of shiitake mushrooms. Can I use fresh instead of dried? When soaking them, is it best to use warm or hot water? Can I substitute another type of fresh mushroom?
Hi Vanessa! You can definitely use fresh shiitake mushrooms or other kinds of mushrooms you like/can get. I used dried ones because they have more flavors. The “proper” method to rehydrate dried shiitake is to use water (possibly overnight in the fridge). The hot or warm water will destroy the umami coming out from shiitake. There is some scientific reason for it (which I should have remembered precisely…but sorry forgot!). Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Vanessa! It depends on how thick the mushroom tops are…but usually 15 minutes for small size. I usually start off soaking before I begin prepping. Or I soak overnight. Hope that helps!
I made the buns but without the filling as I have been craving for mantou bread 😄
I am missing the slight sweetness of the bun and was wondering if I just need to add a bit more sugar? If yes, how much quantity on top shall I add? Thanks Nami!
Hi Jacqueline, You may add 1 Tbsp extra of sugar to this recipe and see if you would like the sweetness. The sugar will change the buns’ texture, so please adjust by adding a little at a time to find your favorite sweetness if you are adding more than 1 Tbsp. Thank you for trying this recipe!