Nikuman is a Japanese meat filled bun. These buns are usually steamed and are served in many a quick-stop store in Japan. They are also sometimes filled with curried meat/veggies or a red bean paste. The recipe below is based on American ingredients (because that is what I can buy here!) but I’ve found these nikumans to be a satisfying substitute. I also usually bake mine, because it is easier than steaming and quicker. I make about a dozen at a time and freeze them for later use.

For the bun part, I purchase frozen dough–either frozen bread loaves (about 3 loaves are needed) or frozen raw dough buns (usually one package of frozen buns is enough.)

Frozen dough takes all day to thaw, so start it thawing the night before or very early the morning you want to use it. This dish is easiest to prepare if you make the filling and let it cool before rolling out the dough. Hot stuffing on the dough tends to result in the dough turning mushy.

Ingredients:

2 one pound packages of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (Any breakfast sausage will do, but if you use plain pork sausage, you’ll need to add other ingredients such as garlic and additional peppers to flavor it.)

8 to 10 cups of chopped Chinese cabbage (Use close to the whole head of cabbage, but some of them run very large!)

6 green onions, chopped (you can substitute regular onion–you need about a cup of onions)

2 jalapenos with seeds, chopped very fine/minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage (if you use sage flavored sausage, you can leave this out.)

1 tsp minced ginger

2 tablespoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

Brown the sausage in very large skillet or wok. As it browns, add the onions, jalapenos, sage, Chinese cabbage and ginger. I add the Chinese cabbage about two cups at a time. This allows the cabbage to cook down, leaving more room in the pan as you’re adding things. When the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, remove from heat. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. You don’t want to add the sesame oil early–this is a flavoring oil and if you add it too early, the flavor will cook off.

Stir the mixture well and allow to completely cool.

Roll out the dough into six to eight inch circles. Drain most of the liquid from the filling (I use this liquid to steam rice that I then serve with the nikumans.)

Place several spoonfuls of filling in the center of the dough and close the ends by pressing the dough together tightly. Place in freezer bag or cook immediately.

To bake frozen nikumans, place one or two in a tin foil pocket that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. The foil should be loosely wrapped around the nikumans. Follow the temperature directions on the frozen dough package. For example, some bread is cooked at 450, while other recipes I have made from scratch have a lower cooking temperature (325). When in doubt, go with 350 degrees. Cook for approximately ½ hour with the tinfoil covering them, then open the tinfoil to expose the top of the nikuman. When the nikuman is lightly browned, they are done!

To bake nikumans that have not been previously frozen, less cooking time is required. That’s about the only difference!

Serve over fluffy white rice.

Steaming:

To steam nikumans, place the buns in a bamboo steamer lined with extra cabbage leaves (the leaves are good steamed and they also provide a nice non-stick surface for the buns!) Steam for 30 to 40 minutes if the nikumans were not previously frozen. For frozen nikumans you will have to steam them close to an hour.