Japanese Pork Buns
These Japanese Pork buns are stuffed with ground pork, cabbage, and shiitake mushrooms. They can be eaten as a snack or a side dish.
Ingredients
Dough
- 5 cups All purpose flour (don't add all at once)
- 4 scant tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Instant yeast
- 2 tbsp Canola oil Any neutral oil will work
- 1 1/2 cups Water Start with 1 cup and add more as needed
Filling
- 4-5 Dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup Water To soak the shiitakes
- 2 Green onions, thinly sliced
- 12 oz Green cabbage, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 1 tsp Kosher salt To remove water from cabbage
- 1 1/2 lb Ground pork
- 3 tsp Minced ginger
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Potato or corn starch
- Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Dough Preparation
- Combine all ingredients except the water and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then add ½ cup of the water.
- Set the stand mixer to run at a low speed. As the water is worked into the dry ingredients, add another ½ cup of water and continue mixing. As the ½ cup of water is absorbed, repeat until all the water is added.
- The dough should be relatively sticky now, though it is likely forming a nice ball. Add a tablespoon of the reserved cup of flour and continue mixing until it is worked in. The dough will become progressively smoother and less sticky as you add flour. Repeat this step at least 4 times, until you’ve added ½ cup of the flour. Turn off the stand mixer and touch the dough to see how sticky it is. It should not stick to your fingers and should be easily picked up. If not, continue adding flour by the tablespoon until it is.
- Once your dough is smooth, remove it from the bowl (you can hold it in one hand or put it on a clean surface), add 1-2 tbsp of canola oil to the bowl and swirl it to coat the bowl about ⅓ of the way up the sides. Put your dough back in the bowl and coat it in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 30-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Filling Preparation
- Soak 4-5 shiitake mushrooms in 1 cup of hot (not quite boiling) water. Set a bowl or other object on top of the mushrooms to keep them submerged. Let soak for 30 minutes.
- Put your chopped cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp kosher salt. Let it rest 5-10 minutes so that it releases its extra water.
- Once the shiitakes have re-hydrated, remove the stems and dice into small pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine shiitake mushrooms, ground pork, and green onions. Squeeze the cabbage and drain the liquid from its bowl, then add the cabbage to the large bowl with the other ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients from the filling list and stir or knead with your hand to combine until it is sticky and well mixed.
Bun Preparation
- Dust a clean work surface liberally with flour and dump the dough, which has doubled in size, onto the surface. Cut it into four even pieces.
- Roll out each piece into a log, about 8 inches long. A little shorter or longer is ok.
- Cut each log into 6 even pieces. If you prefer large rolls, stop cutting now. If you’d like smaller rolls, divide each piece in half. You can also divide only some of the pieces for a variety of sizes. Now form each piece into a ball (or as close to a ball as you can), and cover with a clean, damp dish towel for 10 minutes.
- Prepare a small bowl of water and place it next to your work surface.
- Roll out one piece of dough into a circle until it’s a little more than ¼ inch thick. Hold the dough in your non-dominant hand, and using your other hand, add 1-2 tbsp of the filling. Use less filling for smaller buns, or more for larger ones. Pull one side of the dough to the top of the filling and begin folding the dough into pleats around the top of the filling. If the dough does not stick to itself easily, dip your fingers in the water and use that to hold the dough pleats together. If you can see the filling easily in the center of the pleats, use a little more water and light pressure to seal the center of the pleats together.
- Repeat step 5 until all pieces of dough or all of the filling is finished.
- Freezer Preparation: If you plan to freeze the buns, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the rolls on it so that they are not touching. Cover with foil and put into the freezer. Once frozen, cut the parchment paper around each bun and move the buns with their parchment paper to a freezer safe bag and use over time. Cook as described in step 8.
- Steaming Instructions: Add 1-2 cups of water to a pot and set a steamer basket over it, ensuring the water is below the bottom of the steamer basket. Add your buns with their parchment paper to the basket so that they are not touching, leaving extra space for expansion. Steam for 10-20 minutes or until the bun’s internal temperature is at least 165F. Remove from the basket and enjoy! :)