Steamed Pork Buns

I generally bake something sweet for my mom on Mother's Day each year, but this year she'd requested I don't. "I'm trying to be good".

One of my fondest memories as a child is my mom sending me out in the morning to go buy steamed pork buns for breakfast. There was a tiny bread shop right across our apartment that sold steamed buns in the winter.

In Japan, it's common for kids to go on otsukai (grocery shopping alone).

The first time I went on an otsukai was at this bread shop. It was close enough for my mom to poke her head out the balcony and make sure I was safe.

On one of the mornings that my mom sent me out to get breakfast, she told me to get a couple nikuman (meat buns) and a couple butaman (pork buns). When I got to the store and told the grandma who ran the store what I wanted, she told me that nikuman and butaman were the same things. Me taking my stubbornness after my mother (I love you Mommy!), I tried to tell her that my mother had specifically asked for 2 different kinds, but ended up going home with 4 of the same buns, totally confused.

I later found out that in the Kansai region, niku (meat) typically means beef, so the buns are called butaman so they don't expect to find beef when they take a bite.

Whatever they're called, these steamed pork buns are delicious and remind me of my childhood days with my mom.

I used my bread machine for the dough, but you can do this by hand if you have the time, energy, and muscles. If you're using a bread machine, just dump the ingredients in and set it on the dough setting.

If you're making it by hand, put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix, and knead it until it becomes a smooth dough. Put it back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it proof until it's doubled in size.

While you're waiting for the dough, prepare the filling. Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Divide into 8 portions. I didn't portion it out properly so I had some buns with an unsatisfying amount of filling...

When the dough is ready, take it out onto a floured surface and evenly divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and set aside, covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.

Take one ball and roll it out using a rolling pin. Roll them out to about 6 inches (15cm), making the edges thinner than the center. Put the filling in the center.

Bring the corners to the center and pinch together. You'll end up with four more corners, so bring those to the center and pinch again.

Voilà! You could get fancy and make pleats so it looks like the real deal, but I found this method much easier.

Put the buns on individual pieces of parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and let them rise for another 15 minutes. When they're ready, place them in a steamer and steam on high heat for 15 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack for a couple minutes before eating.

It might not look authentic but you'll forget about its looks once you eat it. You can also freeze the steamed buns and reheat in the microwave for busy mornings.

Happy Mother's Day to my dearest mother! I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me. Love you!