the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."

Today, we are making Japanese pork bun "Nikuman," freshly steamed and perfect for those cold days!

Let's cut the ingredients for Nikuman.

Squeeze water from shiitake mushrooms.

These dried mushrooms were pre-washed and soaked in a fridge overnight.

Slice the stems thinly

and cut the caps into half inch pieces.

Squeeze water from the shrimp.

These dried shrimps were pre-washed and soaked in lukewarm water about one hour.

Chop the shrimp into fine pieces.

Let's make stock soup to mix dough for the bun

Pour in the shrimp liquid with a strainer.

Add the shiitake liquid.

Pour in the pre-measured hot water in the cup.

Let's make the dough for Nikuman.

Add instant yeast,

baking powder,

sugar

and salt to all-purpose flour.

Lightly stir with a paddle.

Add sesame oil

and mix.

Gradually mix in the lukewarm dashi stock soup.

When the flour is roughly mixed,

clean the paddle.

Gather the flour together with your hand.

Knead until the dough ball is smooth and clean inside the mixing bowl.

Sprinkle flour on a cutting board.

Place the dough on the cutting board and knead for 10 minutes.

Use your body weight to press the dough.

As shown in the video, the texture of the dough becomes smooth.

Shape it into a ball

and replace the dough in the bowl.

Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap.

The dough is now ready to ferment in this styrofoam box,

which is filled with hot water at about 40°C.

Sit the bowl in the hot water for about 30 minutes.

Steam the cabbage leaf for 1 minute

and cool it down on a wire sieve.

Remove the firm parts of the cabbage and chop them into fine pieces.

Cut the leaf part into 1 inch strips and chop them into fine pieces.

Wrap the cabbage with a paper towel and squeeze out excess water.

Let's chop the spring onion.

Make equally spaced diagonal cuts in the spring onion.

Flip it over

and repeat the cuts in the other side.

Cut the spring onion in half

and chop into fine pieces.

Slice the ginger.

Chop the slices into fine pieces.

Let's make meat mixture for Nikuman.

Chop the pork slices into 1/4 inch pieces and put them in a bowl.

Add salt,

pepper,

sugar,

soy sauce,

oyster sauce,

five-spice powder,

sesame oil

and stir lightly.

Add potato starch to the meat and toss to coat evenly.

Add the cabbage,

spring onion,

ginger,

shiitake and shrimp

and mix evenly.

Clean your hands and divide the meat mixture into four.

Lightly oil your hands

and shape the mixture into 8 balls.

After about 30 minutes, check if the dough is doubled in volume, and remove the bowl.

Remove the plastic wrap

and knead the dough several times to let the air expel from the inside.

Place the dough on floured surface

and roll it into a cylinder.

Cut the dough into equal 8 pieces.

Shape each piece of dough into a ball while keeping the surface smooth.

Cover with a wet kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Place the smooth side of the dough on the surface

and press it down with your palm.

Roll out the dough using a rolling pin until their diameter become about 4 inches.

Pinch the edges of the dough to reduce thickness.

Hold the mixture in the center of the dough and begin forming pleats.

Twist and fold the dough up to the top to wrap the mixture.

Place the Nikuman on baking paper sheets.

You'll have 8 pieces of Nikuman in total.

Heat a steamer until water is warm.

Turn off the burner and place the Nikuman in the steamer.

Make a little space between each Nikuman so that they don't stick together.

The secondary fermentation takes 10 to 20 minutes.

When the Nikuman grow by half, heat the steamer at high heat.

When the water boils, reduce the heat.

Steam 15 more minutes and turn off the burner.

Homemade dough and meat mixutre are the best!

Looks absolutely tasty...

Serve the Nikuman on a plate.

Well-seasoned pork will bring out the flavor of Nikuman.

You can store Nikuman in a freezer for later use,

great for busy hours.

The process requires a bit of time, but it is definitely worth it!

This recipe uses both instant yeast and baking powder,

making it easy for fermentation to success.

Good luck in the kitchen!