Nikuman
Encyclopedia
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
, and filled with cooked ground pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
or other ingredients. It is a kind of chūka man (中華まん lit. Chinese-style steamed bun) similar to the Chinese baozi
Baozi
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
(包子), also known in English as pork buns.
Nikuman are steamed and often sold as street food
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
. From about August or September, through the winter months until roughly the beginning of April, Chūka man are available at convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
s, where they are kept hot.
Other varieties of the Japanese chūkaman
— essentially an equivalent to nikuman, this name is more common in the Kansai region. — the ingredients consist of azuki beanAzuki bean
The is an annual vine, Vigna angularis, widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small bean. The cultivars most familiar in north-east Asia have a uniform red color, but white, black, gray and variously mottled varieties are also known. Scientists presume Vigna angularis var...
s (koshian or tsubuan). Lard and sesame oil are typically added to increase flavor and taste. Similar to Chinese Doushabao. — turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
or food coloring
Food coloring
Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking...
is added to the skin to make it yellow. The ingredients are the same as meat buns or pork buns with curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
-style flavoring. There is also curry man similar to curry bread
Curry bread
Curry bread , also called curry doughnut, is a popular Japanese food. An amount of Japanese curry is wrapped in a piece of dough, and the dough breaded in panko, and deep fried. On occasion it is baked instead of deep fried, but deep frying is the most common method of cooking...
or dry curry.
Special variations of chūka man
Various convenience stores have offered seasonal varieties of chūka man: Circle K SunkusCircle K Sunkus' is a chain of company-operated and franchised convenience stores in Japan. The company is a division of UNY Co., Ltd., which licensed the Circle K name from Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian convenience store company that owns the Circle K brand....
- White curry man
- Squid ink seafood man
- Deli chicken man with mayo-style flavor
MinistopMinistop, a member of ÆON Group, operates the Ministop convenience store franchise chain in Japan. Unlike most other convenience stores in Japan, Ministop stores feature a kitchen that prepares sandwiches, snacks and take out bento boxes on demand, and has a seating area where customers can sit down and...
- Crunchy Chinese seafood man
- Crunchy cheese sausage donut man
- Boiled pork cube crunchy curry man
- Crunchy cheese lasagna man
- Belgium chocolate man
FamilyMartFamilyMartis a convenience store franchise chain first opened in Japan on September 1, 1981. FamilyMart is Japan's third largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven and Lawson, and the largest chain store in South Korea. FamilyMart is owned and overseen by FamilyMart Company, Limited...
- Cream cheese man
- SakuraSakuraA cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
man - Choco-man
- Chestnut man
- Habanero Kimchi man
See also
- ManjuManju (food)is a popular traditional Japanese confection. There are many varieties of manjū, but most have an outside made from flour, rice powder and buckwheat and a filling of an , made from boiled azuki beans and sugar. They are boiled together again and kneaded...
(饅頭) - BaoziBaoziA bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
(包子) - Cha siu baauCha siu baauCha siu bao or char siu bao is a Cantonese barbecue-pork-filled bun . The buns are filled with barbecue-flavored cha siu pork. They are served as a type of dim sum during yum cha and are sometimes sold in Chinese bakeries.-Variety:...
(叉燒包) - Manapua
- SiopaoSiopaoSiopao is a Hokkien term for bāozi , literally meaning "steamed buns". It has also been incorporated in to Thai cuisine where it is called salapao ....
- XiaolongbaoXiaolongbaoXiaolongbao is a type of steamed bun or baozi from eastern China, especially Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the name...