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Steamed buns, known as baozi in China or nikuman in Japan, are commonly made from white flour dough and filled with a delectable centre containing cooked ground beef, pork or other ingredients.
The best way to have them is fresh from the steamer, when they’re deliciously hot, light and fluffy, but when that’s not possible you can always pick them up at the supermarket, although the only problem with that is, you’ll have to heat them up yourself.
While some people have bamboo steamers on hand to do the job nicely, more often than not it’s the humble microwave that people turn to for heating up their steamed buns. Although that’s definitely the fastest option, it’s sadly not the best, as this usually results in a soggy, lifeless bun with a tougher, gummier texture.
This loss in quality used to be par for the course in return for microwave convenience, but it’s something we won’t have to put up with any longer, thanks to a clever life hack from Twitter user Mugi Rice (@HG7654321).
Mugi Rice said a friend taught them this life hack a long time ago, and it’s so good it needs to be shared with everyone. So here it is: to take your microwaved nikuman from zero to hero, simply place it on top of a mug filled with about one centimeter of water and heat it in the microwave for two minutes.
While it’s a simple hack, the difference it makes is extraordinary, as the water inside the mug essentially acts like a steamer, heating the bun from underneath so it becomes light and fluffy instead of sticky and tough.
It didn’t take long for Mugi Rice’s cooking hack to go viral, with over 54,000 retweets and 208,000 likes.
People were full of praise for the DIY steamer idea, leaving comments like:
“This is the information I’ve been wanting! Thank you so much!”
“Omg why have I never thought of this before? This is genius!”
“I tried this hack and it made such a difference!”
“What a fantastic steamer! Thank you for this!”
“I’m never going to heat a nikuman on a plate ever again!”
Sometimes it’s the simple ideas that surprise everyone the most, and that’s definitely the case with this clever cooking hack.
Source: Twitter/@HG7654321 via Hachima Kikou
Insert images: Flickr/MIKI Yoshihito, Twitter/@HG7654321
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Wet the nikuman and put a glass or plastic bowl over the top.
We have a plastic nikuman-sized plate and dome lid we got with some frozen nikuman once. I think you can buy something similar at the 100 yen store
Brilliant idea. Heating with a lid over the top does deliver "a soggy, lifeless bun with a tougher, gummier texture."
One of the "benefits" of Social Media these days... is sharing ideas, such as this.
known as baozi in China or nikuman in Japan
Perhaps they are known as nikuman in provincial areas such as Kanto, but generally they are called butaman in the classier areas such as Osaka,
are called butaman in the classier areas such as Osaka,
Are you talking about an Osaka somewhere other than Japan?! Osaka is known for many things. Being classy isn’t one I’ve ever heard.
Interesting idea. We always use a steamer at home but the times I have taken baozi to work I have placed wet paper towels over them before heating in a glass bowl in the microwave. That seems to work acceptably too, and you can heat more than one at a time that way. I mean, who eats just one baozi?
Osaka is known for many things. Being classy isn’t one I’ve ever heard.
Trying telling these ladies that! I dare you. :-)
https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/osaka’s-aged-idol-group-obachaaan-still-on-fire
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