Ingredients

  • 130 grams Cake flour
  • 130 grams Bread (strong) flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 heaping tablespoon Sugar
  • 180 ml Boiling water
  • 300 grams Nozawana-zuke (pickled leafy green vegetables, a speciality of the region)
  • 1/2 tbsp Sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp White sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp Bonito dashi stock
  • 1 tbsp Sake
  • 1 tbsp Mirin
  • 2 tsp Soy sauce
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • 1 Ichimi chilli powder

Method

  • Put the ingredients in a bowl, and mix well with a whisk.
  • Add the boiling water and mix with chopsticks until the dough is no longer floury.
  • Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap or put it into a plastic bag so it doesn't dry out, and let it rest at room temperature for an hour.
  • Fill another bowl with water, put in the Nozawana pickled greens, and de-salt them.
  • Squeeze out the greens tightly.
  • Put them into a pan with the sesame oil and white sesame seeds, mix well, add the ingredients and stir fry over medium-low heat until there's no moisture left.
  • Divide the rested dough into 10 portions, and press each one out into a 10 cm or so diameter circle.
  • Fill each one with the Step 5 filling.
  • Spread some oil in a frying pan, place the buns seam side down in it and pan-fry them.
  • When the bottoms of the buns are browned, add 100 ml of water to the frying pan, cover with a lid and steam-cook the buns over medium heat.
  • When there's no water left in the pan, turn the heat down to low.
  • Top the buns with white sesame seeds (not listed in the ingredients), turn them over and pan fry over medium heat.
  • When that side is browned too, the buns are done.