One of my favorite quick snacks is 肉まん（にくまん, nikuman or meat bun), a variety of the many types of 中華まん (Chinese steam buns). But what is nikuman?! You can find them in just about any convenience store (コンビニ、konbini) and they are delicious and warm.
Generally seen more in the winter but I’m an equal opportunity handheld food eater. I always flip back and forth over whether I prefer onigiri or these!
They can be found as street food as well as at festivals. The best, by far, are ones we found while we were walking down the shopping street in 宮島 (Miyajima) close to Itsukushima Shrine at a shop called まるきんほんぽ (
What is Nikuman?
First of all, the generic Japanese name is 蒸饅頭 or Mushimanjū which means steamed bun. They are made from flour dough and filled with an assortment of fillings though usually some type of meat, hence the name. Niku = meat. “man” is short for manjū.
Pork is prevalent so many people call them “pork buns”. However, they can have any assortment of ingredients within them.
Personally, I prefer the beef ones. Steamed and sold as street food, nikuman is highly portable and great for train rides or a quick snack. Though definitely let them cool a bit before biting in!
They can come in designs
I’ve seen before where some stores will make super cute nikuman that are designed as animals. Lawson’s will have their logo as the meat bun but that just seems cruel to me to eat the
Miyajima-man
Why the name “
At convenience stores they are normally very cheap, these were on the high end at 450円 but the flavor was out of this world. Good quality meat in a great sauce can go a long way and was worth the higher price.
Why the high price? Because it’s actually wagyu beef from Hiroshima. They use both
Where can I find them?
The shop is open from 10 till 6 so if you are visiting the shrine you definitely have some time to stop by. If not? They have online orders for those in Japan!
Not visiting Miyajima? You can find nikuman at vendors around Japan at festivals like Hokkaido’s snow festivals and yosakoi and obon in the summer. And if all else fails, just about any convinence store will have them as well. It always amazes me how delicious the food is there!
Which is your favorite?
Which do you like for your nikuman? Pork, beef, designs? Let me know in the comments below ;).
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