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Steamed bun pancakes are this year’s must-try sweet

Oona McGee Sep 25, 2020
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Only available in Japan for a limited time.

If there’s two things we love here at SoraNews24, it’s pancakes and nikuman steamed buns. In the past, we would’ve classed these tasty treats as two separate things, but now we can have our pancake and eat our nikuman too, thanks to a new divine sweet called “Hotcake Man“.

While the name might sound odd in English, Hotcake Man actually combines the Japanese word for pancakes (hotcake) and the Japanese word for steamed meat buns (nikuman), and that’s exactly what this treat is: a steamed meat bun pancake.

▼ “That Hotcake Man has returned!!”

A joint collaboration between Morinaga, makers of a popular “cake syrup” and pancake mix, and Imuraya, producers of chilled and frozen steamed buns, the Hotcake Man was first released in January this year to celebrate “Chinese Steamed Bun Day” and “Hotcake Day”, which both fell on 25 January.

If you’re wondering why “Chinese Steamed Bun Day” and “Hotcake Day” occurs on 25 January, it’s because on that day in 1902 Japan’s lowest-ever temperature of -41 degrees Celsius was recorded at the Asahikawa Meteorological Observatory in Hokkaido. And what better way to warm up on a cold day than with a piping-hot steamed bun? Or a Morinaga pancake? Or both?

Only sold for a very limited time during January, the Hotcake Man sold like, well…hotcakes, and after it became a hot topic on social media people everywhere were begging for it to be released again. Morinaga and Imuraya listened, and now the steamed bun pancakes have returned, with two “improvements”.

First, the previously chilled pancake buns are now sold frozen so customers can stock up on them and store them for longer periods of time. Secondly, they’re now individually wrapped (previously people had to wrap them with cling wrap before heating) so now they can just be popped immediately in the microwave for faster eating.

▼ The hotcakes are sold in packs of two.

Unlike a regular savoury steamed bun, the Hotcake Man swaps out the meat filling for a much sweeter centre. Encased in a fluffy dough made from milk and eggs is a butter-flavoured paste, and encased within that is an original sauce containing Canadian maple syrup and Morinaga cake syrup. When eaten together, the three layers combine to taste like an exquisite pancake, with the look and texture of a fluffy steamed bun.

On sale for a limited time from 25 September, each two piece-pack retails for 350 yen (US$3.32). With a one-year shelf-life, there’ll be plenty of people stocking up on these while they’re available, because as we’ve all learnt, there’s no shame in eating frozen meals and serving them up for your family.

Source, images: PR Times
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[ Read in Japanese ]