Judgment: Imuraya Gold Pizza Bun

Yagami can do a lot of things in Judgement, but he can only bring along so many healing drinks for when things go bad. It isn’t super restrictive, but it requires you to be mindful of how many heals you have left in longer battle sequences. Luckily, Yagami can upgrade his fridge to increase his carrying capacity. But Yagami can also throw a huge amount of convenience store snacks in his pockets for emergencies. There were a lot of fights where I’d pause to recover from a mistake by eating 8 bao in a row. I can’t waste my precious Staminan X’s.

This pizza bao recipe is one that I have been working on since the release of Yakuza 6. The moment I saw those glorious buns at the convenience store, I wanted to eat them all. I originally was targeting to make these vegetarian but found that just using cheese led to the bao being extremely flat. I tried several different methods with just cheese and was never really happy with the end result. It always felt like something was missing. At that point I finally decided I would need to add meat in order for these to hold their shape. I personally am a bigger fan of sausage on pizza over pepperoni so I knew that was the direction I would be taking. After basically years of attempts, I am finally happy to share with you all my pizza bao recipe!

Pizza Sauce
¼ onion, finely diced
1 sardine
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
½ tbsp (2 g) dried oregano
½ tsp (½ g) dried basil
1 tsp (5 g) sugar
½ tsp (2 g) salt
½ tsp (1 g) pepper
14 oz (397 g) whole tomatoes
7 ½ oz (213 g) tomato sauce
1 ½ tbsp (15 g) cornstarch
2 tbsp water

Additional Filling
4 Italian sausages
8 oz (227 g) mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
2 oz (57 g) parmesan cheese, cut into small cubes
2 oz (57 g) romano cheese, cut into small cubes

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onion. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sardine, garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Break up the sardine and cook for 5 minutes, mixing to not have anything stick to the bottom of the pan.

Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them along with the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat. Cover and let it cook for 1 ½ hours, until it reduces by ¼. Make sure to stir the sauce every ten minutes or so to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan. After the sauce has reduced, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add to the saucepan and mix in well to help thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat a medium frying pan with nonstick spray over high heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook, flipping to brown all sides, until the sausage is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

Chop the sausages into bite-sized chunks and place in a medium bowl. Add the sauce and all the cubed cheese. Toss together until well mixed.

It is time to prepare the filling into individual portions. Using a standard sized muffin tin, place a rectangular piece of plastic wrap (about 5-inches by 4 inches, enough to cover the filling when placed) in a hole of the muffin tin.  Fill with the sauce mixture to the top of the hole. Wrap the mixture with the plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining sauce. You should end up with 12 portions. Place in the freezer and let set for about 2 hours. This will make it much easier to assemble.

Bao Dough
1 ½ tsp (8 g) yeast
2 tbsp (25 g) olive oil
1 cup (218 g) warm water
3 cup (430 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 g) sugar
2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
1 tsp (4 g) garlic powder
1 tbsp (12 g) onion powder
1 ½ tbsp (10 g) ground fennel seeds
1 tsp (5 g) salt

While the sauce is setting, take the time to prepare the bao dough. In a bowl, mix the yeast, water, and oil. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes active. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground fennel. Set the mixer to the lowest setting and slowly add the yeast mixture. Mix until it all comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rest until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Punch the dough down and roll out into a long tube. Split into 12 equal pieces and form into balls. 

Take a portion and roll out to about 6 inches wide. Avoid making it too thin. Remove one of the frozen sauce pieces from the plastic wrap and place in the center of the dough.

Pleat the buns until sealed. Place on top of a small piece of parchment paper and then place in a steam basket (do not place the steam basket on the pot until all are shaped). Repeat until all the bao are shaped. Make sure the bao aren’t touching.

Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 20 to 22 minutes, until the bao dough is cooked and the filling is cooked through.

Print Recipe

Imuraya Gold Pizza Bun

Servings: 12 Bao

Ingredients

Pizza Sauce

• ¼ onion finely diced
• 1 sardine
• 4 cloves garlic finely diced
• ½ tbsp (2 g) dried oregano
• ½ tsp (½ g) dried basil
• 1 tsp (5 g) sugar
• ½ tsp (2 g) salt
• ½ tsp (1 g) pepper
• 14 oz (397 g) whole tomatoes
• 7 ½ oz (213 g) tomato sauce
• 1 ½ tbsp (15 g) cornstarch
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) water

Additional Filling

• 4 Italian sausages
• 8 oz (227 g) mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
• 2 oz (57 g) parmesan cheese cut into small cubes
• 2 oz (57 g) romano cheese cut into small cubes

Bao Dough

• 1 ½ tsp (8 g) yeast
• 2 tbsp (25 g) olive oil
• 1 cup (218 g) warm water
• 3 cup (430 g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
• 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (4 g) garlic powder
• 1 tbsp (12 g) onion powder
• 1 ½ tbsp (10 g) ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp (5 g) salt

Instructions

Pizza Sauce

• Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onion. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sardine, garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Break up the sardine and cook for 5 minutes, mixing to not have anything stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them along with the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat. Cover and let it cook for 1 ½ hours, until it reduces by ¼. Make sure to stir the sauce every ten minutes or so to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan. After the sauce has reduced, combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add to the saucepan and mix in well to help thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Heat a medium frying pan with nonstick spray over high heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook, flipping to brown all sides, until the sausage is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Chop the sausages into bite-sized chunks and place in a medium bowl. Add the sauce and all the cubed cheese. Toss together until well mixed.
• It is time to prepare the filling into individual portions. Using a standard sized muffin tin, place a rectangular piece of plastic wrap (about 5-inches by 4 inches, enough to cover the filling when placed) in a hole of the muffin tin. Fill with the sauce mixture to the top of the hole. Wrap the mixture with the plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining sauce. You should end up with 12 portions. Place in the freezer and let set for about 2 hours. This will make it much easier to assemble.

Bao Dough

• While the sauce is setting, take the time to prepare the bao dough. In a bowl, mix the yeast, water, and oil. Allow this to rest for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes active. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground fennel. Set the mixer to the lowest setting and slowly add the yeast mixture. Mix until it all comes together.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Let it rest until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Assembly

• When you are ready to make the bao, place water in a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Punch the dough down and roll out into a long tube. Split into 12 equal pieces and form into balls.
• Take a portion and roll out to about 6 inches wide. Avoid making it too thin. Remove one of the frozen sauce pieces from the plastic wrap and place in the center of the dough.
• Pleat the buns until sealed. Place on top of a small piece of parchment paper and then place in a steam basket (do not place the steam basket on the pot until all are shaped). Repeat until all the bao are shaped. Make sure the bao aren’t touching.
• Once the water is boiling, place the steamers on top of the pot and steam for 20 to 22 minutes, until the bao dough is cooked and the filling is cooked through.