Meat and rice-filled buns are fried bread buns with ground beef and cooked rice stuffing. It is excellent to-go food and a complete meal. They are tender and very filling. If you have leftover cooked rice in the refrigerator this is a good way to use it up.

My teenage son devoured these buns, it was his after school snacks, but they didn’t last long enough so I had to make another batch. I was inspired by both the Chinese steamed buns and Russian pirozhki but it is very Nigerian in taste and texture.

When we were growing up, sardine sandwich was the norm, mash sardine in oil mixed with some butter and spread on slices of bread then cut into triangles. I wasn’t a great fan but its either that or corned beef sandwiches. This Beef and rice stuffed buns reminds me of those sandwiches but a much more improved version of it.

You get to use much more delicious and wholesome ingredients as fillings. One of the reasons I’m so in love with these stuffed buns is that you get to fill it up with whatever you have on hand or what you enjoy. My empanada fillings will be excellent for stuffing the buns.

Any filling used must be cooked prior to filling the dough. Meat and Rice filled Buns can be baked, steamed or pan-fried. To pan-fry, it should be made smaller and flatter.

To prepare Meat and Rice filled Buns

1 cup warm milk 
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast 
2 teaspoons sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 egg 
2 tablespoons melted butter 
3 cups all purpose flour 
Filling
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped 
300g minced beef 
1-2 cloves garlic, minced 
1/4 teaspoon curry 
1/4 teaspoon thyme 
1 seasoning cube
1 1/2 cup cooked rice

In a bowl, mix warm milk with yeast and leave to stand for 10 mins (It should become frothy).

Mix in sugar, salt, egg and melted butter.

Add flour and beat and knead briefly.

Cover and proof for one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Pour oil into a frying pan and place over medium heat.

When hot, add onions and fry until soft.

Add minced beef, garlic, curry and thyme. Fry until cooked well.

Add seasoning cube and rice, stir and taste for salt. keep frying awhile then set aside to cool.

Beat dough down and cut into 8-10 balls.

Place each ball on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a circle.

Place a heaped tablespoon full of the filling in the centre of the dough.

Fold to cover. Roll into a dough ball.

Leave to rise in a warm place, covered with a kitchen napkin, for 15-20 minutes.

Place a pot of oil for deep frying over medium-high heat.

When hot, fry buns seam-side down, 90 secs per side.

Control heat so dough fries through.

Drain onto kitchen napkin and serve with Cashew fruit drink, Kunun Aya Deluxe (Sugarcane-Tigernut drink), Carrot Orange juice and Beetroot juice Mocktail. You can also serve your filled buns with a light soup. e.g Mushroom pepper soup.

Note

If you get a raw dough centre after frying your buns, place on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 5 mins.
Meat and Rice filled Buns can also be baked.

If you enjoyed my Meat and Rice filled Buns, you will also enjoy my Nigerian meat pie, Puff puff, Easy Scotch egg and Ripe plantain empanada.