Description
Manapua, Hawaii’s equivalent to Chinese pork buns (char siu bao), is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Growing up on the mainland, my family was far away from our extended family in Hawaii, so the taste of iconic local-style dishes always transported us back to our home on the islands. Over the years, my mom cracked the code to making absolutely killer baked manapua easily, thanks to a secret ingredient & a semi-homemade approach.
Pre-made dinner roll dough from the freezer section yields perfectly soft & puffy buns without the fuss involved with mixing & kneading homemade bread dough. Simply thaw them out, stuff them with a savory-spiced-sweet char siu pork filling, & bake until beautifully golden. Easy!
While this baked manapua recipe is easy, there is a fair amount of time involved in thawing & proofing the bread dough. It’s mostly inactive, but you can also take a number of different make-ahead manapua approaches to help streamline day-of prep. See the Recipe Notes, below, for more details.
Nothing beats freshly baked manapua from a bakery in Hawaii, of course, but I think my family’s at-home manapua recipe is just about the next best thing. We hope you enjoy! ♡
Ingredients
for baked manapua assembly:
- 12 frozen dinner roll dough balls (see Recipe Notes)
- char siu filling (below)
- all-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon honey, whisked with 1 teaspoon hot water
for the char siu filling:
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or high smoke point vegetable oil of choice
- 1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 16 ounces char siu pork, diced into 1/4-inch cubes (~2 cups diced) (see Recipe Notes)
- 2 ounces water chestnuts, finely diced (~1/3 cup diced) (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 scant tablespoon cornstarch, whisked with 1 tablespoon water
- kosher salt & white pepper, to season
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: 3-4 hours before you’d like to prep & bake manapua, prepare the dough by thawing it out. Place the frozen dinner roll dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, arranging them at least 2 inches apart from each other. Lightly spritz a large piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray. Gently place it over the frozen dough, oil side facing down. Set aside for 3-4 hours, until the dough is completely thawed & looks puffy or swollen.
- Prepare the char siu filling – render the char siu pork & cook the aromatics: Once the dough is thawed, begin prepping the char siu filling. Add the grapeseed oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot & shimmering, add in the yellow onion & char siu pork. Season with a small pinch of kosher salt & 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent & the pork is rendered slightly. Add the water chestnuts & green onion to the skillet, stirring to combine. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, just until the green onions are softened & fragrant.
- Finish the char siu filling: Add the dark brown sugar to the skillet, stirring to coat the char siu pork mixture. Cook until dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, & sesame oil (it’s most efficient to do so in a liquid measuring cup!). Once the brown sugar is dissolved, add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet. Stir to combine. While stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a simmer & allow everything to bubble together for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, until thickened. Carefully transfer the char siu filling to a large bowl or plate to cool before assembling the manapua, or transfer to an airtight container & store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Assemble the manapua: Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Place one dough ball on the prepared work surface. Use the palm of your hand to flatten it into a circle roughly 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the dough in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Use your other hand to add a heaping spoonful (roughly 2 tablespoons) of the prepared char siu filling to the center of the dough. Starting on one side of the dough & working your way around the circle, use your fingers to gather & pinch the edges of the dough until the filling is fully enclosed & the bao is sealed. Use your hand to smooth & press the seal flat. Place the assembled bao, seam side down, on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls & char siu filling until all 12 manapua are assembled. [gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="28147,28148,28149,28151"]
- Proof the manapua for baking: Place the lightly oiled plastic wrap over the assembled manapua, oil side facing down. Set aside to proof for 30 minutes, at which point the dough will look puffy & swollen again. This is also a great time to preheat the oven for baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the center of the oven.
- Bake the manapua: Lightly brush the tops of the bao with egg wash, then transfer to the oven. Bake the manapua 18-20 minutes, or until beautifully golden brown.
- Serving: Remove the baked manapua the oven & allow to cool slightly. If desired, brush the tops of the bao with honey wash for a crave-worthy sticky-sweet finish. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Ingredient Notes:
- Frozen dinner roll dough balls are the secret ingredient that makes this baked manapua recipe quick(er) & easy! Since they’re already pre-portioned & ready to bake, they make for a savvy substitute for homemade bread dough. Frozen dinner roll dough balls are readily available in the freezer section at most conventional grocery stores. We love Rhodes Bake-N-Serv Dinner Rolls.
- Char siu is an iconic Chinese (specifically, Cantonese) roasted BBQ pork. Perhaps most commonly known for its vibrant red color, char siu is super juicy with a unique spiced-savory-sweet flavor. You can purchase prepared char siu at most Chinese/Asian grocery stores with a deli, but it’s also incredibly simple to make at home – try my Mom’s Easy Homemade Char Siu recipe!
- Water chestnuts are an aquatic tuber (named after their chestnut-like appearance) indigenous to Southeast Asia. They are very mild in flavor, but have a wonderfully refreshing crunchy-crisp texture. You’ll often see water chestnuts used in Chinese-style stir fries, but my family always adds them to dishes like manapua or siu mai for extra texture. Canned water chestnuts are readily available in most conventional grocery stores – find them in the “International” aisle near other Asian ingredients.
- Storage, & Freezing:
- Storage & Reheating: Leftover baked manapua will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Freezer Instructions: You can also freeze leftover baked manapua. Transfer the chilled baked manapua to a freezer bag & freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Make-Ahead Baked Manapua: While this baked manapua recipe is easy & straight-forward, thawing the dough & filling the buns does take a little time – it’s kind of a kitchen project in that way. If you’d like to do a little prep in advance to cut down on active hands-on time when you bake your buns, there are a few options:
- Make-Ahead Option #1: Prep the char siu filling in advance. Prepare the char siu filling according to Steps 3-4 of Recipe Directions, above. Cool & transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The day you’d like to prepare baked manapua, simply thaw the dough & assemble the manapua according to Steps 1 & 4, above, then proceed with proofing & baking.
- Make-Ahead Option #2: Assemble the manapua in advance. Prepare the manapua according to Steps 1-4 of Recipe Notes, above. Rather than proofing, wrap tightly with plastic wrap & store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To bake, simply allow the manapua to warm slightly & bake according to Steps 5-7 of Recipe Directions, above.
- Make-Ahead Option #3: Bake from frozen. I love having a freezer stash of manapua to easily bake whenever the craving strikes. It’s worth noting that baked-from-frozen manapua aren’t quite as pretty as the other methods provided in this recipe, but they’re still really tasty. To freeze, prepare the manapua according to Steps 1-4 of Recipe Notes, above. Place the manapua, uncovered, in the freezer to individually quick freeze for about 1 hour, then transfer the frozen manapua to a freezer bag. Freeze unbaked manapua up to 3 months. For best results, thaw the frozen manapua overnight in the refrigerator or for 2 hours at room temperature, until the manapua is warm & slightly puffy. If you don’t have the time or foresight, you can skip this step. From there, bake according to Steps 5-7 of Recipe Directions, above, adding a few minutes of baking time as needed to ensure the dough cooks all the way through.