Hawaiian BBQ Manapua

A popular snack food in Hawaii, this irresistible take on manapua brings succulent pork and the tropical flavor of Cattlemen's Hawaiian BBQ Sauce together in a pillowy baked bun.

Ingredients

Procedure

Manapua Dough

1. In a small bowl, whisk together water, yeast and sugar until the yeast dissolves. Let the mixture sit until the yeast blooms and gets foamy.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk and the yeast mixture, mix until it forms a thick pancake-like batter. Allow it to sit for 2 hours.
3. Transfer the batter to a stand mixer with a dough attachment. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and knead for 5-8 minutes until it reaches pizza dough consistency. Let it rest for an additional hour.

Manapua Filling

1. In a bowl, mix Cattlemen's® Hawaiian BBQ Sauce, Chinese cooking wine, McCormick Culinary® Chinese Five Spice and garlic. Place marinade and pork in a bag and let marinate for at least 8 hrs, or overnight, or place in vacuum seal bag to expedite the process to marinate for 4 hrs.
2. Set combi to 325°F, remove pork from bag, reserving marinade. On a parchment lined sheet tray, insert rack and lay strips of pork out on rack, cook for 40 minutes.

Assembly

1. Take the rested dough and portion it into approximately 2 oz dough balls. Roll each ball out to a thickness of 1/4-inch. For the filling, use 1 tablespoon of char siu pork and place it at the center of each rolled-out dough circle. Gather the edges of the dough, slightly twist to seal, creating a neat parcel for the filling.
2. Prepare a perforated pan lined with parchment paper. Place the folded buns on the pan with the twisted sides facing downwards for a secure seal, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until service. 

Service

1. Brush the buns with egg wash and bake at 350°F for 12-15 min until they appear golden brown, serve hot.