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! ♡
