Baby Baked Manapua Recipes

BAKED CHAR SIU BAO OR MANAPUA

Steps:

• 1. PROCEDURE FOR THE FILLING:
• 2. Heat 1/2 Tbsp. oil in a small saucepan, saute onions until softened and almost transparent. Remove from heat and set aside.
• 3. Heat remaining Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet, stir fry finely chopped char siu (seasoned pork) till tender.
• 4. Combine the remaining filling ingredients in a bowl and stir till well blended, then add the filling mixture and the sauteed onions to the stir fried char siu. Heat and stir until it is bubbling.
• 5. Combine the chicken broth and the cornstarch in a small bowl and mix till well blended, add to the hot meat mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens.
• 6. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• 7. NOTE: FILL THE BAO (BUN) WHEN THE FILLING IS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, NOT HOT, NOT REFRIGERATOR COLD.
• 8. PROCEDURE FOR THE BAO (BUN):
• 9. Mix together in a bowl, the yeast packet, lukewarm water and a pinch of salt. Set aside until it's foamy.
• 10. In a large bowl, combine sugar and room temperature milk, whisk until sugar dissolves. Add the 2 cups of the cake flour and mix well. In 3 increments, slowly add the 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and combine well, but do not over mix.
• 11. Place the dough in a large bowl, and in a warm place, allow for the dough to rise till it doubles in size (approximately 2 1/2 hours, if enclosed in a microwave oven with a jar of boiling water on the side of the bowl).
• 12. Remove the dough from the microwave oven and discard the water.
• 13. Punch down the dough and cut the dough into 24 equal pieces. Form into dough balls and allow the dough balls to rest for about 15 minutes.
• 14. Roll out each ball into 4-inch disks, place a heaping Tbsp. of room temperature filling onto the center of the disk, gather the edges together and pinch it close with a twist.
• 15. With a cookie sheet, prepped with parchment paper, set the bao (bun), twisted side down and spaced evenly apart.
• 16. Put the cookie sheet of bao in a warm, moist area so that it can rise for about 30 minutes.
• 17. Brush the tops of the bao with the beaten egg and bake for 22 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
• 18. Remove the bao from oven onto a cooling rack. Serve hot or warm.
• 19. To retain freshness, bao may be frozen. To reheat a frozen bao, let stand for about 5 minutes, then wrap with a damp paper towel and microwave in the oven for about 1 minute, more if needed.

BAKED BAO WITH BLACK BEAN PASTE

Steps:

• In a small bowl or cup, combine 1/4 cup lukewarm water with the yeast. Let stand for five minutes, while you do the following step.
• In a large bowl, sift or stir together 2 cups of the flour, the salt and the sugar. Add the shortenning with a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a microwave safe bowl or in a small saucepan, combine milk and 1/3 cup water and heat until warm, but not hot. Add the yeast mixture.
• Add milk and yeast mixture to the dry ingrediants in the large bowl, mixing well. Add the remaining flour, little by little, until mixture forms a shaggy dough. You may not need the full amount of flour.
• Using an electric mixer with dough hooks, mix the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary. (If you prefer, you can knead the dough by hand on a well floured surface - it takes 5-10 minutes).
• Grease a large clean bowl with a bit of oil, butter or shortenning, and transfer the dough to this bowl, turning it so that the grease coats the dough. Cover with a towel, or with plastic wrap, and leave dough to rise in a warm place for two hours.
• Punch down the dough, and transfer it to a well-floured surface. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten dough to just over a 1/2 inch thickness. Using a knife, divide dough into pieces roughly 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches - the exact shape is not particularly important.
• On the floured surface or in the palm of your hand, flatten the dough slightly around the edges. Place a rounded teaspoon of black bean paste in the center, then gather up the edges of the dough and pinch them firmly together, making certain that the filling is sealed inches.
• Place the bun on a baking sheet that is well greased or lined with parchment paper, pinched side down. Repeat for remaining pieces of dough. Place buns about 2 inches apart, to give them room to rise. Cover them with a clean towel and let rise for half an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• With a pastry brush, or your fingers, brush the tops of the buns with the beaten egg.
• Put buns in preheated oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until buns are golden brown. The bread should look airy and cooked if a bun is torn open.
• If you want to mark the tops of the buns with a red dot, mix the red food colouring and 2 tsp water in a small bowl and use the end of a chop stick to put a drop of the red water on the top of each hot bun.
• Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool a little. Buns can be served warm, refrigerated and reheated (either for 10 seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in the oven) or frozen for later.

MANAPUA - CHAR SIU BAO

Steps:

• Add hoisin, oyster sauce, and green onions to the chopped char siu.
• Dissolve sugar in 1-2 tablespoon of hot water. Mix into char siu filling mixture.
• You can also add more hoisin or oyster sauce to taste.\
• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and mix in 1 cup of flour. Cover with cloth. Let rise 1 hour, until bubbles appear.
• Dissolve sugar and vegetable oil in 1/2 cup boiling water. Cool until lukewarm. Pour into the yeast mixture and add the remaining 3 1/2 cups flour.
• Knead dough on lightly floured board until smooth (10 minutes). Put 2 tsp. of sesame seed oil into an extra large bowl and place dough inside. Roll dough around in bowl to lightly cover it with the sesame seed oil. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm place. Let rise until double in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Divide into 2 portions. Remove first portion and knead 2 minutes. Repeat with second. Roll each into roll 14 - 16 inches long and cut into 8-9 pieces.
• Shape each cut piece into round balls. Flatten each piece into 4 inch circles, leaving more dough in the center and using your fingers to push the dough out at the edges.
• Take a heaping tablespoon of the char siu mixture and place into the middle of each dough circle. Bring up the edges of the circle to encase the filling and pinch close.
• Place each bun onto a square piece of 2″ x 2″ parchment paper. Dip your fingers into the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and lightly rub the top and sides of the buns. Place these onto a sheet and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm area and let the buns rise for about 30 - 45 minutes.
• Place buns into a steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes.
• Remove buns and place on a rack to cool. Serve warm.
• If storing, let buns completely cool and place in the refrigerator in an air tight container. Keep up to 3 days.
• To reheat, cover with a damp paper towel and place into the microwave for up to 1 minute or until warmed through.
• If freezing, place buns into a plastic bag to store. Re-steam for 10 minutes.

CLASSIC MANAPUA (STEAMED BUNS HAWAIIAN STYLE)

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over 3 tablespoons lukewarm water and allow to stand until yeast softens.
• To remaining water, add oil or shortening, sugar and salt, stirring until melted or dissolved. Cool. Add yeast mixture.
• Place flour in a large mixing bowl or a heavy-duty mixer and add most of the liquid. Combine until flour incorporates liquid and starts to become a ball.
• Add remaining liquid to make a very heavy dough.
• Begin kneading the dough in the bowl. Continue kneading until you have a smooth ball that is beginning to show signs of long strands on the outside, indicating that the gluten has fully developed.
• Remove dough from bowl and rinse out bowl. Pour sesame oil into bowl, return dough and turn it around until covered with a thin layer of the oil.
• Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in bulk (about an hour in a warm room).
• Place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to rise (3-6 hours). Punch it down again and allow it to rise again (3 hours).
• Proceed with the filling while the dough is rising. In a saute pan, stir cornstarch, hoisin sauce, dry sherry, oyster sauce, ketchup, soy sauce and brown sugar into the 1 cup water until dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add char siu and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off heat and allow to cool completely. Chill covered until 1 hour before you are ready to stuff the manapua. Allow to return to room temperature before using.
• When ready to cook, cut 12 (3-inch) squares of waxed paper and coat 1 side with very light coat of nonstick cooking spray.
• Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a ball.
• Make the dough as thin as you can and try to keep the edges thinner than the center.
• Place the circle of dough in the palm of your hand. Spoon in a couple of tablespoons of filling, cupping the dough around it.
• With the thumb and finger of the other hand, pinch the edges of the dough as if you were making a fluted edging on a pie crust. Pinch the folds together, twisting them as you do so.
• Place the completed manapua on a square of greased waxed paper. Allow to plump up into a globe with a taut exterior.
• Heat a steamer with plenty of water or preheat an oven at 350 degrees F.
• If using steamer, fill steamer with manapua on their papers about 1 to 2 inches apart. Cover and steam vigorously for 15 minutes. Remove steamer from heat, let stand 5 minutes, then open. If using a metal steamer, place a folded tea towel across top of steamer, holding it in position with the lid. This will prevent steam from dropping onto manapua while steaming.
• If baking, place manapua on their papers on a baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart. Brush top of buns with a little vegetable oil and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand 1 minutes. Serve hot.
• Manapua can be frozen. Frozen bau may be reheated by wrapping with a paper towel and microwaving for 1 minute.

BABY BAKED MANAPUA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ground pork in a skillet until no longer pink. Add water chestnuts and char siu mix. Simmer 3 minutes. Stir in green onions and remove from heat. Cool. Separate biscuits. Roll a biscuit in sugar and flatten into a 3-inch round. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the round and pinch to close, forming a ball. Place pinched-side down on a square of wax paper, then on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Dot each manapua with food coloring. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 30 manapua. (Manapua may also be steamed 15 to 18 minutes).