Corner Store · Steamed Pork Bun
Manapua
Photo: Chedlund808 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The name shortens 'mea 'ono pua'a,' Hawaiian for 'delicious pork thing' — plantation-era locals scaled up the Chinese char siu bao into a bigger, sweeter, Hawaii-only version.
A fist-sized bun of soft white dough is stuffed with sweet char siu pork, then steamed or baked and kept hot in warming cases at corner stores and lunch wagons across the islands. Chicken, curry, and hot dog versions are now just as common as the classic pork filling.
Why it's made this way: Cantonese immigrants brought char siu bao to Hawaii in the late 1800s, and the local version grew larger and sweeter than its Chinese original.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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