Hawaiian Steamed Beef Buns Recipes

"ZHAJIANG" BAO (SPICY SHRIMP AND GROUND BEEF BUNS)

Steps:

• For the spicy shrimp and ground beef buns: Combine the shrimp and dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour 1 cup boiling water over to cover. Let stand at least 10 minutes, and then drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop.
• Heat a wok over medium-high heat and add the peanut oil. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, bacon and shallots and fry, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the ground beef, breaking the meat up with a spatula and cooking until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the bamboo shoots, jalapenos and green peppers and toss 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle in about 1/2 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid along with the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and rice wine and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened and glossy, about 1 minute. Season with the white pepper.
• To serve, spoon about 1/2 cup of the mixture (depending on the bun size) onto each bun and garnish with the cornichons, a drizzle of chili oil, if using, and the cilantro. Sprinkle the peanuts with sugar, if using, over the top of each bao and serve immediately.

HOT HAWAIIAN BEEF SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice the rolls in half and place the bottoms in a single layer in a 9-by-13-inch dish.
• Mix the salad dressing and some hot sauce together in a small bowl. Spread the mixture on the rolls in the dish. Layer on the roast beef and then the cheese over the rolls. Place the top halves of the rolls on the cheese.
• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the lemon pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Drizzle or brush the butter mixture over the sandwiches. Cover with foil.
• Bake until the cheese melts, 10 to 12 minutes. Uncover and cook until lightly browned, about another 2 minutes. Serve hot.

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.

NIKUMAN (STEAMED BEEF BUNS)

Steps:

• Mix milk and sugar for dough together in a bowl. Pour bun flour into another bowl and add gradually the milk mixture, stirring with a spatula.
• Form the dough into a ball and knead with your hands for about 20 minutes. Add olive oil and knead for 10 minutes more.
• Transfer dough to a dry bowl, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Combine beef, mushrooms, green onions, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, five-spice powder, and pepper in a bowl with your hands until thoroughly mixed. Form the filling into 12 equally sized meatballs.
• Roll dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece out with a rolling pin to a circle, no more than 5 inches in diameter.
• Cover each meatball with a dough circle, pinching the edges to close.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add beef buns, working in batches as needed, cover, and steam until meat is no longer pink, about 45 minutes.

HAWAIIAN BUNS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the pineapple juice to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook it until it has reduced to 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup and let cool until just warm, about 105 to 110 degrees. Stir in the yeast and let the mixture stand until the yeast has bloomed, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, combine the sugar, flour and salt. With the mixer on low, add the yeast mixture and the eggs, and knead until the dry ingredients have been incorporated (you may have to help it along with a spatula at first) and dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add butter in small pieces and continue to knead the dough until smooth, increasing speed to medium, another 5 to 10 minutes. The dough will be shiny, elastic and slightly sticky. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gather the dough into a neat ball (no need to add extra flour). Cover the bowl with plastic and set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Butter a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking pan. Gently tip dough out onto a work surface. You shouldn't need flour at this point. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball and place in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the tray lightly with plastic wrap and set aside to double again, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The dough should look puffy and spring back slowly when pressed gently.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

HAWAIIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook and stir until browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook until aromatic, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine; cook until alcohol has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Add celery and onions; cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour 10 cups water into the pot. Add tomato paste, salt, sugar, bay leaves, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low. Cover and cook stew until beef is tender, about 1 hour.
• Place carrots into the stew; cook until slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes; cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup water together in a bowl; add to the stew. Let simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.

HAWAIIAN BEEF DISH

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until crisp-tender, 5 minutes. , Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to the juice to measure 1/2 cup. In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, vinegar, salt and pineapple juice mixture until smooth. Add to skillet. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in beef and pineapple; heat through. Serve with rice.

HOMEMADE HAWAIIAN BUNS

Steps:

• Beat eggs in a bowl. Add pineapple juice, sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and vanilla extract.
• Measure 3 cups of flour into a large bowl and stir in egg mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined. Sprinkle in yeast packages one at a time, mixing well. Add 3 more cups flour and mix well, using your hands if needed. Make sure all flour is well incorporated; the dough should be tacky to the touch, but not overly sticky. If dough is too wet, mix in a little extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Cover dough with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
• Remove dough from the bowl and knead in remaining 1/2 cup flour, approximately 10 to 15 times, making sure flour is well incorporated. Form dough into rolls and place on buttered pans. Cover and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Brush tops with remaining 1/4 cup melted butter.