Following is a cooking demo’ presented by Tasty Island reader and frequent comments contributor, Haru. Born and raised on Oahu, he served a lifelong career in the United States Air Force, and as a retired veteran, now calls Alabama home.

OK folks. Sorry for the long delay in this piece but I’m going to blame it on Mother Nature! As you in Hawaii know, this has been a summer of epic heat waves and the one here in the Deep South of Bama has been EPIC. We’ve spent most of 6 months (SIX!) with temperatures and heat indexes at or well over 100ºF, and the last couple where a heat ridge was trapped over us due to the storms in the Atlantic has been one for the books, with heat records set almost everyday in the last month alone.

Needless to say, the last thing on my mind has been baking… :D Yes I have central air but our wonderful power company has jacked up its peak hour rates to HECO levels and I’m too pake to really cool a good sized house with only the dog and I in it :D. The heat has finally broken and we can actually start doing some normal things again (like going outside during the day)… SOOOOO, here it is. Haru’s Bama Style Manapua.

Everyone in Hawaii knows what manapua are. Steamed or baked filled buns (I like the baked kind), and everyone has their favorites. Nowadays there are almost any type of fillings that you can think of besides just the traditional charsiu (still a fave of mine).

Problem is, here in the backwoods of Bama, you simply can’t GET them anywhere at any price locally (the local Chinese takeout folks kinda looked at me like I was your crazy uncle “Manna – WHAT?” when I mentioned it to them). They know what steamed buns are obviously but they’re just not the SAME as those back home if you know what I mean. Baked? FUGETTABOUTIT! Yes, I know I could order them (probably even from the Islands) but did I mention that I’m pake?

So, I did what I normally do, learn to make whatever local style goody I’m craving out of desperation and in the process, also synthesized a little to get a decent tasting version that would also appeal to the (very) Southern tastes of my friends. Hence, the Hawaiian Style Sweet Bread Manapua with Southern Smoked Sausage was born!

When I first started to make manapua, I stuck strictly with the traditional Chinese style dough recipe with a homemade charsiu filling. I actually got pretty good at it and honestly, I probably could have stopped there as they were a hit with everyone and I was requested to make them often. However, as usual, I got a little bored of making the same thing every time and one day, when I was making a batch of Hawaiian style Portagee sweet bread.

It dawned on me. This dough is really quite similar to manapua dough, but without the milk and add butter. I wondered how it would taste if I substituted it for regular manapua dough? I didn’t think the traditional charsiu filling would taste right with buttery sweet bread dough so it started me brainstorming -what else I could use? I dug around in the fridge and found a package of locally produced smoked sausage as well as a container of homemade Carolina style mustard based BBQ sauce. The rest is culinary history (no matter how small… :D)!

The first step in this process is obviously to start the sweet bread dough. There are tons of recipes for Hawaiian style Portuguese Sweet Bread out there and they’re all good. So if you’re inclined to make this pick one! My recipe actually takes two full days to rise due to all the BUTTA in it so I have to get started early. My stand mixer is ESSENTIAL for this since dough is so heavy and sticky (hint – use a LOT less butter than the recipe calls for so you won’t have to add a bunch of flour to reduce the stickiness of the dough to manageable levels).

Once it’s done I put it into the fridge to proof overnight and then take it out in the morning to finish rising till afternoon. The next step is to make the filling. I use a locally produced smoked sausage from Ziegler’s in Selma, Alabama. It’s a very old company that produces a wide array of products and it’s kinda like Redondo’s back home.

The specific kind I use is their grill sized version – all pork and no fillers. It’s spicy and very good both in the filling and on the grill.

Making the filling very easy, all you have to do is dice the sausage.

Make up a batch of Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce according to your fave recipe.

Combine and season (I like a LOT of pepper!).

Simmer for a few minutes till it starts to thicken and then I add a little flour (instead of the usual cornstarch slurry) to the sauce to tighten it up (I use Wondra – works great for this).

Then I let it cool for a while and get started prepping the skins to fill.

Ready to start rolling with my Mom’s old dumpling roller…

I usually “Supersize” these vs. the smaller traditional manapua.

I try to roll them less than a quarter of an inch thick.

Next, it’s time to fill with about 2 healthy tablespoons of the cooled filling and wrap.

This is going to be a small batch of six. I usually make two dozen at a time. Don’t forget the parchment paper! Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or two until puffed. It never seems to really “rise” so when it’s got some height to it, it’s ready. Next, preheat your oven to 375°F.

The final step is to beat an egg with some water to make your glaze and brush your manapua with it before they go into the oven for 20 minutes or until they’re a golden brown. Be careful! It’s easy to burn these due to the glaze and the amount of sugar in the dough so keep an eye on them! Lower the heat to 350°F if you need to.

Here ya go! Golden brown and delicious Southern Style Manapua!

Looks good!

Let’s try one!

OISHI!!! The meaty, spicy sweet filling goes GREAT with the soft and fluffy sweetbread dough. I give it 5 Hushpuppies! :D All I need now is a cold “beverage”… These have really proven to be a hit and they’re a perfect example of fusion cooking. Hawaiian Local meets the Deep South! There you have it folks. Aloha till the next installment of Haru’s Bama Kitchen! ~ Haru