Manapua

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Manapua is Hawaiian slang for the Chinese food cha siu bau (pork-filled bun). The word does not mean "chewed-up" (mana) "pork" (puaʻa) in the Hawaiian language, as its spelling suggests. Rather, the current form is a shortening of meaʻono-puaʻa, meaning "pork cake" (meaʻono = "cake"). In the US mainland, the Chinese term is commonly used. The Chinese brought this dim sum item with them when they were brought over as plantation workers. This food usually consists of a white bun with a red-colored shredded pork filling. The bun is occasionally baked, but is more frequently steamed when it is made. Manapua has come to mean any meat-filled or bean-paste-filled bun made with the same dough as described above including locally created versions with hot dogs, Curry chicken, and even Ube (purple yam), which is a popular vegetarian version of the manapua. In Hawaii, freshly prepared or prepackaged frozen manapua may be found in dedicated bakeries, restaurants, and chain convenience stores. In related Hawaiian slang, another dim sum item typically found along with manapua, siu maai (also shumai), a steamed dumping of pork inside a thin wheat flour wrapper, is known by the local term pork hash.