This simple Hawaiian pork hash recipe is the easiest to make yet you can double the recipe and freeze the rest for later. That, folks, is one of this delicious recipe’s best characteristics! Do not be intimidated by the amount of ingredients listed here because the procedure is so straightforward. Create this mouthwatering, simple, quick and easy dish in the comforts of your own home!
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What I like about Hawaiian Pork Hash
Hawaii’s favorite convenience store food is popular for a reason. I’ve always believed that dumplings originated from the Chinese. Feel free to share your thoughts! Given that, there has always been a certain benchmark on what goes in the dumpling. In a classic Chinese dumpling, mirrored by the Hawaii Pork Hash, what usually goes in it is shoyu, sesame oil, salt and pepper.
There are a couple of things that I love about this dish.
One, I love how Hawaiians added the oyster sauce factor. This really brings out the kick that you want out of the shrimp and pork combined. With most dumplings, I like having them with a dipping sauce but with Hawaiian Pork Hash, I could eat it without.
Two, the crunch of the water chestnuts give the dumpling more character because of the bite. We love a multi-sensory dish!
Third, I love how the dumplings aren’t covered. Some dumplings are sealed but this one in particular has meat slightly overflowing from the wrapper, making it even more appetizing to look at.
Finally, I love how you can easily prepare a big batch of these and freeze the rest for another day.
What is Hawaiian Pork Hash
Hawaiian Pork Hash is Hawaii’s take on the Chinese dumpling, Siumai. Siumai is probably the most globally known Chinese dumpling. It is simply made out of ground pork, ground shrimp, some seasoning and dumpling wrapper – steamed to perfection.
There are so many variations of Siumai around the world. In the Philippines, Siumai is deep fried and it is served on pandan rice. In Korea, they add a lot of spice to their version of Siumai. In Japan, you have the Gyoza, which has more ginger. In Nepal, they’re called Momos. In Hawaii, they’re called Pork Hash.
Hawaiian Pork Hash was popularized on the island of Oahu by the Manapua Man who went house to house to sell dim sum. Years later, this dim sum turned into what we know it now in Hawaii as the pork hash. It’s now so famous that you can find it in the grocery stores, fast food restaurants and convenient stores.
Can I replace any of the ingredients?
If you’re in a hurry or not in the mood to go out of your way to buy extra ingredients, you may replace some ingredients with what you probably have in your pantry.
But let’s get this straight. To keep the essence of the dish, you have to have these:
- Ground Pork
- Shoyu or Sweet Soy Sauce
- Oyster Sauce
- Sesame Oil
- Dumpling Wrapper (You may use round or square)
The rest, you can replace with similar ingredients:
- Water chestnuts can be replaced with peanuts or minced mushrooms
- Green onion can be replaced with leeks
- If you’re allergic with shrimp, you can opt it out (but it’s very, very delicious with shrimp)
- You may replace egg with cornflower to stabilize the filling instead. If you don’t have cornflower, you may finely grind a little but of breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture.
Hawaiian Pork Hash Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ pound ground pork
- ¼ pound shrimp peeled, deveined and minced to a paste
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup water chestnuts chopped
- ¼ cup green onion chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 2 tbsp aloha shoyu or sweet soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 14 ounce round dumpling skins
- 1 tsp dashi optional
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Place 1 tbsp of filling onto the dumpling wrap and move the sides up to the top without sealing them. Repeat until all dumplings are done.
- Place the dumplings in a steamer or a wok of boiling water and steam for 30 min.
- Optional: Pan fry the dumpling to get a nice crust underneath the dumpling.
