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Hawaiian Style Pork Hash

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Pork hash is Hawai’i’s take on a classic Chinese steamed dumpling or shumai. So delicious and simple to make in the comforts of your own home.

hand with chopsticks picking up pork hash

I mean is there anything better than a fresh steamed piece of pork hash straight from the manapua man himself? But nowadays the manapua man can be hard to find. So why not make it yourself at home.

Minced pork and shrimp blended with your classic Hawaiian and Asian flavors and stuffed into a dumpling wrapper and steamed to perfection. These little bite sized pieces of goodness are quite amazing.

Whether you call it pork hash, shumai, or siu mai, this popular dim sum dish will be sure to please. 

What is pork hash?

Pork hash is Hawai’i’s take on shumai or Chinese steamed dumplings.

Ingredients to make pork hash

  • 1/4 pound ground pork
  • 1/4 pound shrimp, diced
  • 2 tablespoon green onion
  • 2 tablespoon water chestnut
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon shoyu
  • 2 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • 16 round dumpling wrappers
  • shoyu and hot mustard for serving
pork hash ingredients

First let’s talk pork. Traditional Chinese shumai uses blocks of pork that are then minced down. As a full time working mom I find this a little too time consuming and instead, I opt to use ground pork.

Another protein added to the mix is diced shrimp. If you’ve got seafood allergies or just don’t care for shrimp you can replace this will all pork.

Green onions add a subtle flavor a pop of color while the water chestnuts bring the crunch.

Next some cornstarch to thicken and bind the ingredients. Just like we used in the beef and broccoli recipe.

pork hash in a bamboo steamer basket

Classic Chinese shumai use Chinese cooking wine. If you have this on hand you can totally use it. I found it a little more difficult to find, so I like to use mirin instead.

Classic local flavors are added to the mix with an egg to help bind it all together.

All of this goodness is then wrapped in dumpling wrappers.

There are square and circle shaped wrappers. The circle wrappers are the more common shape used. If you can only find square shaped wrappers you can totally use those as well.

These dumplings are cooked via a steaming process. I like to use my bamboo steamer baskets to do so, but not to worry you can do this at home without this.

pork hash on a black plate

How to steam pork hash without a bamboo steamer?

Don’t feel like you need to go out and buy a bamboo steamer to makes these yummy treats. You can make a steamer with things you have at home.

Take a large pot and place two pieces of foil rolled up in a log in to the bottom of the pot and fill with water. Then place a large ceramic or heat proof plate on the foil and then place the dumplings on the plate. Cover the lid of the pot with a dish towel to soak up the condensation so it does not drip on the pork hash and cover the pot.

How long does it take to steam?

It takes about 15 minutes to steam a batch. Be sure to check the internal temperature of the meat to ensure it is done. This should be at least 165F. If you make larger sized dumplings it may take longer to steam and smaller sizes may take less time.

cross section of a bitten pork hash

How to wrap pork hash?

Pork hash are wrapped similar to shumai in that the top of the dumpling remains open compared to it’s Japanese counterpart gyoza, which is sealed shut. See below for step by step instructions and photos. 

What to serve with pork hash?

Pork hash is generally served as an appetizer or in a dim sum (Chinese style of bite sized pieces) fashion. This goes well with a hot mustard shoyu dipping sauce (see recipe below). Serve pork hash alongside beef and broccoli or chow fun.

How to store?

These are best eaten fresh, however if you have leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

pork hash in steamer basket

How to reheat?

When ready to reheat you can opt to place back in the steamer and steam to reheat. Or you can place dumplings on a plate with a little water and microwave for 30-45 seconds.

Can you freeze pork hash?

You sure can. Once dumplings have been made and before cooking, place on a baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid (a few hours to overnight). Once frozen transfer to a zip top bag or air tight container and this will keep for up to three months.

How to make pork hash?

Make the filling: To a large bowl add pork, shrimp, green onion, water chestnut, cornstarch, mirin, shoyu, oyster sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.

pork hash ingredients in a bowl

Assemble the pork hash: Take your thumb and index finger and make a circle shape. Lay a single won ton wrapper over you hand.

pork hash wrapper on a hand

Place about 1-2 teaspoons of filling on to wrapper.

filling a pork hash wrapper

Gently squeeze your index and pointer finger together beginning to close the circle making pleats along the way at the top of the pork hash. Bring your thumb and index finger all the way together, but do not close off the top of the pork hash.

closing a pork has wrapper

Use your 4th and 5th finger to stabilize and flatten the bottom of the pork has. Using a knife or back of a spoon gently press down the filling. Be sure filling goes to the top of the wrapper. If there is more space you can add more filling.

wrapped pork hash

While you are filling your wrappers you can start to boil a pot of water.

To steam the pork hash: Place pork hash in your steamer baskets of choice. Place steamer over the boiling water and cover with a lid.

pork hash in a bamboo steamer

Steam for about 15 minutes or until the center of the pork filling is at 165F.

bamboo steamer of pork hash on a pot of water

Serve immediately with a shoyu hot mustard dipping sauce. Sauce can be made by mixing 1 tablespoon shoyu with 1/2 teaspoon of hot mustard powder. If you like it on the spicier side you can add more hot mustard.

hand with chopsticks picking up pork hash

Pork Hash Recipe

Relle Lum
Pork hash is Hawai’i’s take on a classic Chinese steamed dumpling or shumai. So delicious and simple to make in the comforts of your own home
4.70 from 13 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizers
Cuisine Asian
Servings 16
Calories 117 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 pound ground pork
  • 1/4 pound shrimp diced
  • 2 tablespoon green onion
  • 2 tablespoon water chestnut diced
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon shoyu
  • 2 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • 16 round dumpling wrappers
  • shoyu and hot mustard for serving

Instructions
 

  • Make the filling: To a large bowl add pork, shrimp, green onion, water chestnut, cornstarch, mirin, shoyu, oyster sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
  • Assemble the pork hash: Take your thumb and index finger and make a circle shape. Lay a single won ton wrapper over you hand.
  • Place about 1-2 teaspoons of filling on to wrapper.
  • Gently squeeze your index and pointer finger together beginning to close the circle making pleats along the way at the top of the pork hash. Bring your thumb and index finger all the way together, but do not close off the top of the pork hash.
  • Use your 4th and 5th finger to stabilize and flatten the bottom of the pork has. Using a knife or back of a spoon gently press down the filling. Be sure filling goes to the top of the wrapper. If there is more space you can add more filling.
  • While you are filling your wrappers you can start to boil a pot of water.
  • To steam the pork hash: Place pork hash in your steamer baskets of choice and cover with a lid.
  • Steam for about 15 minutes or until the center of the pork filling is at 165F.
  • Serve immediately with a shoyu hot mustard dipping sauce. Sauce can be made by mixing 1 tablespoon shoyu with 1/2 teaspoon of hot mustard powder. If you like it on the spicier side you can add more hot mustard.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 117kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 6gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 409mgSugar: 1g
Keyword appetizer, chinese food, dim sum, dumplings, keeping it relle, pork hash, shumai, siu mai
Did you make this recipe?Share a photo and tag @keeping.it.relle on Instagram so I can see all your delicious creations and Let me know how it was!

© Relle Lum for Keeping It Relle. Please do not copy and paste or screenshot recipes online or on social media. I’d love it if you share a link with a photo instead. Mahalo!

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pork hash

By on August 1st, 2020

About Relle

Aloha, my name is Relle and welcome to my little home on the internet where I like to share all my favorite Hawaiian recipes (and local ones too).

I am a wife, mom of two, and nurse practitioner here in the beautiful state of Hawai’i. I was born and raised in Hawai’i and I am of native Hawaiian descent. In my spare time I love to cook and bake and I have compiled many of my favorite recipes here for you to enjoy.

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21 thoughts on “Hawaiian Style Pork Hash”

  1. Last night I made your delicious pork hash for my husband. it was a hit with my husband and grandchildren. it was gone in less than 10 minutes. thank you again for your delicious recipes.

    Reply
    • 5 stars
      Hi great recipe thank you so much! I did however have a question. For some reason my pork hash is not sticking to the wrapper once it’s done steaming. When pulling it out of the steamer I find that there’s some liquid that’s in the wrapper which I’m assuming is from the mixture. How would I go about fixing this? I’ve also tried placing a dry towel under the lid while steaming and it still comes out this way. But anyway great recipe! Thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. Omg these were so yummy and so easy to make! Reminds me of visiting O’ahu as a kid and stopping by our favorite Chinese dim sum shop to pick up snacks to bring back home. Thanks for sharing this bit of local nostalgia!

    Reply
  3. Aloha Relle!
    Mahalo for the recipes, I am a chef like you in Houston and of course everyone who tries our food fall in love with it, I think its mainly the Aloha that goes in it too.

    When i make my mac salad with black olives its a hit all the time, My hands are super super clean when I mix the salad with my hands, but I really think the heat from my hands turns the salad into “gotta have more” supposedly an old Hawaiian method.

    Keep up the good work, Mahalo Nui Loa, Kokua Aku, Kokua mai!

    Reply

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