“Mommy, you know me so well!”
That’s what I hear from Top Gun every time I tell him that we are having Chinese food for dinner. Seeing the excitement on his face always make me smile and feel happy that I’m making his favorite dishes, and that he has an adventurous palate and likes a wide variety of foods.
Mu shu pork is a traditional Northern Chinese dish that has gained a permanent spot on menus all over the United States. The combination of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil gives the dish a pleasant sweet/salty/toasty flavor. This mu shu recipe that I adapted from Cooking Light comes together in about 30 minutes, making it a good weeknight meal as well as a good party appetizer. The lettuce or cabbage leaf wraps reduce the calories and give a nice crunch, as well as the added bonus of even faster prep since you don’t have to make the pancakes.
Recipe Notes
Traditional recipes have wood ear mushrooms and dried daylily blossoms, aka golden needles, but this recipe uses widely available white mushrooms. If you want to use golden needles, you can find them at well-stocked Asian markets, just add about 8 to 10 to the wok. The original recipe from serves four, which isn’t enough for our family, so I double it.
MU SHU PORK LETTUCE WRAPS
Adapted from Cooking Light.
Serves 6 to 8.
Equipment
medium to large glass bowl or baking dish
wok or large skillet
medium bowl
Ingredients
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pound boneless pork chops or pork loin, sliced into matchsticks
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 ounces mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
1-1/2 cups sliced green onions, divided
2 cups fresh bean sprouts, thoroughly rinsed and drained
6 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 small head iceberg lettuce or green cabbage, cut into leaf cups
Preparation
1. In the bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and cornstarch. Add the pork, carrots, and mushroom and stir until coated. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.
2. Pour half the oil in the wok and heat over medium-high heat. Add half the onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the bean sprouts and water and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Add the remaining oil and warm. Add the remaining green onions and garlic, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the pork mixture and stir-fry just until the meat is cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the bean sprouts mixture and stir. Serve about 1/2 cup of mixture in a lettuce leaf.
More Chinese Recipes
More Chinese Recipes From Other Blogs
The Perfect Pantry – Fried Noodles (Mee Goreng)
Kalyn’s Kitchen – Spicy Sichuan Style Green Beans
Appetite for China – Sichuan Eggplant (Fish-Fragrant Eggplant)
[Disclosure: I am a member of the Cooking Light Bloggers' Connection.]
[An original post from Andrea Meyers: making life delicious. All images and text copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.]
[Disclosure: This blog earns a few cents on items purchased through the Amazon.com links in posts.]
I always liked Mu Shu Pork and I adore the idea of eating it in lettuce wraps!