MOO SHU - Daring Cooks' Challenge - October / 2011

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The ceramic plate was made by myself at the pottery classes I'm attending here in Korea  :o)

The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

Moo Shu is a Chinese dish I had never heard about before this month's DC's challenge. The dish itself is a stir fry, and stir fries are very frequent in my kitchen, not only because they are so easy to put together, but also because they are delicious! This one is made with pork, vegetables and eggs and served with a side of very thin pancakes and Hoisin Sauce which is amazing!

The pancakes suggested for this challenge were really interesting to make. It's a dough made with flour and  boiling water, and it is smooth and very easy to work with. I was pleasantly surprised. I also learned a technique for rolling this dough very thinly, but better than trying to explain, I highly recommend that you watch this VIDEO to see what I'm talking about.

And last, but not least, the Housin Sauce that accompanies the dish is delicious and can be used in many other dishes to give them an Asian touch :o)

The ingredients:

I followed the recipe exactly as given by Shelley and Ruth, and one of the ingredients was dried black fungus (aka Wood Ears). It was mainly the only ingredient that I was not familiar with, but being a resident in Korea I was sure to have no problems finding it. Well, I found not only the right fungus (which here was translated as "Tree Ears"), but the fresh one! It isn't exactly a very attractive mushroom, but I'm a Daring Cook, ain't I? 

How does it look? Not very attractive, huh?

I didn't let the looks of the fungus put me off and dared to use it anyway, but in the final dish it was almost tasteless and the texture was not very pleasant for my liking. However, it didn't make the Moo Shu less delicious, but next time I will use other types of mushrooms.

Other ingredients that I was familiar with but had never used were  the Bamboo Shoots,

and the black bean paste

All the others were very well known and easy to find.

Please click on the VIEW RECIPE link below to continue reading the recipe.

I loved to learn this new dish and I would like to thank Shelley and Ruth for hosting this challenge in such a lovely and supportive way.

If you would like to see the delicious dishes that the other Daring Cooks prepared, please visit THE DARING KITCHEN where you will also find the original recipes and guidelines for this challenge.

THIN PANCAKES:

(Adapted from The Chinese Kitchen by Deh-Ta Hsiung)

Makes 24-30 pancakes

Preparation time: about 10 minutes plus 30 minutes' standing time

Cooking time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups (960 ml) (560 gm) (19¾ oz) all-purpose flour

About 1½ cup (300ml) (10 fl oz) boiling water

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil

Dry flour for dusting

Directions:

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Gently pour in the water, stirring as you pour, then stir in the 

oil. Knead the mixture into a soft but firm dough. If your dough is dry, add more water, one 

tablespoon at a time, to reach the right consistency. Cover with a damp towel and let stand for 

about 30 minutes.

2. Lightly dust the surface of a worktop with dry flour. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until 

smooth, then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a long sausage and cut 

each sausage into 8-10 pieces. Keep the dough that you are not actively working with covered 

with a lightly damp dish cloth to keep it from drying out.

3. Roll each piece into a ball, then, using the palm of your hand, press each piece into a flat 

pancake. Dust the worktop with more dry flour. Flatten each pancake into a 6 to 8 inch (15 cm 

to 20 cm) circle with a rolling pin, rolling gently on both sides. OR use the technique from this VIDEO

4. Place an un-greased frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat to low and 

place the pancakes, one at a time, in the pan. Remove when little light-brown spots appear on 

the underside. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

MOO SHU PORK:

(Adapted from The Chinese Kitchen by Deh-Ta Hsiung)

Serves 4

Preparation time: 25-30 minutes

Cooking time: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (1 oz) (30 gm) Dried black fungus ('wood ears')

½ lb (450 gm) pork loin or butt

¾ cup (3½ oz) (100 gm) bamboo shoots, thinly cut

3 cups (6 oz) (170 gm) Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), thinly cut

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt (I omitted the salt because the sauce was already salty)

4 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil

2 scallions

1 tablespoon (15 ml) light soy sauce

2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice wine

A few drops sesame oil

12 thin pancakes to serve

Directions:

1. Soak the fungus in warm water for 10-15 minutes, rinse and drain. Discard any hard stalks, then thinly 

shred.

2. Thinly cut the pork, bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage into matchstick-sized shreds.

3. Lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.

4. Heat about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil in a preheated wok and scramble the eggs until set, but not too 

hard. Remove and keep to one side.

5. Heat the remaining oil. Stir-fry the shredded pork for about 1 minute or until the color changes. Add 

the fungus, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage and scallions. Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, then add the 

remaining salt, soy sauce and wine. Blend well and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Add the 

scrambled eggs, stirring to break them into small bits. Add the sesame oil and blend well.

6. To serve: place about 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of hot Moo Shu in the center of a warm pancake, rolling it 

into a parcel with the bottom end turned up to prevent the contents from falling out. Eat with your 

fingers.

HOISIN SAUCE:

(Adapted from epicurian.com)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut butter OR black bean paste (I used black bean paste)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey OR molasses

2 teaspoons (10 ml) white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml) garlic powder

2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seed oil

20 drops (¼ teaspoon) Chinese style hot sauce (optional, depending on how hot you want your hoisin 

sauce)

1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml) black pepper

Directions:

Simply mix all of the ingredients together by hand using a sturdy spoon.

At first it does not appear like it will mix, but keep at it just a bit longer and your sauce will come 

together.