Now, I never grew up eating a lot of mu-shu (or moo shu). It's a northern Chinese dish, and so it never found its way into our Southern Cantonese home. I think I was actually introduced to it while eating out at a Chinese meal (likely on Christmas) with my Jew crew (cause the Chinese and Jews are like sistas from anotha motha). After trying it for the first time, I could see why it appealed to both the American and Chinese palate. It has all the things the Chinese would like - ground pork, mushrooms, and egg. And then it was doused with a sweet yet salty sauce perfect for American taste buds. Wrap it all up in a mu-shu wrapper, and you've got your own mini-Chinese burrito! Well, my version tailors to the Chinese, American and vegetarian palate, substituting the pork for bean curd. All covered up in hoisin sauce (which happens to be vegetarian even though hoisin means seafood), no one can tell the difference. Tie a little scallion "ribbon" around it and you've got a tasty little present for whoever is deserving of this tasty treat.
Veggie Mu-Shu Presents
Serves 6
2 eggs + a dash of salt & pepper
8 leaves of napa cabbage, sliced thinly
2 tbs. olive oil
½ lb. of shitake mushrooms, destemmed and sliced thinly
2 pieces of bean curd, julienned (photo of bean curd below)
1/3 cup of hoisin sauce
1 tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. sweet rice wine (mirin)
1 tsp. sesame oil
12-15 mu-shu wrappers (can be found in the frozen section of an asian grocer)
freshly ground pepper
3 scallions, green part sliced thinly lengthwise
The eggs are the first component to prepare for the mu-shu filling. Basically, we’re making an omelet without the filling. Start by whisking the two eggs with a dash of salt and pepper. Heat a 10” non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and pour the eggs into the pan. When the bottom side of the omelet is browned (about 1 and a half minutes), flip it over and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and let cool on a plate or on a cutting board. Once the plain egg omelet has cooled, cut into 2 inch matchsticks, so they’re about the same length as the bean curd.
The next components of my mu-shu are the cabbage and the shitakes, which need to be lightly sautéed. They can be cooked in the same pan as the egg was cooked in. Reheat the frying pan again over medium-high heat. Drizzle ½ tablespoon of olive into pan and then add the sliced napa cabbage. Cook the cabbage for about a minute and a half. It’s ready when the cabbage has started to soften but still has a crunch to it. Set the cooked cabbage aside and bring the pan back up to medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil with the shitake mushrooms. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, allowing the mushrooms to soften.
Once all four filling ingredients are prepared and ready, mix together the hoisin sauce, the rice vinegar, mirin and seasame oil. Pour over the filling mixture and toss together.
Once the filling is ready, prepare the mu-shu wrappers for wrapping. Separate each mu-shu wrapper carefully, as they are incredibly thin and delicate. Place a damp paper towel over the stack of wrappers and heat for 45 seconds in a microwave.
Place a heaping spoonful of filling on a wrapper.
Fold over the left and right sides.
Then fold over the top and the bottom. Secure the presents by double knotting the scallion ribbon around the wrap.
The original post on "the petite pig" is here.
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