If you love Chinese food, you will certainly love this homemade Moo Shu Pork. It is a quick and easy stir fry recipe featuring marinated thin strips of pork and shredded vegetables smothered in a flavorful savory sauce.
As with all of my Asian-inspired recipes, I put my own personal spin on authentic moo shu pork to make an American version. All of the ingredients are easy to find at any major grocery store and I list variations and substitution ideas below.
Why I love this recipe
- 30 minute meal (or less)
- Better than what you'll find at American Chinese restaurants
- Incredibly flavorful
- Easy to make
Ingredients needed
Moo shu pork
For the main recipe, you'll need pork tenderloin, vegetable oil (or peanut oil), eggs, purple cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and green onions
Marinade and sauce
You will need hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, cornstarch, honey, fresh garlic, and freshly ground black pepper
For serving
The recipe tastes best with homemade moo shu pancakes or steamed white rice. Some toppings that taste great include radish, bean sprouts
How to make Moo Shu Pork
The first step is to prepare the sauce and marinade and to chop or slice the vegetables.
Mix Marinade/Sauce
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together.
Separate marinade and sauce
Measure out ½ of the sauce and set aside. Transfer the remaining marinade to a gallon-sized resealable ziploc bag.
Marinate pork
Add slices of pork tenderloin to the bag with the marinade. Squeeze out excess air and squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade over the meat. Set in the refrigerator and allow the meat to marinate for a few minutes while you cut the vegetables.
When you are ready to cook Moo Shu Pork recipe, here's what you will do.
Cook the egg
Heat an extra-large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the beaten eggs and swirl the pan to create a thin layer. Do not scramble the egg; rather, let it sit undisturbed and cook like an omelet. When the bottom has set, flip the egg once (you can cut it into segments to make flipping easier). When the egg is done, transfer it to a cutting board where you will cut it into thin matchstick-like pieces.
Cook the pork
Increase the heat under the pan to high and add another tablespoon of oil. Remove the pork from the marinade and shake off any excess. Place the pork in a single layer in the hot pan and discard any remaining marinade. Stir only to prevent burning; you want to get a nice sear and it will take a little while for the moisture to cook off. When there is no excess moisture remaining and the pork is starting to brown, remove the entire pan from the heat, and transfer the pork to a separate bowl. Note: If you leave the pan on heat while you remove the pork, the remaining sauce in the pan will burn rapidly.
Cook the vegetables
Return the pan to the stove over high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. When the pan and the oil are hot, add the mushrooms, cabbage, and green onions. Again, stir only to prevent burning. When most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are soft and tender, add the reserved ½ cup of sauce and stir to combine.
Combine ingredients
Add the cooked pork and egg back to the pan and stir well to combine. Serve hot with thin Mandarin pancakes, flour tortillas, lettuce cups, rice noodles, or steamed rice, and top with toasted sesame seeds, sliced radishes, thinly sliced green onions, or chili paste.
Storage and reheating
Store any leftover moo shu pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It's best consumed within 3-5 days.
To reheat, the microwave works fine. Just reheat in one minute increments at 50% power, stirring after each minute.
Variations and substitution ideas
This recipe is super flexible and there are tons of changes you can make based on your preferences and the ingredients you have on hand.
- Pork tenderloin can be replaced with thin pieces of chicken breast, boneless pork chops, or pork loin.
- Cabbage - To save you some time, coleslaw mix works great instead of cutting a head of cabbage. Other fresh vegetables can also be used in addition to or in place of the cabbage including boy choy or other varieties of cabbage you can find at an Asian market.
- Mushrooms - Wood ears can be hard to find and shiitake mushrooms can be expensive. Oyster mushrooms or even button mushrooms also work in this recipe.
- Marinade ingredients - You can use any of the following in addition to or in place of the marinade ingredients. These savory flavors all taste great with this recipe. Suggestions include fresh ginger, plum sauce, sweet hoisin sauce, light soy sauce in place of regular, or rice wine.
- Chinese pancakes - If you don't want to make your own, you can use warm flour tortillas.
Moo Shu Pork FAQs
Moo shu pork is a Chinese dish that typically consists of thinly sliced pork, scrambled eggs, and vegetables such as shredded cabbage, carrots, and shiitake or wood ear mushrooms, all stir-fried together with a savory Asian flavored sauce.
The dish is usually served with thin pancakes made from flour and water, which are similar to tortillas.
The exact origin of moo shu pork is uncertain, but it is generally believed to be a dish that originated in northern China, possibly in the Shandong province. The name moo shu is actually an Americanized version of the Mandarin Chinese word "mù xū", which translates to "tree beard" or "wood shavings". It is said that the name was inspired by the thin shreds of vegetables used in the dish.
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Moo Shu Pork with Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
Marinade/Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- freshly ground black pepper
Moo Shu Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin (sliced into thin matchstick sized pieces)
- 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil (divided)
- 2 large eggs (whisked)
- 4 cups purple cabbage (shredded (1 small head will yield at least 4 cups))
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced)
- 4 green onions (White parts thinly sliced, green parts cut into 1" pieces at a diagnol)
- serve with Mandarin pancakes
- optional toppings: toasted sesame seeds, sliced radishes, thinly sliced green onions, or chili paste
Instructions
Prepare the sauce and marinade:
- Mix Marinade/Sauce: Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together.
- Separate marinade and sauce: Measure out ½ of the sauce and set aside. Transfer the remaining marinade to a gallon-sized resealable bag.
- Marinate pork: Add slices of pork tenderloin to the bag with the marinade. Squeeze out excess air and squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade over the meat. Set in the refrigerator and allow the meat to marinate for a few minutes while you cut the vegetables.
Cook Moo Shu Pork recipe:
- Cook the egg: Heat an extra-large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the egg and swirl the pan to create a thin layer. Do not scramble the egg; rather, let it sit undisturbed and cook like an omelet. When the bottom has set, flip the egg once (you can cut it into segments to make flipping easier). When the egg is done, transfer it to a cutting board where you will cut it into thin matchstick-like pieces.
- Cook the pork: Increase the heat under the pan to high and add another tablespoon of oil. Remove the pork from the marinade and shake off any excess. Place the pork in a single layer in the hot pan and discard any remaining marinade. Stir only to prevent burning; you want to get a nice sear and it will take a little while for the moisture to cook off. When there is no excess moisture remaining and the pork is starting to brown, remove the entire pan from the heat, and transfer the pork to a separate bowl. Note: If you leave the pan on heat while you remove the pork, the remaining sauce in the pan will burn rapidly.
- Cook the vegetables: Return the pan to the stove over high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. When the pan and the oil are hot, add the mushrooms, cabbage, and green onions. Again, stir only to prevent burning. When most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are soft and tender, add the reserved ½ cup of sauce and stir to combine.
- Combine ingredients: Add the cooked pork and egg back to the pan and stir well to combine. Serve hot with Mandarin pancakes, flour tortillas, lettuce cups, rice noodles, or steamed rice, and top with toasted sesame seeds, sliced radishes, thinly sliced green onions, or chili paste.
Notes
Storage and reheating
Store any leftover moo shu pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It's best consumed within 3-5 days. To reheat, the microwave works fine. Just reheat in one minute increments at 50% power, stirring after each minute.Variations and substitution ideas
This recipe is super flexible and there are tons of changes you can make based on your preferences and the ingredients you have on hand.- Pork tenderloin can be replaced with thin pieces of chicken breast, boneless pork chops, or pork loin.
- Cabbage - To save you some time, coleslaw mix works great instead of cutting a head of cabbage. Other fresh vegetables can also be used in addition to or in place of the cabbage including boy choy or other varieties of cabbage you can find at an Asian market.
- Mushrooms - Wood ears can be hard to find and shiitake mushrooms can be expensive. Oyster mushrooms or even button mushrooms also work in this recipe.
- Marinade ingredients - You can use any of the following in addition to or in place of the marinade ingredients. These savory flavors all taste great with this recipe. Suggestions include fresh ginger, plum sauce, sweet hoisin sauce, light soy sauce in place of regular, or rice wine.
- Chinese pancakes - If you don't want to make your own, you can use warm flour tortillas.
Sylvia Wilson
the way you show each step in the recipr is perfect! No guessing how it"s supposed to come out, Amazingly good recipes. Thanx.