VEGETABLE MU SHU (MOO SHU)

I had left over cabbage after recently making amazing Spring Rolls so decided to try my luck with another Asian recipe. My luck was good, this recipe is wonderful! Moo Shu is a northern Chinese stir fry dish which in America is typically served with thin pancake wraps and hoisin sauce. I was not able to find hoisin sauce that didn't have oil so I made my own.The only pancake wraps I could find had either egg or oil in them so I served the Moo Shu over rice instead.

The Moo Shu recipe is by Toni Okamoto at “Plant-Based On A Budget” recipe blog. You can see how I made the hoisin sauce here: Homemade Hoisin Sauce

Why do I keep taking the oil out of recipes? Because of the data:
Listen here to a 4 minute excerpt of a lecture by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. He started the “Heart Disease Reversal Program” at the Cleveland Clinic:

No Oil -- Not Even Olive Oil!

Here is an 11 minute excerpt from a lecture by Dr. Michael Klaper:

Olive Oil Is Not Healthy

This is a 4 minute clip of Dr. Joel Fuhrman explaining the health differences between processed oils and the whole foods they are extracted from:

Olive Oil Makes You Fat But Olives Make You Thin?!

VEGETABLE MU SHU (MOO SHU)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 scallions, 1 minced and 1 cut on the diagonal into 1/2" pieces (I used 3, 1 minced and 2 sliced)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded

3 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (Toni Okamoto and I used shiitakes, but you can use pretty much any kind you like)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sake (or wine, or water)

1 teaspoon hoisin sauce (See my homemade recipe)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt (I didn’t add)

1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon water

Mandarin Pancakes or tortillas

Instructions

1. Prep everything in advance and have near the stove where you will be cooking. Put ginger, garlic, and minced scallion in one small bowl, onion in another, carrots in another, and then the cabbage and mushrooms together in a slightly larger bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, sake, hoisin, (and salt if using). Stir the cornstarch and water together.

2. Put a nonstick skillet or wok on the stove, turn the heat up to high. Add the ginger, minced scallion, and garlic and dry saute until fragrant, around 15 seconds. Add a splash of water whenever food wants to stick to the pan.

3. Add the onion, stir-fry for 30 seconds or so, then add the carrots, and cook, tossing and stirring, for another 30 seconds. Add a splash of water when tends to stick. (I cooked until the carrots started to soften)

4. Add the cabbage and mushrooms, then dump the soy sauce mixture over everything, and stir-fry until the cabbage begins to wilt and the mushrooms start to brown around 1 minute (mine took longer).

5. Give the corn starch and water a quick stir to reincorporate, then add that to the pan, and quickly stir it in. Cook for another 30-60 seconds, still stirring, until the cabbage and mushrooms are both cooked through and greatly reduced in bulk. (mine took longer)

6. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cut scallion.

7. To serve, take a mandarin pancake (or tortilla), and smear a line of hoisin (and sriracha, if you want some heat) across the bottom. Spoon in some moo shu, and roll it up like a tiny burrito - fold the sides in over the filling, then roll it all up from the bottom. Or you can eat it like a taco. You can serve it over rice, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of the moo shu experience.