Roll Under Construction
The filling
And now, as promised, my recipe you can try out my Hoisin sauce on. We were first introduced to Moo Shu Pork by a friend in Houston probably 40 years ago (Has it been that long?) by a friend who was married to a girl from China. We fell in love with Moo Shu Pork at first bite! There’s something about the unusual ingredients and the sweet, tangy bean/plum sauce that is a flavor marriage made in heaven. As with any Chinese food, more time is spent in slicing/cutting up the ingredients than the actual cooking takes, but this dish is so worth the effort!
I line up paper plates by my stove and get each ingredient chopped and onto a plate, ready to add to the wok at the right moment. I first soak the tiger lily buds, cloud ear and mushrooms in little bowls in hot water to rehydrate them while I’m cutting other items up. I make the marinade in a bowl and set aside. I next scramble the eggs, chopping them when cooked into smaller bits (but not too small). I slice all the veggies last. Then I’m ready to cook!
This recipe is slightly higher in carbs than most on my site and therefore it is not suitable until you are closer to goal weight, but this dish is a special treat to me and I don’t indulge in this one often. The way I look at it, I consider any recipe below 10g net carbs per serving to be OK, considering that is ever so much lower than the average carb count for most Standard American Diet (SAD) entrées of my past. 🙂
NOTE: Shitaake mushrooms, Cloud Ear Fungus (also called wood ear mushroom) and Tiger Lily Buds are essential to traditional Mu Shu Pork classic flavors. If omitted, you are not eating Moo Shu Pork. Asian groceries will all carry these items. I have to order mine on-line.
MARINADE INGREDIENTS:
¼ c. mushroom soaking liquid
4 T. my homemade Hoisin Sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand) [or a good bottled oyster sauce]
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce
¼ tsp. xanthan gum or preferred thickener
FILLING INGREDIENTS:
2 large eggs, scrambled in 1 T. butter
8 oz. lean only pork loin, sliced thin
3 T. peanut or olive oil (or your preferred oil)
½ c. cabbage, sliced thin as in photo above
4 large dried shitake mushrooms, soaked
3 large green onions, cut 3/4″ pieces
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
¼ c. canned bamboo shoots, julienne sliced
½ c. dried Cloud Ear Fungus strips, soaked (if using whole, slice them)
½ cup dried Tiger Lily buds, cut in half, soaked
8 low-carb flour tortillas (I use ‘La Banderita’)
Hoisin sauce to “dress” each roll before rolling/eating
VARIATION: Use slivered chicken in lieu of pork for a Moo Shu Chicken version
DIRECTIONS: In 3 small bowls, soak mushrooms, Tiger Lily Buds and Clour Ear in very hot water until soft. You want to save the mushroom liquid and just lift them out of that “stock”. Cut out the tough mushroom stems and slice the mushroom flesh. Place on paper towels to dry off for now. Discard water off the Cloud Ear Fungus. If using whole ones, chop or slice and paper towel dry. If using pre-cut strips just set them on paper towel to dry. Discard water off the Tiger Lily Buds and chop them in half. Dry on paper towels. Set these 3 ingredients near the stove.
Mix all marinade ingredients in the small bowl. Add ¼ c. of the mushroom soaking water. When well-mixed, pour half the marinade into medium bowl and add the sliced meat. Toss the meat with your hands to coat meat well and let it marinade while you continue your prepping. Remaining marinade will be added to the wok at the end of cooking.
Scramble the eggs over medium in the butter until set. Remove from heat and chop into medium bits (but not too fine). Set those aside by stove so they are at-the-ready.
Now you’re ready to cook. Heat a dry wok or large skillet. Chinese cooks have a saying: “Hot Wok; Cold Fat.” If you do it this way, the meat does not stick to the pan. If you heat the oil as you heat the wok, the meat almost invariably sticks to the pan! When the steel is VERY HOT, quickly dump in the oil and promptly the meat into the cold oil. Don’t worry, the oil will get hot quick when it hits the hot metal. Stir-fry with spoon until meat is no longer pink. Add in cabbage and Cloud Ear Fungus next. Stir-fry until they just barely begin to go limp. Next add the bean sprouts & scallions and cook those just 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoot slivers and Tiger Lily Buds next, cooking the mixture 2-3 minutes. Pour in the remaining marinade and stir well so all filling is now moistened. Cook another minute or so for the thickener in the marinade to do its job. Add the egg to the wok last, during the final minute of cooking. Turn off heat and stir once just to mix the egg in well. Remove wok from heat.
Serve the filling at the table (I like to do it right in the wok so it stays warm) with low-carb tortillas and the hoisin sauce. I haven’t gotten around to creating a Chinese-style pancake, but give me awhile and I may do that one day. Place about ½-3/4 c. filling on the tortilla down the center. Dab a little extra hoisin sauce down the filling edge (as shown above) and fold the bottom edge up like an envelope end (to catch juice as you eat). Then fold the sides of the tortilla inward, first the left side, then the right side, much like you’d form a burrito. Pick up and eat it with your hands, like a burrito. Moo Shu Pork is traditionally eaten with hands and is actually rather messy/difficult to eat with a fork, to be quite honest.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 servings, each contains: (Includes tortilla but does not include hoisin sauce)
216 cals, 12.4g fat, 24.35g carbs, 13.72g fiber, 10.63g NET CARBS (plus hoisin consumed), 13.7g protein, 814mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 