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Moo Shu Chicken with Homemade Pancakes!

Moo Shu Chicken with Homemade Pancakes!

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Yield: 4 Servings

Woks of Life

Ready for a great Moo-Shu chicken recipe that’s higher quality than takeout? This is how we used to make it in our family restaurant—a rapidly disappearing flavorful version of the dish.

Chicken and marinade:

  • 8oz chicken breast, (sliced in thin strips)
  • 1TBS water
  • 1tsp cornstarch
  • 1tsp oil
  • ½tsp sesame oil
  • 1pinch of ground white pepper

For the rest of the dish:

  • 3TBS oil (divided)
  • 2large eggs (beaten)
  • 2TBS hot water
  • 1TBS hoisin sauce (plus extra for spreading on the pancakes)
  • 1TBS oyster sauce
  • 1tsp light soy sauce
  • ½tsp sesame oil
  • 2cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 3cups of napa cabbage (shredded)
  • 5dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and sliced, about ½ cup)
  • 1TBS dried wood ear mushrooms (soaked and roughly chopped, about ½ cup)
  • ½cup bamboo shoots (soaked and julienned)
  • ¼cup dried lily flowers (soaked and ends removed)
  • 1TBS Shaoxing wine
  • 2scallions (split and sliced into 2-inch pieces)
  • Mandarin pancakes

Mix the sliced chicken and marinade ingredients in a bowl until well-incorporated and set aside for 15 minutes.

Pour 1 TBS oil into a heated frying pan and pour in the beaten eggs to make an omelet. Transfer to a cutting board and cut the egg omelet into thin strips. Set aside. Combine the hot water, 1 TBS hoisin sauce, 1 TBS oyster sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, and ½ tsp sesame oil in a bowl. Stir until well-combined and set aside.

Heat another TBS of oil in your wok or large skillet until it’s almost smoking and add the chicken. Lightly sear on all sides until about 80% done and remove from the wok. Set aside.

Add an additional TBS of oil to the wok and turn the heat up to high. Stir in the garlic, followed immediately by the cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and lily flowers. Give everything a good stir for 1 minute. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir-fry for another 20 seconds.

Next, add the sauce mixture, cooked chicken, and egg strips. The pan should be hot enough so that there is little or no residual liquid left at the bottom of the pan. Toss in the scallions and serve with the pancakes and extra hoisin sauce!

Mandarin Pancakes

Yield: 12 7-inch Pancakes

Woks of Life

Ready for a great Moo Shu chicken recipe that’s higher quality than takeout? This is how we used to make it in our family restaurant—a rapidly disappearing flavorful version of the dish.

  • 1½cups flour
  • ⅛tsp salt
  • ⅔cup boiling water
  • 1tsp oil

Prepare mandarin pancakes:

Mix the flour and salt in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling hot water into the flour mixture and use chopsticks or a spatula to mix until a dough ball forms. Once it is cool enough to handle, knead the dough for 8 minutes until smooth, adding flour if the dough is too sticky. Cover with plastic and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.

Roll the dough into a cylinder and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a dough ball, then flatten them out into a small disc about 2 inches in diameter. Lightly brush 6 of the discs with oil, ensuring the sides of the discs are also brushed with oil. Layer the remaining 6 discs over the 6 oiled discs so you have 6 pieces, each comprised of 2 discs.

Use a rolling pin to roll the discs into 7-inch circles, flipping the pancakes frequently so both dough discs are rolled into the same size.

Heat a wok or frying pan over medium low heat and place one pancake into the pan. After 30 to 45 seconds, you should see air pockets begin to form between the two pancakes. Flip the pancake; it should be white with just a couple of faint brown patches. Any more than that, and they are overcooked. After another 30 seconds, the air pockets should be large enough to separate the two pancakes. Remove the pancake to a plate and let it cool for another 30 seconds. Now carefully pull apart the two pancakes at the seams. Place finished pancakes onto a plate and cover with a warm kitchen towel. Repeat until all pancakes are done.

The pancakes can be reheated in a steamer for about a minute when ready to serve. They also keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks if you decide to make a larger batch.

Chicken & Bean Sprouts

Chicken & Bean Sprouts

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Yield: 2 Servings

Woks of Life

Chicken and Bean Sprouts is a classic Chinese stir-fry dish and is a refreshing, and easy-to-make stir fry made with chicken breast and crunchy bean sprouts.

Chicken marinade:

  • 8oz chicken thighs (or chicken breast, cut into thin strips)
  • 1TBS water
  • 1tsp vegetable oil
  • ½tsp soy sauce
  • 1tsp cornstarch

Rest of the dish:

  • 1lb fresh mung bean sprouts
  • 4scallions (cut in half lengthwise, and then into 2-inch pieces, white and green parts separated)
  • 2cloves garlic (minced)
  • 5shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried/reconstituted, sliced)
  • 3TBS vegetable oil (divided)
  • 2tsp Shaoxing wine
  • 2tsp oyster sauce
  • ¾tsp salt
  • ¼tsp sesame oil
  • ⅛tsp ground white pepper
  • ¼tsp MSG (optional, really gives that extra restaurant flavor)
  • 1tsp cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tsp water)


For the chicken:

Mix 1 TBS of water with the strips of chicken until the water has been completely absorbed by the meat. Add the oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch, and mix until well combined. Set aside for 20 minutes.

For the mung bean sprouts:

Next, wash the mung bean sprouts in a large bowl of cold water, leaving the bean sprouts in the water for two to three minutes so they are rehydrated. This step not only washes the sprouts but also allows them to absorb some of that cold water to regain their freshness and crunch. Transfer them to a colander, setting them over a bowl or the sink to let the excess water drain completely. The root portion of the bean sprout can be a bit stringy and unpleasant, and some folks do pinch it off–but a word of caution that it is a lot of work, so we usually settle for a good couple of rinses in cold water.

For the other vegetables:

Finally, prepare the other ingredients–namely the scallions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cooking this dish quickly is important, so your bean sprouts don’t turn to mush. If you’re not great at adding quick measurements of spices, oils, and sauces, it’s best if you have all those ingredients prepped and measured in advance, in addition to the fresh ingredients.

Stir Fry:

Heat your wok on high heat until it just starts to smoke and spread 2 TBS of oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the chicken and use your spatula to spread the meat evenly across the wok. Sear for another 20 seconds (i.e., without mixing the chicken around), stir fry for another 20 seconds, and transfer the chicken to a bowl.

Add another TBS of oil to the wok, along with the mushrooms and the white portions of the scallions. Stir fry for 10 seconds and add the garlic. You should have the wok at the highest heat you can muster at this point!

Next, add the mung bean sprouts and stir fry everything together. Spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok and give everything another quick stir. Then add the oyster sauce, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and MSG, if using.

Add the chicken back to the wok, along with any liquid in the bowl, and the green portions of the scallions. Again, the burner should be at maximum heat at this point!

Stir-fry for another 10 seconds until everything is well combined, making sure to spread the mixture around the sides of the wok to get that Wok Hei sear and flavor. There will be some liquid in the wok and when that is bubbling, stir in the cornstarch and water mixture.

Stir fry for another 15 seconds or so, until the mung bean sprouts are just starting to turn transparent. Serve!