Moo Shu Pork Recipe

By
Rhonda Parkinson
Rhonda Parkinson
Rhonda Parkinson is a freelance writer who has authored many cookbooks, including two Everything guides to Chinese cooking.
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Updated on 11/27/21
Mu shu pork recipe

​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Marinate: 30 mins
Total: 70 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

This is the famous northern Chinese dish, served with mandarin pancakes and hoisin sauce.

For the best flavor that replicates the restaurant version of the dish, look for Shaoxing (or Shao-Hsing) rice wine.

Though it's easy to cook, there are a lot of ingredients that go into this stir-fry. The actual cooking time is rather quick and it's best to prepare all of the ingredients—allow 30 minutes for the marinating and soaking—and have them ready to go into the wok when needed.

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Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons water

  • 3 tablespoons chicken broth, low sodium

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 2 teaspoons rice wine (Shaoxing)

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the Marinade:

  • 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

  • 2 teaspoons rice wine (Shaoxing)

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the Stir-Fry:

  • 1/2 pound pork tenderloin

  • 4 dried shiitake mushrooms

  • 4 tablespoons dried cloud ear mushrooms, or wood ear mushrooms

  • 2 tablespoons dried lily buds

  • 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots

  • 2 green onions

  • 2 slices ginger

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 6 tablespoons oil, divided; or amount needed for stir-frying

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • Cooked rice, or Mandarin crepe, for serving

  • Hoisin sauce, for serving

Steps to Make It

Prepare the Ingredients

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for mu shu pork
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  2. In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients, whisking in the cornstarch last. Set aside.

    Sauce
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  3. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients, adding the cornstarch last.

  4. Cut the pork tenderloin into thin strips.

  5. Add the pork strips to the marinade, mix to coat thoroughly, and marinate the pork for 30 minutes.

    Cut the pork into thin strips
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  6. Place the dried shiitakes, cloud ears or wood ears, and lily buds in separate bowls of water. Soak for approximately 30 minutes.

    Dried mushrooms
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  7. Once thoroughly soaked, squeeze out any excess water from the mushrooms and lily buds. Remove the stems from the shiitakes and the hard tips from the lily buds. Cut the 3 ingredients into thin strips.

    Squeeze out water
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  8. Rinse the bamboo shoots under warm running water to remove any tinny taste. Drain and cut into thin strips.

    Rinse bamboo shoots
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  9. Rinse the green onions and cut each into thirds.

  10. Cut the ginger into thin strips.

    Ginger
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  11. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the salt.

    Eggs
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

Stir-Fry the Moo Shu Pork

  1. Heat the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, swirling along the sides. When the oil is hot, add the beaten eggs and scramble until they are quite firm. Remove the eggs from the wok.

    Heat the wok
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  2. Clean out the wok and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic (about 30 seconds).

    Clean out wok
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  3. Add the marinated pork to the wok and stir-fry until the pork changes color and is nearly cooked through. Remove the ginger and pork from the wok.

    Pork
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt 

  4. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and lily buds. Stir-fry for about 1 minute.

    Add wood ears
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  5. Push the mushrooms and lily buds up to the sides of the wok. Give the sauce a quick stir in the bowl and pour it into the middle of the wok, stirring quickly to thicken.

    Push pork to side
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  6. Add the pork, ginger, and scrambled egg back into the wok.

    Add pork and scrambled egg
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  7. Stir in the green onion and bamboo shoots and mix everything together.

    Stir in green onion
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  8. Taste and add extra seasoning if desired. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.

    Mu shu pork
    ​The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

  9. Serve over rice or rolled up in a Mandarin crepe brushed with hoisin sauce. Enjoy.

Recipe Variations

  • Dry sherry is a suitable substitute if you don't have rice wine.
  • If desired, instead of stir-frying the green onion you can add it to the moo shu pork along with the sesame oil.
  • You can also deep-fry the pork rather than stir-frying it alone.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
253 Calories
19g Fat
8g Carbs
13g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 253
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 24%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 90mg 30%
Sodium 648mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 2mg 12%
Calcium 23mg 2%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 346mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)