I remember making this dish at my first job in upstate New York at the Holiday Inn and again in my parents’ Chinese restaurant in New Jersey––the same way for both places. When we made it the other day (again, the same way), but this time documenting it for posterity, everyone agreed that the recipe is officially tried and true. And we all concurred after devouring this dish on our family blogging day that we should make it more often!
We recently created the perfect recipe for Mandarin pancakes, which we used for our Easy Peking Duck recipe. They’re also perfect for this moo shu chicken recipe. If you really want to get crazy, you can make a double batch and have Moo Shu Chicken one night and Easy Peking Duck the next! The pancakes are addictively chewy and go perfectly with a thin layer of hoisin sauce.
Speaking of pancakes…there is a proper way to wrap the Moo Shu Chicken (and we have some good pictures below), but any technique that uses the pancake as a vehicle for getting the chicken from point A to point B will do! If you make the moo shu pancakes ahead of time, you can fold them in half or roll them up and steam for a minute or two to heat them up just before serving.
My last tip before we get to the good stuff is that this recipe requires getting your hands on some specialty dried ingredients—namely, dried mushrooms, wood ears, and lily flowers. Check out our Chinese Dried and Preserved Ingredients page for more information. There’s also information on plenty of other Chinese ingredients you may be scratching your heads over!
This retro Chinese restaurant favorite won’t disappoint—here’s what you’ll need to get started!
For the chicken and marinade:
- 8 oz. chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Fresh ground white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, plus extra for spreading on the pancakes
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced (about ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and roughly chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, julienned
- ¼ cup dried lily flowers, soaked and ends removed
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 scallions, split and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- Mandarin pancakes (recipe can be found here)
For more info on the dried mushrooms, wood ears and lily flowers, check out our Chinese Dried and Preserved Ingredients info page! Here are photos of what wood ear mushrooms look like dried and reconstituted:
Mix the chicken and marinade ingredients in a bowl until well-incorporated, and set aside for 15 minutes.
Pour 1 tablespoon 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 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in a bowl. Stir until well-combined and set aside.
Heat another tablespoon 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 transfer back to the marinade bowl. Set aside.
Add an additional tablespoon 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. Nobody wants soupy moo shu chicken!
Toss in the scallions and serve with the pancakes (recipe here) and extra hoisin sauce!
- 8 oz. chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Fresh ground white pepper
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, plus extra for spreading on the pancakes
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced (about ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and roughly chopped (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup bamboo shoots, soaked and julienned
- ¼ cup dried lily flowers, soaked and ends removed
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 scallions, split and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- Mandarin pancakes (recipe can be found here)
- Mix the chicken and marinade ingredients in a bowl until well-incorporated, and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Pour 1 tablespoon 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 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil in a bowl. Stir until well-combined and set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon 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 transfer back to the marinade bowl. Set aside.
- Add an additional tablespoon 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. Nobody wants soupy moo shu chicken! Toss in the scallions and serve with the pancakes and extra hoisin sauce!
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Michele Cutri-Bynoe says
Best Mu Shu ever! Thank you so much for allowing my family to share your recipe.
Bill says
Hi Michele, you’re welcome and glad you enjoyed this moo shu chicken!
Sarah Jaime says
I work at formosa foods, it awesome to see that the products we make are recommended by such worderfull and passionate chefs like yourselves. Delicious recipes
Bill says
:)
PDX-Berkeley-LA says
Great recipe – looks just the way my mom made them when I was younger. I just sent your website to my sisters and parents. Your family reminds me of my Chinese American family – makes me happy to see that family, food and tradition can thrive together…
Thank you!
Bill says
You’re welcome! Yes, family, food, and traditions all go together for sure :)
beejay says
I love these pancakes! We make them extra big and use them for wraps. I’ve never found any wraps I liked — they were all too thick and rubbery. Then I remembered the pancakes that come with Moo Shu. Yes, perfect. I make a big batch and use them for leftovers for lunch or even dinner. Although I do love Moo Shu Chicken…well, actually, I prefer veggie. ;) We tried your version, and it’s just right. Thanks!
Bill says
Hi Beejay, Homemade moo shu pancakes are the best!
Dan says
How long do the lily flowers and wood ears last after opened if kept in a sealed bag? I still have some from one of the last times I made this and was wondering if you had any idea how long these items last. Any help is most appreciated!
Thanks!
Dan
Judy says
Hi Dan, they can last a few years if you store them in a dry place. Just to be sure, make sure there’s no visible change in their appearance when compared to the first time you used them. Very IMPORTANT!
Dan says
Thanks so much!
Veerle says
omg i love this recipe! I added some sambal on the pancake to give it a little extra kick. (I just love spicy things) and it made it even beter
Bill says
Hi Veerie, Sambal is a good addition!
Dan says
This recipe was absolutely delicious! Moo Shu is the menu item I have been ordering since I was a kid and it’s great to be able to make it at home. Thanks so much for sharing. This is a wonderful recipe and website.
Dan
Judy says
So awesome, Dan! Thank you so much for your lovely comment.
Dan says
No problem! My 3 & 5 year old ate it up too so that is awesome as well! I look forward to trying some other recipes. Thanks again!
Whitney says
This recipe was awesome. I couldn’t find the dried Lilly flowers, but even without them the flavor was exactly what I wanted. Mu Shu is one of my favorite dishes, and I honestly cannot find a decent one in Chicago. I’m so happy to be able to add this to my repetoire. A link to just the recipe would be great, I was following it on my iPad and the website kept resetting(or something) so I would have to wait for everything to load, then scroll past all of the pictures to get to the bottom. Kind of a pain, but totally worth the finished product.
Bill says
Thanks Whitney – glad you enjoyed it! What I like the best is the homemade pancakes, as there are very few places that make homemade pancakes from scratch. The ready-made ones you can purchase and that some restaurants use are just not the same! You can print out the recipe card for quick reference but I have sometimes experienced the site reloading like you describe when returning to an already opened browser tab. If that happens, best to close the browser tab and re-open it in another tab. We are still investigating why this happens intermittently.
Whitney says
Great! Thanks for the reply, I thought I was going crazy with the reloading of the page. I ended up taking a screenshot and using that as my reference. You’re so right about the homemade pancakes…..I keep finding weird thin ones in my area. Who knew that the recipe could be so simple?! Thanks again!
Judy says
Thank you for getting back to us––so glad everything worked out.
Erin says
I am looking forward to trying this because literally every place I go and order this dish sends it out with tortillas.
Bill says
Hi Erin,
Indeed moo shu pancakes and flour tortillas are somewhat similar :-) You will find the authentic Moo Shu pancakes are much thinner using less dough and the texture is much more chewy. Hope you enjoy it!
Little Cooking Tips says
Wow this is so amazing! Since we love anything that comes this way (like tacos, or souvlaki and gyros in pittas) we know we’re gonna LOVE this one. Moo Shu Chicken is something we only saw mentioned in US movies and series, as it’s not served here for some strange reason. So, making it at home seems like the only way we can enjoy that. The hard part (as always) is of course getting the ingredients first:) Then, your instructions are always proper and we know with confidence that we’ll be able to cook the dish right!
Thank you for another delicious authentic recipe Bill! Much appreciate it!
Have a wonderful Sunday all of you!
xoxoxo
Bill says
Thanks Panos and Mirella!
Susan says
I can’t wait to have this for dinner tonight. I have everything except the lily flowers. Just saw dried wood ear mushrooms at my Albertsons of all places.
What do you think about making the pancakes up to cutting into pieces and freezing the dough. It’s just me, so I’d like to have some in the freezer ready to go for meals down the road. I may also try one serving of the filling in a rice paper roll which I also have in my pantry. It sounds good to me.
Bill says
Hi Susan, wow, good to hear you can get wood ear mushrooms at Albertsons :)
As for the moo shu pancakes, we have not tried freezing the dough. I would recommend making the batch of pancakes. They freeze and well and reheat nicely in the steamer.