I remember making Moo Shu Chicken at my first job at a Holiday Inn in upstate New York, and again in my parents’ Chinese restaurant in New Jersey. We made it the same way at both places.
When we made this moo shu chicken again the other day (again, the same way)—this time documenting it for posterity—everyone agreed that the recipe is officially tried and true.
After devouring it on our family blogging day, we also declared that we should make it more often!
Note: This recipe was originally published in November 2015. We’ve since updated it with clearer instructions, nutrition information and more. Enjoy!
The Perfect Mandarin Pancakes for Moo Shu
We recently created the perfect recipe for Mandarin pancakes, which we used in our Easy Peking Duck recipe. They’re also perfect for this moo shu chicken.
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.
If you’re short on time, however, you can also try our shortcut mandarin pancakes, which are made with dumpling wrappers. They’re not quite as tasty, but they’re a good substitute in a pinch!
While there is a proper way to wrap the Moo Shu Chicken (we have some instructive images below), 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 in advance. Just before serving, simply steam them for 1-2 minutes to re-heat.
A Note on Dried Ingredients
My last tip before we get to the good stuff is that this recipe requires getting your hands on some specialty Chinese dried ingredients.
They are:
These dried ingredients are great to have on hand for many of our other recipes including our hot and sour soup and Steamed Chicken with Mushrooms and Lily Flowers.
Here are photos of what wood ear mushrooms look like dried and later reconstituted:
And here’s what all three ingredients look like after reconstituting:
Check out our Chinese Dried and Preserved Ingredients page for more information.
There, you’ll also find further details on plenty of other Chinese ingredients you may be scratching your heads over!
This retro Chinese restaurant favorite won’t disappoint! Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Moo Shu Chicken: Recipe Instructions
Mix the chicken and marinade ingredients (chicken breast, water, cornstarch, oil, sesame oil, white pepper) 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 shredded napa cabbage, rehydrated dried 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 (mandarin pancakes recipe here), and extra hoisin sauce!
Want More Moo Shu?
Give this Vegetable Moo Shu recipe a try on your next Meatless Monday. After that, try our traditional Chinese Moo Shu Pork recipe. The authentic Chinese version is quite different from the Chinese American takeout version, but it’s no less delicious!
Moo Shu Chicken (With Homemade Pancakes!)
Ingredients
For the chicken and marinade:
- 8 oz. chicken breast, (sliced in thin strips)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon 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 napa cabbage (shredded)
- 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 (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 See our Mandarin Pancake recipe
Instructions
- Mix the sliced 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 remove from the wok. 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. Toss in the scallions, and serve with the pancakes and extra hoisin sauce!
Absolutely delicious!! I made this for the first time for my family and they loved it. After the meal, my mother asked for me to make it again soon. I decided to make the mandarin pancakes to go with it and it went so well with the dish. Highly recommend people don’t skip out on the pancakes. Love your recipes!!! Thanks so much
Hi Rachel, thanks for your comment – especially about the pancakes, because I have been telling everyone that the Mandarin pancakes are easy to make and so delicious!
Hi Bill, i think it would be helpful to add the instruction to finely slice the chicken. If I didn’t see this post and just followed the recipe, not knowing what moo shu is i would have kept the breasts whole.
Thank you always for this incredible blog which we all love.
Hi Penny, thanks for the suggestion. I added some more detail to the recipe.
My son cooks recipes from this site, and everyone is a winner. He was going to cook this for supper, but had to work late. Me, the kitchen disaster, decided to jump in and go far it. The instructions were so easy to follow that even I could not mess this up! So easy and delicious. Thank you for making me look a kitchen super hero.
Hi Gretchen, woohoo! Nice job and it sounds like you can retire your self-proclaimed term, “kitchen disaster”. Keep up the great cooking!
As usual this recipe was top notch. The pancakes were simple but absolutely made this dish. I recommend everyone put a little line of hoisin sauce on your pancake then put your filling on.
Hi Jerry, totally agree – the homemade pancakes really are the best ;-)
I read the mandarin pancake recipe and wonder if we can roll out two dumpling wrappers then steam to use as a pancake. My thinking is one wrapper would be too thin
Hi Linda, the rolled dumplings wrappers will be quite thin, but two rolled together may not stick properly. You can brush one side of each wrapper with water and then press them together and let them sit and they may just meld together. If you’re going to that trouble, I would recommend making them from scratch, because the recipe is very simple, with a very high rate of success. I think they have superior taste and texture.
This is Delicious and Healthy Too. I’ll Definitely Try it. Thank You.
Hi Veenas, yes, you won’t be disappointed but you do have to make the pancakes ;-)
Oh my gosh this recipe is amazing!!! I can’t travel to my favorite authentic Chinese restaurant right now due to covid travel restrictions, and this recipe was so nostalgic and comforting for me. Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome Josh and hope you like it.
My dad used to make green onion “brushes” for the hoisin sauce!
Sounds great Linda, and the best part is that you can eat the brushes too!
Would the Mandarin pancakes work for choa bing?
Hi R, I am assuming you mean chao bing, which is stir-fried shredded pancakes. The homemade Mandarin pancakes may work. You can cut them into noodles with a sharp cleaver or knife. I would recommend that you make the pancakes thicker for cutting them into noodles.
Made this and finally achieved the taste I’ve been looking for. Thanks! The lily flowers are actually available in many people’s gardens. If you have Day Lilies, then you have these. Day lilies are open for only one day. The flower closes but stays on the stem. Wait a day or two, remove and dry in a very low oven (150° F). Presto, dehydrated lily flowers!
Hi Larry, thanks for that tip. I didn’t know it was that easy :)
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Tasted very much like what you can get takeout but healthier! The pancakes were perfect and not hard to do although I need more practice for sure. Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Ali, sounds like you did good!