
Haaaaaaaallelujah!
Daylight Savings has finally arrived! And I could not think of a better reason to lose an hour of sleep and wake up a little groggy. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people who feels like the extra hour of daylight in the evening is freaking life-changing.
Seriously.
I mean, sure, I’m all for some extra sun shining through my window in the mornings to help get me out of bed in the winter. But if given the choice between sun in the morning, and glorious, warm, bright, makes-you-feel-like-there’s-actually-more-of-the-day-left in the evenings after work, I will choose DST any day in a heartbeat. (In fact, yes, I’m totally one of “those people” who wishes Congress would let us keep saving daylight year-round….) But in the meantime, I’m fully appreciating every second of these sunshiny evenings that celebrate the beginning of this warm season to come.
And one of my favorite things to do when it’s light out in the evenings? You’d better believe it — cook! It nearly felt like summer here last night, so I decided to whip up a quick batch of my new favorite “better than takeout” recipes that I’m recently obsessed with making — moo shu! (Or moo shoo, mu shoo, it seems that the spelling options are endless.) It has been one of my long-time favorite dishes to order when I’m doing Chinese takeout. And after studying the ingredients, I recently decided it was worth a try to make at home.
Turns out, Moo Shu Pork (or Chicken!) is super quick and easy to make, it’s chocked full of fresh and vibrant ingredients, and it’s full of those bold sweet and savory flavors we all love. But best of all, it can be ready to go in 20 minutes, so you can get on with your evening out in the warm spring sunshine. ;)
Let’s make some!
20-Minute Moo Shu Pork Recipe | 1-Minute Video

So, I was a little too excited about a few shortcuts I discovered to making Moo Shu extra-speedy at home:
- Instead of taking the time to chop up a green and purple cabbage and some carrots — you guessed it — just buy a bag of your favorite cole slaw! (Organic, if you can.) I found one with green and purple cabbage, but either or both colors will do. I really loved the pop of the purple against the other colors.
- Instead of chopping up a bunch of mushrooms (and traditional moo shu uses shiitake and wood-ear/black mushrooms), I just went for the prepared package of thinly-sliced shiitake mushrooms. If you can’t find them pre-sliced, you can obviously slice them yourself. And if you can’t find shiitakes, white button or baby-bella mushrooms will also work.
- Instead of taking the time to make those homemade flour Mandarin pancakes — which I love at Chinese restaurants — I took the easy route and just used some Mexican flour tortillas. Not quite the same, but still delicious and ultra-easy.
Other than that, the basic stir-fry instructions are pretty simple!

Just whip up a simple marinade, and toss half of it with your thinly-sliced pork or chicken, setting aside the second half of the marinade to be used in cooking.
Then while the meat marinates, cook your eggs. And then saute the meat (discarding its marinade). And then saute the veggies. And then toss the reserved marinade in the pan and saute everything all together until it’s cooked and evenly-coated in the sauce.

Then, this rainbow of deliciousness if going to be yours to enjoy.

Serve it up in some flour tortillas, or lettuce cups, or over a bed of rice, or whatever sounds good. Then drizzle with a little extra hoisin if you’d like. And voila — a delicious batch of homemade Moo Shu is ready for dinner!
Totally easy. Totally colorful. Totally packed with veggies and protein. And totally delicious.
Enjoy! And happy DST to all of you!
20-Minute Moo Shu Pork (or Chicken)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This 20-Minute Moo Shu Pork (or Moo Shu Chicken!) recipe is quick and easy to make, full of fresh and delicious flavors, and it tastes just as good as the restaurant version!
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- freshly-cracked black pepper
Moo Shu Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless pork chops (or boneless skinless chicken breasts), sliced into very thin strips
- marinade (see below)
- 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1 (14-ounce) bag coleslaw
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly-sliced
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced (green parts only)
- for serving: flour tortillas, lettuce cups, rice or quinoa
- optional toppings: extra hoisin, extra soy sauce, extra thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
To Make The Marinade:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl until combined. Separate the marinade into two portions — one to marinate the meat, and one to serve as the cooking sauce.
To Make The Moo Shu Pork:
- Add the thinly-sliced pork (or chicken) to half of the marinade, and toss until the meat is evenly coated in the marinade. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- While the meat is marinating, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large saute pan or wok over medium heat. Add the whisked eggs, and let them sit and until they are cooked and form a large omelet. Transfer the eggs to a separate cutting board, and set aside. When you have a chance (while the pork is cooking), chop the omelet into small, thin pieces.
- Return the pan to the stove, and increase heat to high heat. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil, and then use a pair of tongs (or a fork) to lift the meat out of the marinade and transfer it to the pan, discarding the marinade. Saute the pork, breaking it up and stirring it with your tongs occasionally, until it is cooked and tender, about 3-4 minutes. Then transfer the pork to a separate plate, and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan, along with the cole slaw, mushrooms, and half of the scallions. Saute for 2-3 minutes, or until the cabbage begins to wilt and softens.
- Add in the reserved marinade for the sauce, and toss to combine. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork and chopped eggs, and toss until combined. Taste, and season with extra salt and pepper (and/or hoisin or soy sauce) as needed. Sprinkle with the remaining green onions.
- Serve immediately with flour tortillas (or lettuce cups, rice, or quinoa), and garnish with optional toppings if desired.
Notes
I just drizzled some extra (warmed) hoisin on top of the skillet before serving, and also drizzled a little extra on the tacos because I’m obsessed with hoisin. But feel free to just use as little or more as you’d like.
Recipe slightly adapted from The Food Network and The Woks Of Life.
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Getting a pork butt ready to put in my crock pot. Thinking about using some of the shredded pork to make Mu Shu. Do you think I could simmer the marinade and mix it in and have the same taste results? Any other suggestions?
Hi Michele — yes, we totally think you could do that! We hope you enjoy! :)
We made this last night for dinner and it was awesome. I always forget about this dish but this recipe is so easy (especially when the hubs makes it) it is officially in the rotation. Thanks!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it Andrea! :)
Just did this recipe with brown rice yesterday – it is AWESOME!
We’re so happy you liked it Seth! :)
this was awesome and so easy. it would’ve been even better had I not accidentally dumped out the marinade. i added cilantro and siracha too. a keeper!
We’re so glad you liked it Joy! :)
I love to spread a little Plum Sauce on the “tortilla”. Very delicious!
We think that sounds amazing Paula — great idea! :)
Can’t wait to try this- moo shu pork was always my favorite chinese takeout, but I haven’t had it in years! I love how you even made a bowl of raw chicken look gorgeous!
Thank you Kaleigh — we hope you enjoy the recipe! :)
Looks delish! My boyfriend is allergic to eggs, can I replace it with something else or just omit?
Thanks Ellen, we hope you guys like it! And no worries, you can definitely just leave out the egg! :)
Ali, My computer burped so I don’t know if you got my first comment. This is AWESOME!! Dear hubbie went back for 3rds! Def. an all time favorite!
Hi Ali! This is going to be one of my all time FAVORITES!!! I couldn’t find sliced shitake mushrooms so I did have to slice a bunch. I know, I know I could make substitutions but my husband and Iove shitakes! This was a SUPER great recipe. He went back for thirds. Thanks a bunch!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this Ann! :)
this looks very tasty. However, I have some reserves about putting the marinade back in once you’ve used it. I’ve never seen a recipe that has you use it instead of throwing it away. How do you know you cook the marinade sufficiently to kill all the bacteria that might be on the raw meat?
Hi there! Yep, with the extra 2 minutes of cook time plus adding it to an already-hot mixture, it should have sufficient time to cook thoroughly. Enjoy!