Mu Shu Pork

• Image via flickr user dfb

  8 ounces trimmed pork tenderloin, cut into ⅛- by 1½-inch strips
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons saké
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• ¼ cup thin slivers fresh ginger
• 8 scallions, white and light-green parts only, cut into 2-inch lengths and slivered
• 1 small savoy cabbage (1 pound), cored and sliced ⅛-inch thick
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 10 shiitake mushroom caps, sliced ⅛-inch thick (about 2¼ cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12 Chinese pancakes, or flour tortillas

1. If using dried mushrooms, soak in warm water for 15 minutes.
2. Place pork, soy sauce, saké, sugar, sesame oil, and salt and pepper in a small bowl; toss and set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a large wok over high heat. Add ginger, scallions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add pork and marinate and 6 tablespoons water; cook, stirring constantly, until pork is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with pancakes, with the plum sauce on the side.

Vegetable Mu Shu 

• 8 ounces fried tofu, cut into ⅛- by 1½-inch strips

  Image via flickr user gwarcita

   
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• ¼ cup thin slivers fresh ginger
• 8 scallions, white and light-green parts only, cut into 2-inch lengths and slivered
• 1 small savoy cabbage (1 pound), cored and sliced ⅛-inch thick
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 10 shiitake mushroom caps, sliced ⅛-inch thick (about 2¼ cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12 Chinese pancakes (Chinese mu shu wrappers or six-inch flour tortillas can be used.)
• Plum sauce and/or hoisin sauce

1. If using dried mushrooms, soak in warm water for 15 minutes.
2. Place tofu, soy sauce, sake, sugar, sesame oil, and salt and pepper in a small bowl; toss and set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a large wok over high heat. Add ginger, scallions, cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms; cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add tofu and marinade and 6 tablespoons water; cook, stirring constantly, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with pancakes, with the plum sauce on the side.
4. To eat, take a pancake, put 1 tablespoon plum or hoisin on pancake in the middle, add filling and rollup. Eat with your hands like a burrito.

Fresh Plum Sauce

Image via flickr user dfb

This is a fresh alternative to bottled hoisin sauce, the traditional accompaniment to Mu Shu Pork.

• 4 large plums, pitted and cut into ¼-inch pieces 
• 1 large garlic clove, very finely minced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sesame seeds, for garnish

1. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except sesame seeds; cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid thickens and the plums have softened and broken down to the consistency of a chunky preserve, about 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, transfer plum sauce to a serving dish, and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve warm.