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"There's no such thing as takeout food in these times here [in Upstate New York]," Rach says. "So we're going to make our own take out—it's Mu Shu night!" 

This is also the perfect dish for cleaning out the fridge—add any leftover veggies. Rach added a cleaned, cored and shredded head of bok choy, left over from a recent ramen night. 

Rach's Pro Tip: Save shiitake mushroom stems, which can be a bit tough and chewy, for flavoring vegetarian stock or broth for another dish.

Rach likes to serve her mu shu with a side of her Asian-inspired Green Rice.

Ingredients

For meat (pork or chicken) only:
  • 2 teaspoons per pound cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
For the marinade:
  • ½ cup hoisin
  • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce, shoyu, liquid amino, light soy or whatever soy sauce product you like
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper or ground Sichuan peppercorn
For the mu shu:
  • 1 pound pork tenderloin or pork loin, butterflied in half, then pounded ⅛-inch-thick then thinly sliced OR
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, very thinly sliced OR
  • 1 pound firm tofu, cut into ¼-inch-thick slabs, then bite-sized 1 ½-inch-long batons
  • 4 tablespoons high-temperature cooking oil or nonstick aerosol cooking spray
  • ¾ pound stemmed shiitakes, thinly sliced
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt
  • 1 pound cabbage, cored and very thinly sliced or shredded on mandolin or box grater, or buy a sack of pre-shredded slaw mix
  • 1 carrot, shredded or thin matchsticks
  • 2 leeks, 6 scallions or a handful of ramps, thinly slice whites and separate, slice greens on 1-inch bias
  • 1 ½ inch ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks or grated (optional)
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
  • 1 fresno chile, finely chopped (optional)
  • Soy sauce
  • Black pepper
  • Toasted sesame oil
  • Flour tortillas
  • Plum sauce

Yield

Serves: 4 to 6

Preparation

For the marinade, in a bowl, combine ingredients. If you’re making the dish with meat, add oyster sauce, too. 

For the mu shu, place pork, chicken or tofu in a second bowl. If using chicken or pork, add cornstarch, toss, then add marinade and combine. For meat, marinate in the fridge for a little bit. If using tofu, add half the marinade and toss to coat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat with oil, 2 turns of pan or a thin layer of spray. Stir-fry the tofu, pork or chicken and brown well, remove to platter and cover to keep warm. Add more oil to coat, then stir-fry mushrooms to brown and remove to a bowl.

In a separate small nonstick pan over medium-high heat, coat pan with oil, scramble eggs, add salt, brown and roll into a thin omelet. Slide onto counter or cutting board, then slice.

Add cabbage to the same large nonstick skillet and toss 3 to 4 minutes to soften. Add carrots, stir, then add onion whites, ginger, garlic and, if using, chile pepper. Add a few splashes soy, a few pinches black pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil, then toss, add mushrooms back to the mix and cook a few minutes more. Add egg, toss, then taste cabbage for seasoning. Add more soy sauce, if necessary, then combine with onion greens.

Heat flour tortillas until slightly charred but still soft, warming on each side in a cast iron skillet or over a flame on a gas stovetop.

Transfer cabbage to serving platter.

Serve mu shu cabbage and meat with plum sauce and tortillas. Wrap the rolls like burritos.