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Whip up your favorite Chinese take-out dish at home with this quick and easy mu shu pork recipe! Thin strips of stir-fried pork tenderloin, shredded cabbage, mushrooms, and eggs come together in a sweet-and-savory sauce for a simple weeknight dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes. Wrap the moo shu pork with pancakes (or flour tortillas), serve it over a bowl of rice, or enjoy the meat and veggies on their own.
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If you’re looking for even more Chinese takeout recipes, be sure to try this chicken lo mein, a pan of easy shrimp fried rice, this quick chicken and broccoli stir-fry, and our dump-and-bake kung pao chicken, too!
How to Make Mu Shu Pork | 1-Minute Video
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Quick and Easy. This homemade mu shu pork comes together in less than 30 minutes, so it’s a simple weeknight dinner for busy nights. No special skills required!
- Simple Ingredients. Our recipe is adapted from the authentic moo shu pork recipe that my mom has used for decades, which comes from a Chinese cookbook called The Joy of Wokking by Martin Yan. We’ve adapted the original recipe slightly to account for certain ingredients that we can’t find in our local grocery store, so you can prepare this dish without spending a lot of money and without shopping at a specialty grocer.
- Sweet and Savory Flavor. I’ve omitted the rice wine here (which isn’t easily accessible in our little rural market), and substituted with hoisin sauce. The hoisin sauce gives the dish a sweeter taste, which is similar to the American Chinese restaurant versions that we all know and love. In North America, green cabbage is also a predominant ingredient in moo shu pork, so that’s what we’re using instead of Chinese cucumber. You’ll love the sweet, slightly toasted, nutty flavor that you get from the hoisin sauce and sesame oil — especially when paired with the salty, umami flavors of the soy sauce. It’s an incredibly satisfying dish.
Origin
Mu shu pork (also called moo shu pork or moo shi pork) originated in northern China, possibly Shandong. In its traditional Chinese form, the dish consists of sliced pork tenderloin, cucumber, and scrambled eggs, stir fried together with shiitake or wood-ear mushrooms. It is seasoned with ginger and garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and rice cooking wine.
The name Moo Shu (Mù Xī/木樨 in Chinese), originally referred to sweet osmanthus, and is now used to describe small pieces of scrambled egg, since the egg resembles the tiny yellow flowers of sweet osmanthus trees. Moo shu pork therefore gets its name from two of its primary ingredients: egg and pork.
Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients that you’ll need to make our favorite mu shu pork recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Vegetable oil: a neutral oil with a high smoke point for stir-frying the meat and veggies. Substitute with other neutral oils like canola oil or peanut oil.
- Eggs: omit the eggs if desired.
- Pork tenderloin: one whole pork tenderloin is about 1 lb. Pork tenderloin is naturally tender and does well when cooked quickly at high temperatures, like in this stir-fry method. Make moo shu chicken by substituting 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breast for the pork tenderloin.
- Garlic, sugar, kosher salt, and ground black pepper: flavor boosters.
- Shiitake mushrooms: I buy sliced mushrooms for a shortcut. You can substitute with your favorite mushrooms, such as baby bella or white button mushrooms. Wood ear mushrooms are most authentic if you can find them.
- Coleslaw mix: a convenient blend of green cabbage and carrots. If you choose to shred your own veggies, you will need a total of about 6 ¾ cups of finely-shredded vegetables.
- Green onions: scallions add a nice, mild touch of onion flavor without overpowering the dish.
- Soy sauce: for salty, umami flavor in the sauce. I prefer low sodium soy sauce (or light soy sauce), but any variety will work.
- Hoisin sauce: a thick, rich, sweet-and-salty Chinese sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine. It’s not spicy, and is similar to a Chinese barbecue sauce. Find it in the Asian or International foods aisle, or order it online here.
- Sesame oil: has a unique nutty flavor. Find it in the Asian or International foods aisle, or order it online here.
- Ginger: use fresh if you have it, or substitute with ground ginger when necessary. It adds a warm, zesty touch to the sauce.
- Chicken broth and cornstarch: thicken the sauce.
- Flour tortillas, rice, toasted sesame seeds, lime wedges: optional additional garnishes for serving.
Directions
This easy mu shu pork comes together in less than 30 minutes. Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go, because it moves fast once you start cooking. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview with my notes.
- Cook the eggs in a large skillet or wok over medium heat until they’re set like an omelet. Remove the cooked eggs to a cutting board.
- Stir-fry the pork over high heat for about 1 ½ minutes, then add the garlic and veggies and cook for about 2 more minutes.
- Add the chopped eggs to the pork mixture in the skillet, along with the salt, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, pepper, and the broth-cornstarch mixture.
- Let the sauce simmer for another couple of minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens a bit.
- Serve the pork mixture wrapped in tortillas or over rice. Garnish with hoisin sauce and other optional toppings.
Serving Suggestions
In China, mu shu pork is typically served with rice. In American Chinese restaurants, the dish comes with a side of hoisin sauce or plum sauce and several warm, steamed, thin, white tortilla-like wrappers made of flour, called “moo shu pancakes” or “Mandarin pancakes.”
Since store-bought moo shu pancakes are hard to come by and making them by hand can be a bit time consuming, you can substitute with warm flour tortillas in this recipe. Simply spoon some of the meat and vegetable mixture into a tortilla or pancake, top with extra hoisin sauce, and garnish with scallions, toasted sesame seeds, or a squeeze of lime juice. Eat the stuffed pancakes like moo shu pork tacos!
You might also like to offer steamed broccoli, oven-roasted sesame broccoli, ramen noodle coleslaw, or a sesame ginger snap pea salad. Don’t forget about spring rolls or egg rolls, too (pick up some prepared egg rolls in the frozen section at your grocery store).
Storage Tips
- How to Store: Store leftover moo shu pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It gets soggy as the vegetables sit and absorb the sauce, but the flavor is still great!
- How to Freeze: I do not recommend freezing the leftovers. The cabbage and other vegetables will have a mushy texture when thawed, and will release extra water that thins the sauce.
- How to Reheat: You can reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 1 minute, or reheat a larger quantity in a skillet over low heat just until warmed through.
Tips for Success
- Slice the pork as thin as possible. A really sharp knife is key! You can also freeze the pork for about 20 minutes to make it easier to slice into very thin strips.
- Wrap the tortillas in a towel and microwave them for a few seconds so that they’re warm before serving. Alternatively, wrap them in foil and pop them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes. A soft, warm tortilla is so much better than a cold one!
- Do not omit the sesame oil or hoisin sauce. These are essential ingredients that give the dish its classic Asian flavor.
- For a vegetarian option, make moo shu vegetables by omitting the pork. Bulk up the stir-fry with additional mushrooms, diced tofu, and other veggies of choice (like bean sprouts). Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth in the sauce.
- Mu shu pork isn’t typically a spicy dish. You can add some heat by garnishing individual servings with sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper flakes.
More Chinese-Inspired Recipes to Try
Dump-and-Bake Sesame Chicken Noodles
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Egg Roll in a Bowl
20 minutes mins
Baked General Tso Chicken Recipe
40 minutes mins
Mu Shu Pork
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 (1 lb.) pork tenderloin, cut into very thin strips
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 5 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 (14 ounce) bag coleslaw mix (about 6 ¾ cups)
- 2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce, plus extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Dash of ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup chicken broth whisked with 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- For serving: extra hoisin sauce; flour tortillas or rice; additional sliced green onions; toasted sesame seeds; lime wedges
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the eggs; let them sit, undisturbed, for about 3-4 minutes (or until they set and form a large omelet). Remove the eggs to a cutting board and set aside.
- Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the skillet and heat the oil over high heat. Add the pork; stir-fry for 1 ½ minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, coleslaw mix, and green onion; stir-fry for 2 more minutes. While the meat and vegetables cook, cut the eggs into thin strips.
- At the very end, add the chopped eggs, salt, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, pepper, and broth-cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 2 more minutes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Serve the mixture on top tortillas or rice with hoisin sauce and additional optional toppings.
Video
Notes
- Slice the pork as thin as possible. A really sharp knife is key! You can also freeze the pork for about 20 minutes to make it easier to slice into very thin strips.
- Wrap the tortillas in a towel and microwave them for a few seconds so that they’re warm before serving, or wrap them in foil and pop them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes. A soft, warm tortilla is so much better than a cold one!
- Do not omit the sesame oil or hoisin sauce. These are essential ingredients that give the dish its classic Asian flavor.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April, 2021. It was updated in June, 2024.
5 stars are hard to come by with my hubby but this was close!!
Only thing I changed was reduced oil for the eggs to 1/2 tbsp. and my tenderloin was too big so I used center cut pork loin chops and sliced them thin to cut into strips.
Served with Jasmine rice…..DELISH!!! Another Seasoned Mom winner!!!!
The best
Thank you! 🙂