This Moo Shu Pork is a 30-minute healthier spin on the classic Chinese takeout dish. It’s packed with thinly sliced pork, egg and lots of veggies, all cooked until tender, topped with a homemade hoisin sauce and served in lettuce cups.
[lwptoc]
Full disclosure, this recipe isn’t authentic moo shu pork, it is my healthy version of homemade Moo Shu Pork removing some of the harder to find ingredients and swapping them for things anyone can likely find at their local grocery store. The filling is made with thinly sliced tender pork, strips of egg and lots of veggies, which makes it light and fresh tasting. This 30-minute meal is a great option when you are craving the Chinese takeout dish but trying to eat healthy.
What Is Moo Shu Pork
Moo Shu Pork is a dish from northern China that has been “Americanized” and is now a staple on the menu of almost all American Chinese restaurants. In the traditional northern chinese dish, thin strips of pork tenderloin are cooked with wood ear mushrooms, scrambled eggs, green onions, bamboo shoots, fresh ginger and cucumber, while the American version uses more vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and shiitake mushrooms all served in thin pancakes. This recipe is a Paleo and Whole30 spin on the American version of Moo Shu Pork with lots of veggies in the filling, a thick homemade hoisin sauce and lettuce cups used in place of pancakes.
Why You Will Love This Moo Shu Pork
- It’s a 30 minute meal: This is such a great weeknight meal because start to finish it takes just 30 minutes! That includes all of the time it takes to shred the cabbage, and that time can be reduced further by using store bought coleslaw mix
- It’s so tasty! The veggie and pork mixture is so simple but when paired with the thick hoisin sauce and fresh crunchy lettuce wraps….it’s a winning combination.
- It’s healthy! I actually prefer lettuce wraps to the traditional mandarin pancakes because it really lightens up the dish, yet you can still pick them up and eat them with your hands
- The filling reheats well: You can make the filling 1-2 days in advance and reheat it in a pan or the microwave before serving.
- This recipe is Paleo, Whole30, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal.
The Hoisin Sauce
You won’t believe how much this sauce tastes like traditional hoisin! It’s very thick and has a wonderful balance of sweet and salty flavours. It will last for up to 5 days in the fridge, so make extra and add it into stir frys or using it for dipping.
How To Make This Moo Shu Pork
- In a small bowl make a simple marinade by stirring together baking soda, apple cider vinegar and coconut aminos, add in the thin strips of pork tenderloin and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.
- To make the hoisin sauce combine all of the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until it forms a very thick sauce (paste like in consistency).
- In a large skillet on medium-high heat pour beaten eggs into hot sesame oil and leave them to cook untouched until they set. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into thin slices.
- Next cook the pork tenderloin along with any of the remaining marinade on medium heat until the pork is golden brown in colour and then set aside.
- Cook garlic and onion for 2-3 minutes before adding in all of the other veggies and cooking until the cabbage softens.
- Finally add in a large spoonful of the hoisin sauce along with the cooked pork and stir. Finally gently stir in the egg strips.
(You can find more detailed instructions in the recipe card below)
How To Serve This Moo Shu Pork
Traditionally Moo Shu Pork is served with thin Mandarin pancakes made from a mixture of flour and water. These chinese pancakes are similar to crepes but are thicker and more elastic. If you are looking for an easy substitute for moo shu pancakes, warm flour tortillas can be used, or I personally love serving it in sliced iceberg lettuce cups which give each bite wonderful freshness.
Ways To Modify This Moo Shu Pork Recipe
- You can use boneless pork chops in place of tenderloin or alternatively thinly sliced chicken breast and use it in place of the pork.
- Rather than shred the cabbage by hand, save time by using a bag of store bought coleslaw.
- If you have traditional spring pancakes than you can use them in place of the lettuce cups. For those note on a grain free diet, flour tortillas are also an easy substitute.
What About Leftovers
Leftover Moo Shu Pork can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheated in the microwave, or in a pan on the stove top.
Love healthy versions of takeout dishes? Here are a few others you might enjoy:
- Sweet & Sour Pork
- Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
- Spicy Orange Chicken
- Pork Fried Rice
- Thai Basil Beef
- Black Pepper Chicken
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Moo Shu Pork
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 eggs
- 7 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems removed and cut into thin slices
- 1 large carrot* shredded or julienned
- 2 1/2 cups shredded savoy cabbage*
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage*
- 1/3 cup sliced scallions
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 4 cloves garlic finely diced
Sauce
- 4 large medjool dates soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice
To Serve
- 1 head butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce (or tortillas)
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the pork tenderloin into thin strips and place them in a bowl. Add the baking soda, apple cider vinegar and coconut aminos to the bowl and leave to marinate while you chop the veggies and prepare the sauce.
- In a high speed blender or NutriBullet combine the drained medjool dates, ginger, almond butter, coconut aminos, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar and Chinese 5 spice and blend into a thick paste like sauce. If the mixture is too thick to blend add a splash of water. Once completely, transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp sesame oil in a large non stick skillet on medium high heat. Whisk the 2 eggs in a bowl and pour them into the skillet. Leave the eggs to cook untouched for approximately 3 minutes until they are set (like an omelette). Slide the omelette from the skillet onto a cutting board and chop into thin small strips. Set aside.
- Add the sliced pork plus any excess marinade to the skillet and cook for approximately 4 minutes until the pork is golden in colour and cooked through. Transfer the cooked pork to a plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp of sesame oil to the skillet and once hot add in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add in the shredded cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and scallions and cook for approximately 4-5 minutes until the cabbage begins to soften.
- Once the cabbage has softened (be careful not to overcook!) add in 1 large spoonful of the hoisin sauce plus the cooked pork and stir to combine. Once well mixed add in the strips of eggs and give it a gentle stir with a spatula so as not to break up the egg. Remove from the heat.
- Serve the mixture in lettuce cups and garnish with a drizzle of the hoisin sauce and a sprinkle of chopped scallions. For those not doing a Whole30/SCD you could use tortillas.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
I absolutely love this recipe. We have to make a double batch of hoisin sauce. Lol! I keep looking at the recipe and I can’t figure out why it’s not listed as AIP compliant. Am I missing something or maybe the author is just not familiar with AIP?? Either way it’s FANTASTIC !
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. I make this every week or so because it’s my husbands favourite.
I’m making this tonight! Everything is chopped and ready, sauce is made and I am very pleasantly surprised by how tasty it is. Can’t wait for dinner 🙂
Reasonably easy and ridiculously good. Even my 11 year old loved it!
I’m excited to try this, but I believe I’ve read in several places that Chinese 5 spice is not Gluten-free. I’ll look for a substitute, and come back to this later 🙂
Loved the outcome of the recipe! The only negative was how bloated your page is with ads and affiliate. The posts are unusable
I am concerned that coconut aminos are included in the ingredients as this is NOT SCD legal.
I have a great recipe for SCD legal coconut aminos in my cookbook that you can use when making this recipe.
This was a huge hit for our family.
DELICIOUS