Making these Mandarin Pancakes, the traditional wrapper for moo shu pork, is much easier than you would expect. It's similar to making homemade flour tortillas, except that you mix the flour with boiling water, and you sandwich two layers of the dough with sesame oil before cooking the pancakes in a wok.
After you cook the pancakes, you carefully peel them apart to reveal super thin pancakes for rolling up the pork filling.
I made these Mandarin pancakes in my wok, but you can use a cast iron, carbon steel, or non-stick skillet if you prefer.
How to Make Mandarin Pancakes:
First, mix flour with boiling water and let it cool until it is comfortable to handle. Next, knead the dough until smooth and then let it rest for 30 minutes.
Once the dough has cooled, roll it out into a 12-inch log and cut it into 12 individual pieces and form them into balls.
Next, roll the balls into 3 inch rounds and brush the tops of half of the rounds with sesame oil. Top the dough with the other half of the rounds and roll them out into thin pancakes, about 7 inches wide.
Next, roll the balls into 3 inch rounds and brush the tops of half of the rounds with sesame oil. Top the dough with the other half of the rounds and roll them out into thin pancakes, about 7 inches wide.
Cook the pancakes in a hot wok or skillet for about a minute per side, and then carefully peel the layers apart.
If you are not using the pancakes immediately, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator to reheat later. I reheated them in the microwave, but you can also reheat them in a bamboo steamer.
I'm pretty excited about the translucency of the pancakes!
How to make moo shu pork:
Authentic versions of this recipe can include cloud ears, day lily buds, dried shiitake mushrooms, and napa cabbage. I substituted some fresh shiitake mushrooms, fresh cucumbers, as well as a prepackaged cole slaw mixture for the cabbage.
First, marinate some pork in a mixture of soy sauce, oyster sauce, sherry, sugar, ginger, and pepper.
Next, cook some eggs in the wok until scrambled and set aside.
After that, cook the pork and mushrooms in the wok and then add some cabbage, scallions, and then add the pork, eggs, and cucumber. Serve in the pancakes with hoisin sauce.
Moo Shu pork with Mandarin Pancakes is a pretty amazing dish. I love the combination of eggs, pork, mushrooms, and crunchy cucumbers.
You can also add bamboo shoots if you like.
Did you know that February 21 is National Pancake Day? A bunch of us, hosted by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks are posting pancake recipes.
Check out all the other delicious pancake recipes:
- Andes Chocolate Mint Pancakes from Daily Dish Recipes
- Black Forest Pancakes from Our Good Life
- Easy Pancake Mix from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes) from Caroline's Cooking
- Old-fashioned Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from Savory Moments
- PB&J Stuffed Pancakes from Kate's Recipe Box
- Sheet Pan Bananas Foster Pancakes from Palatable Pastime
One of the hardest parts of making these pancakes was regulating the temperature of the pan. You don't want to burn the pancakes, but you do want them to cook through and get all puffy.
Mandarin Pancakes with Moo Shu Pork
These Mandarin pancakes are the perfect vehicle for delivering moo shu pork or Peking duck.
The technique for stacking and rolling out the dough is pretty cool.
I've created two recipe cards for this post in case you only want to make just the pancakes, or just the pork. After the printable pancake recipe, be sure to check out the printable moo shu pork recipe.
Mandarin Pancakes
Yield: 4 servings
These Mandarin Pancakes are meant for wrapping Moo Shu Pork. They are soft, thin, and flavored with sesame oil and totally fun to make.
ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
instructions:
How to cook Mandarin Pancakes
- Mix the flour and boiling water in bowl to form rough dough.
- Once the dough has cooled, transfer it to lightly floured surface and knead until it forms ball that is tacky but no longer sticky, about 4 minutes (dough will not be perfectly smooth). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a 12-inch-long log on lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces.
- Pat each piece into a 3-inch disk. Brush 1 side of 6 of the disks with sesame oil.
- Top each oiled side with an unoiled disk and press lightly to form 6 pairs. Roll disks into 7-inch rounds.
- Heat vegetable oil in 14-inch wok over medium heat until shimmering. Using paper towels, carefully wipe out oil.
- Place a pancake in the wok and cook without moving it until air pockets begin to form between layers and underside is dry, 40 to 60 seconds. Flip pancake and cook until few light brown spots appear on second side, 40 to 60 seconds. Transfer to plate and, when cool enough to handle, peel apart into 2 pancakes. Stack the pancakes and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining pancakes. (Pancakes can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Calories
195.63
195.63
Fat (grams)
3.29
3.29
Sat. Fat (grams)
0.44
0.44
Carbs (grams)
35.77
35.77
Fiber (grams)
1.26
1.26
Net carbs
34.51
34.51
Sugar (grams)
0.13
0.13
Protein (grams)
4.84
4.84
Sodium (milligrams)
2.71
2.71
Cholesterol (grams)
0.00
0.00
Karen's Kitchen Stories
Here is a recipe for Moo Shu Pork
You can also substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
Moo Shu Pork
Yield: 12 servings
Moo Shu pork with Mandarin Pancakes is a pretty amazing dish. I love the combination of eggs, pork, mushrooms, and crunchy cucumbers.
ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon sherry or Chinese rice wine, divided
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 12 ounces boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons peanut oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- pinch of salt
- 6 scallions, whites and greens separated, and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3 cups cole slaw mix
- 1/2 English or standard cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
instructions:
How to cook Moo Shu Pork
- Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry, oyster sauce, sugar, ginger, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the pork and set aside.
- Whisk together the chicken broth, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sherry, the corn starch, and set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs, rice wine, and the pinch of salt.
- Heat a wok until a drop of water evaporates when sprinkled onto the hot surface. Add two teaspoons of the oil.
- Pour in the eggs and scramble for about 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer the eggs to a plate and break them into pieces with a fork.
- Reheat the wok and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Add the scallion whites and cook until browned, about 60 to 90 seconds.
- Add the pork mixture, spread it into an even layer, and cook, undisturbed, for 1 to 2 minutes until browned. Stir the pork until opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pork and scallion mixture from the wok and add it to the plate with the eggs.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, add the mushrooms, and stir fry for one minute.
- Re-stir the cornstarch mixture. Add the cabbage, all but 2 tablespoons of the green scallions, and cornstarch mixture to the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the pork and eggs mixture, and the cucumber, and stir fry to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to a platter and sprinkle with the reserved scallions.
- To serve, spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of hoisin sauce on a Mandarin pancake and top with the pork mixture.
Calories
222.03
222.03
Fat (grams)
12.29
12.29
Sat. Fat (grams)
2.88
2.88
Carbs (grams)
13.55
13.55
Fiber (grams)
2.27
2.27
Net carbs
11.28
11.28
Sugar (grams)
7.74
7.74
Protein (grams)
10.75
10.75
Sodium (milligrams)
719.39
719.39
Cholesterol (grams)
56.94
56.94
Karen's Kitchen Stories
I've only made pancakes for moo shu once and it was so long ago. I need to give these a try because they sound so simple to make!
ReplyDeleteThey totally are.
DeleteKaren these look amazing!! So yummy and the filling looks to flavorful. Definitely adding this to my menu soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy!
DeleteI tried to make the pancakes. I followed the recipe carefully both times and both batches were tough and chewy. I think I didn’t get the first batch rolled out thin enough so I was careful to get the second batch rolled out thinner. The texture was still kind of rubbery. I ended up making crepes which worked just fine. Any advice
ReplyDeleteThey definitely need to be super thin, but it seems like you covered that. They are sort of like very thin tortillas, that do have a bite to them. I can't really think of anything else... crepes seems like a great alternative (and I'm terrible at making them).
DeleteHad a terrible time trying to separate them. I followed the instructions implicitly. The edges were welded together although the centres were not!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, especially since yours puffed up!
Delete