Moo shu pork?

[rebl_rn]

It seems to me that if there's anything the C&F'ers know as well as music, it's food. So here's my question:

I like moo shu pork (or veg, or chicken, but usually I get pork) but I'm never completely sure how I'm supposed to eat it. Is there an accepted, "proper" way? How does the pancake work? Do you stuff it like a taco, or like a burrito, or some other special way? Do you put the sauce on it when it's in the pancake or before? Are you supposed to have it with rice or not? Does the rice go in the pancake?

In one sense it doesn't really matter - I like it and since I'm usually eating it alone there's no one to care if I do it "properly" or not. But I'm curious, and I guess if I'm ever at a State dinner where they're eating moo shu, I want to know how to do it right.

[scottielvr]

I spoon some filling onto the pancake, spoon a good glob of hoisin sauce atop the filling, then roll it up like unto a burrito -- i.e., fold the left and right sides over just a bit, about an inch or so, then roll, so the ends are sealed and the filling doesn't sklorp out onto your lap. I see no reason why you shouldn't bung some rice inside the pancake if you wish, though I've never done it that way (might try it next time). If Miss Manners finds it socially unacceptable to eat it with your hands...well... so be it.

[gonzo914]

I like it best when the server offers to roll for you (thereby ensuring themselves a nice tip). They spread the sauce on the pancake, add some of the moo shu stuff, and then fold it like a burrito like scottielvr described. Try playing stupid when they bring it to the table -- "How do I do this?" you should ask, and with any luck, they will roll them for you.

[Congratulations]

I like it best when the server offers to roll for you (thereby ensuring themselves a nice tip). They spread the sauce on the pancake, add some of the moo shu stuff, and then fold it like a burrito like scottielvr described. Try playing stupid when they bring it to the table -- "How do I do this?" you should ask, and with any luck, they will roll them for you.

Oh, the joys of being served.

[Bloomfield]

I spoon some filling onto the pancake, spoon a good glob of hoisin sauce atop the filling, then roll it up like unto a burrito -- i.e., fold the left and right sides over just a bit, about an inch or so, then roll, so the ends are sealed and the filling doesn't sklorp out onto your lap.

Yes.

I like it best when the server offers to roll for you (thereby ensuring themselves a nice tip). They spread the sauce on the pancake, add some of the moo shu stuff, and then fold it like a burrito like scottielvr described. Try playing stupid when they bring it to the table -- "How do I do this?" you should ask, and with any luck, they will roll them for you.

Yes yes.

I like it best when the server offers to roll for you (thereby ensuring themselves a nice tip). They spread the sauce on the pancake, add some of the moo shu stuff, and then fold it like a burrito like scottielvr described. Try playing stupid when they bring it to the table -- "How do I do this?" you should ask, and with any luck, they will roll them for you.

Oh, the joys of being served.

And whosoever shall compel thee to roll a moo shu, roll him twain.

[rebl_rn]

Unfortunately, I only get take-out Chinese (the only good sit-down Chinese place around here is too pricey with not great food). So I don't have the "being served" option. Sounds great.

I do the burrito thing too, so I guess I've been doing it OK all long. The Collective Unconcious, I suppose.

[scottielvr]

And whosoever shall compel thee to roll a moo shu, roll him twain.

And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble and spill thy filling, swear not; for verily I say unto you, it will wash out; yea, even the sauce will wash out; and there is always more filling than pancakes. And blessed are the finger-lickers, for they shall be comforted.

[emmline]

And whosoever shall compel thee to roll a moo shu, roll him twain.

And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble and spill thy filling...

You mean sklorp.

[fel bautista]

depends on the size of the pancake and how much I put on it. Fold over in half. taco like for small roundels of pancake or if large fold over as previously described.

The question is can anyone make it at home??? I've always done take ut and I consider myself a good cook.

[DCrom]

My wife does, sometimes, but she has an important advantage: she reads Chinese - she says most of the English-language cookbooks tend to westernize recipes (good if you don't have access to Asian markets, but not quite authentic tasting).

But rolling them up (and adjusting the propotions of filling and sauce) is half the fun, even in a restaurant. So why would you want someone else to do it for you? Think of it as chinese fajitas

[Congratulations]

I had a dream about moo shu pork last night. It did not involved being served.

[Innocent Bystander]

Well! Thanks for enlightening me! We don't have Moo Shu Pork in the Chinese Restaurants here. But our local (Kong's Peking, of Bourne End) does Crispy Duck Pancakes, of which my wife is very fond. They are eaten in just the way Scottielvr describes.

I ought to mention that Kong's Peking is a VERY good Chinese Restaurant, especially considering that Bourne End is little more than a bump in the road between Wycombe and Maidenhead.
(My favourite is the Singapore Spicy Vegetarian Noodles).

And it was only in America that I ever saw "Snow Peas" in Chinese Restaurants.

[dfernandez77]

And it was only in America that I ever saw "Snow Peas" in Chinese Restaurants.

I've seen them in America and in China. In the US they end up mixed with something like meat or fried rice.

In China they will be just the pea pods with garlic, or maybe a starched sauce. My Chinese friends are often amused when vegies and meat get mixed together like Americans do it.

[DCrom]

And it was only in America that I ever saw "Snow Peas" in Chinese Restaurants.

I've seen them in America and in China. In the US they end up mixed with something like meat or fried rice.

In China they will be just the pea pods with garlic, or maybe a starched sauce. My Chinese friends are often amused when vegies and meat get mixed together like Americans do it.

Innocent Bystander: Is your "Crispy Duck" pieces of crispy duck skin? If so, that's what I've always heard called "Peking Duck" (US, Taiwan, Hong Kong) - and my daughters' favorite celebration meal. Wonderful stuff.

Regarding Snow Peas - we eat 'em often, either with garlic (my favorite) or stir-fried with straw mushrooms. Easy to make at home, compared to mu-shu pork or (especially!) Peking Duck.

The pea greens are pretty good stir-fried with garlic, too, and we can get them in the markets even when every other green is out of season.

This thread is making me hungry. Really hungry.

BTW - our favorite restaurant for Peking Duck (called, accurately if unimaginatively. "Peking Duck House") has a photograph labeled "Moo-Shoe Pork" on prominent display: a photo of a pig with black-and-white cow slippers on all four feet. Just to tie back into the original topic.

[Innocent Bystander]

Crispy duck skin? No, I don't think so. No my wife confirms it. There is more than just skin in there. Not that I participate, you understand. If you venture down to Gerrard Street (Chinatown in London) they have the Peking Duck inflated in the windows. Quite poosibly if you asked for Peking Duck in Kongs, they would have some available, just not on the menu.

And in the UK we are aware of fortune cookies, but we seldom, if ever, see them. (Well, I saw them once in the Loon Fung Supermarket, but I'm not sure if that counts. )

When I was in Louisville, Kentucky, the Galleria there had a fast-food Chinese franchise called "Wok'n'Stix". (Groan)

I had to explain to my kids why the dragon in Mulan was called Moo Shu...