This recipe for moo shu chicken is tender chicken and colorful veggies in a savory sauce. It’s a quick and easy dinner option that tastes so much better than takeout!
I love to make my family Chinese stir fries with chicken. Along with moo shu chicken, my family loves stir fries like honey garlic chicken and pineapple chicken.
There are nights where getting a healthy dinner on the table can be a struggle. I will admit, there are days when I’d rather pick up the phone and call for Chinese takeout than cook! While I love Chinese takeout, it’s not always the healthiest option. I decided it was time to recreate some of my Chinese restaurant favorites at home. This is how my moo shu chicken recipe came to be. I have to say, I prefer my homemade moo shu chicken to the restaurant version!
If you want to make a Chinese food feast for family or friends add some sesame noodles or spam fried rice to the meal. Maybe make an appetizer like crab rangoons or fried wontons! There are so many great Chinese dishes to make an amazing meal.
Table of Contents
Moo Shu Chicken Ingredients
To prepare moo shu chicken you will need chicken breasts, vegetable oil, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, shredded cabbage, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, honey, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
How Do You Make Moo Shu Chicken?
Make moo shu chicken by cooking egg whites and yolks mixed together in a pan or skillet with salt and pepper. Let them cook until you have a flat omelet. Remove the eggs and cook the chicken with a little vegetable oil. Once the chicken is done, remove it and cook the cabbage, mushrooms and ginger. Add the chicken and eggs back to the pan. Pour in sauce made of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, honey, cornstarch and water. Boil the sauce for 30 seconds and the dish is ready to eat. Serve it with moo shu pancakes or tortillas, hoisin sauce and green onions.
Tips For The Perfect Moo Shu Chicken
- Save some time by using a bagged shredded cabbage blend for this recipe.
- I like to use the thin-sliced chicken breast fillets for this recipe. It’s easier to start with chicken that’s already been cut thin!
- Traditionally this dish is served with thin mandarin pancakes. If you don’t have easy access to those pancakes you can use small flour tortillas instead. While it may not be traditional, the flour tortillas make a great substitute!
Quick Tip
Put the chicken in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. The chicken firms up from being in the freezer and is much easier to cut into thin and small pieces.
Recipe FAQs
Moo shu chicken is made of chicken breasts, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, honey, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
Moo shu has a rich, savory flavor from soy sauce, eggs and mushrooms with a touch of sweetness from honey and hoisin sauce that brings out the flavor of tender stir fried meat and fresh vegetables.
Moo shu sauce is made of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, sesame oil and a little cornstarch in water.
Moo shu leftovers stay good in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three days.
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Moo Shu Chicken Variations
While this chicken stir fry is fantastic, you can customize this dish to include your favorite flavors!
- Protein: You could make this dish with thin sliced beef, shrimp or you could make moo shu pork.
- Flavorings: For a rich flavor try adding a tablespoon of oyster sauce. If you want to bring the heat, feel fee to add some sriracha or red pepper flakes.
- Toppings: Sliced green onions on top really enhance the flavor of this dish. Sesame seeds are delicious on this dish as well.
- Vegetables: You can add bamboo shoots, shredded carrots or sliced bell pepper to bring some new flavors and textures to this dish.
Everyone who has tried this recipe agrees that it’s most definitely better than the takeout version. I love that this moo shu chicken is an easy, fresh and healthy dinner to add to our regular rotation!
More Stir Fry Recipes
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
30 minutes mins
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
30 minutes mins
Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
20 minutes mins
Orange Beef Stir Fry
25 minutes mins
Moo Goo Gai Pan
45 minutes mins
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Moo Shu Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin sliced chicken breast fillets cut crosswise into thin slices
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil divided use
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup of shiitake mushroom caps thinly sliced
- 3 cups of bagged shredded cabbage such as a coleslaw mix
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
- For serving: flour tortillas or mandarin pancakes sliced green onions, hoisin sauce
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, until a flat omelet forms, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip the eggs and cook on the other side until done, 1-2 minutes more.
- Remove the eggs from the pan and cut into strips. Cover to keep warm.
- Wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the pan.
- Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned and cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate; cover to keep warm.
- Add the cabbage, ginger and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and cabbage is wilted.
- Return the chicken and eggs to the pan.
- In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, honey and 1 tablespoon of water. Whisk in the cornstarch until smooth.
- Add the sauce to the pan and turn the heat to high; bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds or just until sauce starts to thicken.
- Serve immediately with tortillas, extra hoisin sauce and green onions.
Notes
- Put the chicken in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. The chicken firms up from being in the freezer and is much easier to cut into thin and small pieces.
- I like to use the thin-sliced chicken breast fillets for this recipe. It’s easier to start with chicken that’s already been cut thin!
- Traditionally this dish is served with thin mandarin pancakes. If you don’t have easy access to those pancakes you can use small flour tortillas instead. While it may not be traditional, the flour tortillas make a great substitute!
I love that I make this recipe at home healthy and cheap! And the flavors are perfect!
I’m always scared to try something new from the Chinese restaurant or takeout, and stick to the 2-3 dishes I like.. mostly because I don’t know what they different dishes are. Is moo-shu (chicken) because of the cabbage and pancakes? or what makes it different than other Chinese dishes?
We loved these for dinner and were better than our go-to take out moo shu. The fresh chicken and veggies are my favorite and I love wrapping these in lettuce wraps!