Let me say right off the bat, this is an EXTREMELY easy recipe. Honestly! Yes, it involves making those ultra thin pancakes that wrap the stir-fry, but I promise, you can do it!!!

As a devoted from-scratch cook, I’m always up for a new challenge. While I’ve been making flour tortillas for years, I was a little nervous about these thin moo shu pancakes. How can I roll them so thin and still be able to handle them with tearing? America’s Test Kitchen to the rescue! They came up with an ingenious method that truly works.

The filling can be altered to suit your taste – I used shiitake mushrooms, scrambled eggs, asparagus, and cabbage.

VEGETARIAN MOO SHU – makes 12

Pancakes

• 7½ oz (or 1+2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1½ T sesame oil
• 1 T vegetable oil

Mix flour and boiling water together in the food processor (or, by hand if you don’t own one) until smooth – about 30 seconds. Let dough rest, covered, for 30 minutes. On a well-floured board, roll dough into a 12″ log. Slice into 12 pieces. Using floured fingers, pat each piece into a 3″ disc. Generously brush 6 of the discs with the sesame oil (you may have some left over). Place each dry disc on top of an oiled one, creating a kind of sandwich. Roll each of these into a 6″-ish circle. (To save time and counter space, while one pancake sandwich is cooking, I’m rolling out the next – but this is pretty hectic.) Heat 1/2 tsp vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium/low. Place one dough circle in skillet and cook on medium/low for 1 minute. Flip and cook other side for 1 minute. Remove to a tea towel to let cool a few seconds. Then, carefully split apart the pancakes. Stack them, oiled side up. Carry on with the remaining circles. (You may not need to oil the pan with each new pancake, depending on the non-stick ability of your skillet – I put in a little vegetable oil every other one.) Keep warm in the wrapped tea towel until ready to use.

Filling

• 8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 T Mirin sweet rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp fresh, minced
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 T + 1 tsp vegetable oil, divided
• 2/3 cup scallions (about 6 scallions), sliced
• 7 asparagus stalks, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 8 oz can bamboo shoots, cut into matchsticks – see photo:
• 3 cups Napa cabbage or bok choy, sliced thin
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (recipe below, or purchased)

In a bowl, combine the shiitakes and 1/2 cup water. Let soak while you prepare the rest. (You’ll be using some this flavored water in the moo shu.)Prepare teriyaki sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the Mirin and cornstarch, smooshing out any lumps. Add in the soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Set aside. Note:  You only need 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce for the Moo Shu. Store remainder in refrigerator.

In a nonstick 12″ skillet, heat 1 T vegetable oil over high heat. Add in the scallions, asparagus, and bamboo shoots. Sauté on high for 2 minutes. Drain the mushrooms over a container. Add 1/3 cup of this mushroom water to the skillet, along with the cabbage and drained mushrooms. Cook on high for another 2 minutes. Pour all of the stir-fry mixture into a colander or sieve, discarding the drained liquid.

Put 1 tsp vegetable oil in the now-empty skillet and heat over medium/high. Lightly beat eggs, and cook them in skillet for about 20 seconds, until they’re cooked, but soft. (They’ll continue to cook when the hot vegetables are added.)Add in the drained veggies and the 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce. Blend together and heat through.

Place a spoonful of filling on a each pancake. Fold up pancake in half (like a taco), then fold in sides.If you like, dip in plum or hoisin sauce as you eat.