Yay! Moo Shu Veggie Tacos for Taco Sunday (doesn’t quite have the same ring as Taco Tuesday though).
I never get to order moo shu (also known as mu shu) at a Chinese restaurant. First of all, no one ever wants to eat it with me, they always want the meaty version. And two, whether it’s mu shu veggie or tofu, traditionally there’s egg in the dish. Leaving me with little choice but to break out the wok and make my own version.
Which turns out to be for the best, I can choose my favorite veggies – cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrot and wood ear mushrooms. My favorite protein: Hodo Soy Five-Spice braised tofu puffs. And instead of those thin pancakes, I went with blue corn taco shells because I like the crunchy crunch of a hard taco shell to contrast with the soft stir-fried moo shu veggies. I even stirred up a batch of homemade Hoisin sauce which I ended up not using as the tacos had plenty of flavor all on their own.
Customizable and super easy to make any day a taco day. Don’t like or can’t get wood ear mushrooms, sub it out with a different vegetable or just leave it out altogether. No Hodo Soy tofu in your town? Use your favorite baked tofu. Prefer soft tortillas to taco shells, go ahead, it’s all good.
Moo Shu Veggie Tacos
Makes 8 tacos
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 medium carrot, shredded
2 green onions, chopped
4 dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms, soaked until soft, sliced
1/2 ounce dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked, sliced (cut off and discard any hard pieces)
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon oil
4 ounces baked tofu, sliced (I like to use Hodo Soy Five-Spice braised tofu puffs)
Taco shells or tortillas
Hoisin sauce, homemade or store-bought
Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for a few seconds then add the mushrooms. Stir-fry for about a minute then add the cabbage, carrot, green onion, wood ear and tofu. Stir to combine and add the rice wine and soy sauce. Cook until desired tenderness. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Heat taco shells according to the directions on the package. Pile the moo shu into the taco shells and serve with the hoisin sauce if desired.
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This is great — moo shu tacos? I love it! The recipe sounds exactly like something I would love, especially with the Hodo tofu. That’s not one of the two varieties we can get here, unfortunately, but I can make my own tofu. I definitely plan to try your recipe. Thanks for posting.
Hodo tofu is so good, I’m happy I can get it at Costco. I use it in all sorts of dishes whenever I’m too lazy to make my own roasted tofu. Hopefully they’ll expand more of their product line to your neck of the woods. :-)
Fun fusion food! I’ve never ordered mu shu anything, truth be told, because it always seemed like the least exciting thing I could get when eating out. Mu shu tacos, however, are in a category all their own. I would definitely double up on these babies!
It’s funny, now that I’ve made mu shu tacos at home, I don’t want to order in restaurants anymore. :-)
Whenever I feel like making taco any day of the week, I would announce that day, “It’s taco Wednesday!” Or “It’s taco Thursday!”. This is an interesting filling. I don’t get to have mu shu anymore but sounds simple enough to try, it reminds me of a posticker filling. I love posticker too!
It would make an awesome filling for potstickers, that’s a great idea! From taco day to potsticker day! :-)
Mu shu doesn’t seem to have made it over to these shores – though next time I see a vegan version on the menu, I’ll be grabbing me some to try. As for this version, it looks like it’s got some of my favourite ingredients in it (shiitake! Tofu puffs! Yes!) so it won’t be a stranger to my kitchen for very long!