Moo Shu Noodles

by Mel on August 10, 2009 · 41 comments

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for almost six months and just barely got around to making it. Talk about a bad decision. We ate it for supper last night and it was so fantastic I had to turn around and post about it right away.

I can’t vouch for its authenticity in the Chinese noodles arena, but for our family, it was perfect. Fettuccine stars as the noodles and they are paired with a hoisin/soy sauce mixture that is flavored subtly with ginger and garlic. Add in tender, browned pork, scrambled eggs and sauteed cabbage and you have a pretty darn near perfect meal (at least in my book). The kicker is that it comes together in a flash (think less than 30-minute meals) and it rates high in healthfulness. I am a huge fan of Chinese noodle dishes and this is one of the best homecooked versions we’ve eaten.

The best part of the meal for me, however, was watching my 5-year old eat his entire meal with a pair of chopsticks – one stick in each hand – painstakingly grabbing each noodle and piece of pork inbetween the sticks and holding them in a vice grip up to his mouth. Priceless.

Moo Shu Noodles
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture

INGREDIENTS:
12-ounces fettuccine
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
3 medium-sized boneless pork chops, thinly sliced (it is easier to slice thinly if pork chops are slightly frozen)
Ground black pepper
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons ginger (about a 2-inch piece), peeled and grated
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1/2 pound mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 small head Napa or Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:
Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water comes up to a bubble, add some salt and drop in the fettuccine. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

Combine the hoisin and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, heat one tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add eggs and scramble. When done, scrape them onto a plate and reserve.

In the same skillet heat two tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes (don’t overcook or pork will be tough!). Remove the meat from the pan onto the same plate as the eggs and keep warm.

Add the scallions, ginger and garlic to the pan, and cook until aromatic and the scallions are tender, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry until golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the pan and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes. When the cabbage is tender, add the reserved pork and scrambled eggs back to the pan along with the hoisin-soy mixture and the chicken broth. Stir-fry to fully heat through, about 1 minute, and then toss with the reserved cooked pasta. Cook to heat through and serve.

Recipe Source: adapted from Rachael Ray

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{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Jenn September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Made it last night for dinner and it was really good and really quick. Three out of four boys ate it all gone. In my book that means it’s pretty good. Oh, and I had seconds.

2 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Jenn – glad you enjoyed the quickness of this meal and am especially glad that 75% of the kids ate it all up.

3 Samantha September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

I tried this for dinner this past week. I was a little afraid that there would not be enough sauce or flavor, I was soooo wrong!! It was so delish I was hoping for left overs for lunch the next day but nothing was left at all!! I will be making this one again very soon!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

4 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Samantha – my husband and kids love a lot of extra sauce and I had the same concerns as you but my reaction was the same – still delicious! I’m very, very glad it was a hit. Thanks for letting me know.

5 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Cammee – glad you liked these simple noodles! Thanks for letting me know.

6 Cammee September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

We had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Once again, THANK YOU!!

7 Jess September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

My husband and I just made this today. Oh. My. Word. So good!

Thanks for always posting such awesome recipes!

8 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Jess – so glad you liked these. Thanks for the enthusiastic comment!

9 mollie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

I just made this for myself and 6 and 3 yaer olds…LOVED it!
Fast and Easy.
I added crushed up peanuts-sooooooo gooooood.
I dont know how I stumbled upon your site, but I am here all the time to see what new recipes you have posted. Love it! Keep them coming, please!

10 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Mollie – oooh, I bet crushed up peanuts would be fantastic on this dish. Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you liked it.

11 Gina September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

I’ve been wanting to try this dish but was afraid it would lack flavor but boy was I wrong! This dish is fantastic, full of flavor! My husband thought it lacked sauce but over all, very delicious. I on the other hand thought it was perfect as is. Also, I didn’t have pork so I used a new york steak and it was still delicious. Thank you for your easy but full of flavor recipes!

12 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 7:00 am

Hi Gina – I know, the lack of sauce seems a bit scary but it really works! I’m glad you and your husband liked this (I bet it was delish with the steak!).

13 Marisa September 28, 2009 at 9:04 pm

Sold!!! I am totally adding this to my menu this week! Thanks for sharing!

14 Brooke September 28, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Thanks for posting such yummy recipes. Which brand of hoisin sauce do you use? I bought one once and thought it was nasty and ruined my recipe. I’m sure a good hoisin sauce would make all the difference. Thanks!

15 Anonymous September 28, 2009 at 9:09 pm

One word, YUM! I made this for dinner last night and my son asked me first thing this morning if there were some leftovers that we could share for lunch today. I really enjoy your blog, I also made the dark chocolate brownies this week too. I am the bigger fan of those in my house (which is fine with me!).

16 Lauren September 28, 2009 at 9:17 pm

I love your site! You always have practical and delicious recipes!

17 Cammee September 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Oh yum. I’m going to make this soon! My boys just stab their food with the chopsticks and eat it that way. I’m sure PF Changs cringes when we come through the door.

18 Kelly September 28, 2009 at 9:19 pm

Wow! Looks so delicious. Do you think I could add other veggies? My family won’t eat cabbage.

19 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Therese – thanks for your comment. It was very nice. I agree that my style of Asian cuisine has to be modified for time and children – meaning no LONG list of crazy ingredients. I hope you like this meal!

20 Patsyk September 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Looks like you have found a great way to have Chinese w/o doing take-out!

21 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:21 pm

Kelly – if your family is averse to cabbage I would just leave it out. By the time the cabbage sautes and wilts in this recipe, it is almost undetectable so I don’t think you would need to substitute anything for it. I bet it would be equally delicious without the cabbage.

22 Erin September 28, 2009 at 9:22 pm

Yum, this looks delish, Mel! I definitely need to try it out. Thanks!

23 Jonelle Hughes September 28, 2009 at 9:23 pm

I love you Mel! I have everything for this, and needed a great FHE meal tonight. Shout hooray for Kitchen Cafe!

24 grace September 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm

kudos to the kiddo for trying—i gave up on my chopstick skills long ago. :)

25 ARLENE September 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm

I don’t care about the authenticity. This sounds delicious. I love how hoisin flavors veggies and noodles. Will definitely try this; I’m making a pork loin this week. Maybe with the leftovers.

26 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:26 pm

Anonymous – that’s hilarious your son wanted the leftovers for breakfast – I guess that is not a bad thing if he’s willing to eat what you made, right? So glad you liked this (and the brownies!).

27 Sara September 28, 2009 at 9:27 pm

Sounds SO good! I’m going to bookmark it too, but hopefully I won’t wait six months to make it. :)

28 Amber September 28, 2009 at 9:27 pm

That def sounds like something my girls will eat…looks delicious too..great photo!

29 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:32 pm

Brooke – I use the Dynasty brand of hoisin sauce. I’ve always been pleased with the results. I hope you can find this brand (and hope it wasn’t the brand you thought was terrible!).

30 Kara@ Creations by Kara September 28, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Melanie, this looks delicious! I just bought some hoisin sauce and haven’t used it yet. I’ll have to open it up for this one.
So cute that your 5 year old used the chopsticks! I wonder if I could get mine to do the same. :)

31 Therese September 28, 2009 at 9:37 pm

Can’t wait to try this!

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate the Chinese and other “ethnic” recipes you post here. My daughter is a Chinese adoptee and all my kids love Chinese food, but I don’t have the time in my day for recipes that require 200 steps or really crazy ingredients. The recipes you post aren’t too complicated, are “normal” enough for kids to like, and they still get to feel like little food adventurers when they eat them. Thanks!

32 Nicole September 28, 2009 at 9:38 pm

This one looks really great! Dairy free too!

33 Queen B. September 28, 2009 at 9:38 pm

Oh my gosh that looks amazing.
I bought all the stuff for baked oatmeal.
It’s on my ‘menu’ this week.
I want to take pics if I get my new camera this week !

34 Veronica November 11, 2009 at 1:09 am

Melanie, thank you so much for posting this–I have never made a decent Asian dish until now! This was so good, I felt like I could have been sitting at a restaurant instead of my kitchen table, which is amazing considering the usual Asian fare I prepare-it’s always uninspiring. This one is a keeper.

35 Melanie November 11, 2009 at 8:20 pm

Hey Veronica – so glad this Asian dish was inspiring for you! Thanks for letting me know.

36 Linsy April 19, 2010 at 11:42 pm

I made this for dinner and it was delicious! Thaks for posting all these wonderful recipes!

37 Mel April 20, 2010 at 1:01 pm

Thanks, Linsy! So glad you liked this.

38 Carlin September 28, 2010 at 7:59 pm

I have had this on my dinner list for a few weeks and finally made it tonight. It was so good! Between mouthfuls, my husband exclaimed, “Wow! This is better than the restaurant!” We both loved a chinese dish that was healthy and filling and full of flavor. Thank you for posting!

39 Mel September 28, 2010 at 8:19 pm

Thanks, Carlin. This is one of my all-time favorite Asian dishes so I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed it, also!

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