What is Chao He Cai
After my last visit to the northern Chinese restaurant Auntie Guan’s Kitchen, I kept thinking about the delicious vegetarian moo shu we ordered. In Beijing, we call the dish Chao He Cai (炒合菜), or translated literally, Harmony Stir Fry. It is a dish we serve during the spring solstice. It uses colorful vegetables that represent the upcoming warm months: bean sprouts, peppers, and carrots. It’s usually cooked with some protein such as eggs or fried tofu. The thin flour pancakes served together with it are called Chun Bing (春饼), or Spring Pancakes, which are commonly known as moo shu pancakes or mandarin pancakes in the US. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate spring. The use of colorful vegetables with great texture contrast and the tender, delicate spring pancakes all make the meal very enjoyable and uplifting. Just like the coming spring.
Ingredients of vegetarian moo shu
Choice of vegetables
There are many ways to make vegetable combos for a vegetarian moo shu. But I’m really excited to introduce this one because it is so different from the usual shredded cabbage moo shu you usually see in Chinese takeout. For the Beijing style vegetarian moo shu, bean sprouts are a main ingredient. Many other vegetables are added for their color and texture – here I used pepper, carrot, wood ear mushrooms and garlic chives. You can definitely reduce or add one or two vegetables, or replace the current ones with what’s more readily available. For example, spinach is a great choice to add color and a tender texture. Garlic chives can be replaced with green onion or onion, which are more commonly available. Wood ear mushrooms can be skipped if you do not have them, although I do love their texture. I encourage you to give the recipe a try as it is. When I served the dish with my vegetarian friend, she told me it was the best moo shu she’d ever had!
How to make this dish vegan
If you want to make the dish vegan, I recommend replacing the eggs with some fried tofu (tofu puffs) and soaked vermicelli. Both add a tender texture and a meaty mouthfeel.
What pancake to use
Back when I was living in Beijing, my family always served the dish with the thin flour pancakes known as spring pancakes. I shared a homemade recipe for them in the past if you’re interested. If you have access to an Asian market, you might be able to find the pre-made pancakes in the refrigerated or freezer section. They are usually called “Moo Shu Shells”, “Moo Shu Pancakes”, “Peking Duck Wrappers”, or “Mandarin Pancakes”. The store-bought moo shu pancakes can be quite large, but I found them to be quite nice because you can wrap more vegetables in them. But if you cannot find the proper pancakes, you can use flour tortillas (for tacos) instead. The tortillas are thicker than the moo shu pancakes. So I would stuff them like tacos, with loads of vegetables, instead of trying to make a wrap like a burrito.
The sauce for vegetarian moo shu
The best sauce for vegetarian moo shu is Sweet Bean Sauce, or Tian Mian Jiang (甜面酱). It is a thick dark brown sauce made from fermented flour, which has a salty savory fermented taste and a hint of sweetness. It is a must-have sauce for Northern Chinese cooking. If you do not have sweet bean sauce, you can use hoisin sauce instead. I have a homemade hoisin sauce recipe that works perfectly here. I personally always prefer sweet bean sauce over hoisin sauce, because it has a deeper and richer flavor. The homemade hoisin sauce works better than store-bought, because it is less loaded with sugar. Fun fact: quite a few times I have seen Chinese restaurants list hoisin sauce on their menu, when they actually serve sweet bean sauce. I suspect they used the wrong name on purpose because hoisin is more commonly known in the US. And that might be why sometimes your homemade dish tastes different from the restaurant version.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have: mixed sauce, rehydrated wood ear mushrooms and carrots, beaten eggs, garlic, pepper, chives (or green onions) and bean sprouts. I grouped some vegetables together because I added them at the same time during the stir fry. It makes the stir fry easier and I have a few less dishes to clean.
How to cook vegetarian moo shu
Before starting your vegetarian moo shu stir fry, you should prepare a steamer to heat up the moo shu pancakes. If using store-bought pancakes, it’s totally fine to heat them up in the microwave. If using a microwave, you should cook the stir fry first, then heat up the pancakes. Cooking vegetarian moo shu is super easy:
How to serve vegetarian moo shu
Once you heat up the moo shu pancakes, it’s best to cover them (using a dish, or some clean towels, or keep them in the steamer) so they stay tender and warm. When you’re ready to eat, peel off a pancake and lay it on a flat clean dish. Spread a thin layer of the sauce and top it with a generous helping of vegetable stir fry. You can wrap it up like you’re making a burrito, by folding it from one side, tucking the bottom, and rolling over to form a wrap. But I always fold both sides together so I can maximize the amount of vegetable filling I can stuff in. Vegetarian moo shu can be served as an appetizer or a main course during a multi-course meal. However, I think this one is so delicious and satisfying to eat, that I totally see it as the main dish on your dinner table.
Other delicious vegetarian dishes to add to your meal
Black Pepper TofuBok Choy SoupChinese Celery and Peanut Salad Easy Candied Walnuts with SpiceChrysanthemum SaladChinese Sliced Tofu Salad (凉拌豆腐丝)
