Turkey!!
Ah Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite times of the year because I LURV turkey! Yum! Now that I'm in Canada, thanksgiving falls in October so we've already had to deal with our left overs. For my US friends I thought I'd post something that you can make with all that left over turkey.
This has become one of my favorite things. I love Mu Shu but it's really intense to make it the traditional way at home. So I came up with a bastardized version. For those that don't know what Mu Shu is, it's shredded meat and vegetables that are sauteed.
You wrap them in a crepe like pancake, smear some hoisin sauce on it and you're in Mu Shu heaven.
My Bastardized Mu Shu Pancakes
4 Cups mixed vegetables - cut into a fine julienne or large shreds
(see notes for suggestions)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound turkey - shredded (see notes for alternates)
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the milk, eggs, meat and veggies together until everything is well mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Don't over mix. Treat this like you would normal pancake batter.
You can use any kind of pan but I find a non-stick one works really well. You can use oil or cooking spray, just don't over load it. Heat your pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, use a tablespoon or a soup spoon and scoop up heaping spoonfuls of the batter and drop it into the pan. Gently flatten a little so that it is just slightly thicker than a pancake (if you feel the batter is too thick, you can add a little milk or water to thin it out but don't let it get runny). With the turkey it should take about 3-5 mins on each side, depending on your stove and pan. You're looking for the same coloration as pancakes - you'll see little bubbles start to appear in the batter and the edges of the pancake will not be glossy. That's when you're ready to flip. Don't crowd the pan either as it will make things stick together and come out looking funny. Once the pancake is finished, serve hot with Hoisin sauce (found in the asian section of the grocery store) or your favorite peanut sauce.
Notes:
Veggies: Bean sprouts, zucchini, carrot, green onion, cabbage, bok choi, chard, spinach (not frozen). Anything you can cut into small matchstick sized pieces or that you can shred. If you want a quicker way to get the veggies, you can use brocco-slaw (shredded broccoli stems) or pre-packed cole slaw veggies (no sauce! just the fresh veg).
Meat: If you don't want to use turkey, a traditional Mu Shu is made with pork. This recipe is great if you have left over pork roast or chops. You can use beef and chicken as well. If you only have fresh meat, cut the meat into small strips. As you're mixing the meat with the wet ingredients, make sure the meat doesn't clump together. If you're using raw pork/beef/poultry, you may have to increase the cooking time to make sure that the meat is well cooked.
This is also a cool recipe to make in appetizer size portions. Using a teaspoon you can make mini pancakes (adjust your cooking time). You can serve them laid out on a platter with the sauce in a bowl or you can place small dollops of sauce on each pancake. Sprinkle with finely chopped green onion or toasted sesame seeds to make it pretty.
This has become one of my favorite things. I love Mu Shu but it's really intense to make it the traditional way at home. So I came up with a bastardized version. For those that don't know what Mu Shu is, it's shredded meat and vegetables that are sauteed.
You wrap them in a crepe like pancake, smear some hoisin sauce on it and you're in Mu Shu heaven.
My Bastardized Mu Shu Pancakes
4 Cups mixed vegetables - cut into a fine julienne or large shreds
(see notes for suggestions)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound turkey - shredded (see notes for alternates)
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the milk, eggs, meat and veggies together until everything is well mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Don't over mix. Treat this like you would normal pancake batter.
You can use any kind of pan but I find a non-stick one works really well. You can use oil or cooking spray, just don't over load it. Heat your pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, use a tablespoon or a soup spoon and scoop up heaping spoonfuls of the batter and drop it into the pan. Gently flatten a little so that it is just slightly thicker than a pancake (if you feel the batter is too thick, you can add a little milk or water to thin it out but don't let it get runny). With the turkey it should take about 3-5 mins on each side, depending on your stove and pan. You're looking for the same coloration as pancakes - you'll see little bubbles start to appear in the batter and the edges of the pancake will not be glossy. That's when you're ready to flip. Don't crowd the pan either as it will make things stick together and come out looking funny. Once the pancake is finished, serve hot with Hoisin sauce (found in the asian section of the grocery store) or your favorite peanut sauce.
Notes:
Veggies: Bean sprouts, zucchini, carrot, green onion, cabbage, bok choi, chard, spinach (not frozen). Anything you can cut into small matchstick sized pieces or that you can shred. If you want a quicker way to get the veggies, you can use brocco-slaw (shredded broccoli stems) or pre-packed cole slaw veggies (no sauce! just the fresh veg).
Meat: If you don't want to use turkey, a traditional Mu Shu is made with pork. This recipe is great if you have left over pork roast or chops. You can use beef and chicken as well. If you only have fresh meat, cut the meat into small strips. As you're mixing the meat with the wet ingredients, make sure the meat doesn't clump together. If you're using raw pork/beef/poultry, you may have to increase the cooking time to make sure that the meat is well cooked.
This is also a cool recipe to make in appetizer size portions. Using a teaspoon you can make mini pancakes (adjust your cooking time). You can serve them laid out on a platter with the sauce in a bowl or you can place small dollops of sauce on each pancake. Sprinkle with finely chopped green onion or toasted sesame seeds to make it pretty.