This Moo Shu Tofu recipe is loaded with tender-crisp vegetables and crispy tofu tucked into a tortilla or rice pancake, slathered with a tangy hoisin sauce. A quick and easy weeknight dinner! Vegan and Gluten-Free.
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I’d rather teach one bird to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. ~E. E. Cummings
This recipe for Moo Shu Tofu is perfect for an easy-to-make satisfying dinner with loads of flavor. Hoisin sauce makes it a breeze adding lots of umami and bright flavor. Serve wrapped in a rice pancake or tortilla, or over a serving of brown rice. (There are so many options for wraps these days! Use your favorite kind.)
What does Moo Shu taste like?
The Moo Shu I am familiar with is what I grew up eating at American Chinese restaurants and I’ve always loved it!
Our version here boasts quick stir-fried vegetables: tender-crisp bell pepper and bok choy with savory meaty shiitakes and crispy tofu. Topped with fresh crunchy bean sprouts then wrapped in a tortilla or rice pancake and served with a sweet-tart hoisin-based sauce. So good and so easy!
Hoisin is a fragrant tangy sauce perfect for perking up stir-fries, great for marinades, and adds depth to grilling. It is usually made from a combination of fermented soybeans, vinegar, garlic, chilies and sesame oil and sweetener. It is a popular ingredient readily available at most natural markets or Asian markets.
Ingredients in Moo Shu Tofu
- tofu
- ginger
- garlic
- shiitakes
- red or yellow bell pepper
- scallions
- bok choy
- bean sprouts
- soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- sesame oil
- hoisin sauce
- tortillas, wraps or Chinese rice pancakes
How to make Moo Shu Tofu
Step one
Make the Crispy Tofu. You can find a detailed recipe for that here.
- Blot excess water off of the tofu.
- Fry in a well-seasoned pan with oil and a sprinkle of salt in the oil.
- Let tofu sear before flipping.
Step two
Set the tofu aside.
Step three
Make the sauce. The sauce has more complexity but you can also just use straight hoisin sauce for quick ease.
I like this Hoisin Sauce. The ingredients are clean and it tastes yummy, not too syrupy sweet.
Step four
Wash and cut all the veggies.
Step five
Get your wok or pan really hot and turn on your hood. Add oil, it might smoke, that’s ok. Stirfry shiitake mushrooms for 1 minute. Push to the side of the wok.
Add bell pepper, half of the ginger and half of the garlic stir-fry 1 minute. Push to the side.
Step six
Add more oil if needed. Add scallions stir-fry a minute add the remaining ginger and garlic and Bok Choy. Stir another minute until Bok Choy is just beginning to wilt.
Step seven
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
Variations on Moo Shu Tofu
Add egg, scrambled or made flat, omelet-like, and cut into strips.
More Stir Fry recipes you may enjoy
- Tofu Green Bean Stir Fry
- Broccoli Stir Fry with Tofu
- Delicious Singapore Noodle Stir Fry with Curry Powder
- Black Pepper Tofu with Bok Choy
- Burmese Chicken (or Tofu) and Veggie Stir Fry
- Tofu Stir-Fry with Broccolini and Mushrooms
Enjoy!
~ Tonia
Print
Moo Shu Tofu
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Category: vegan, main
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Moo Shu tofu is loaded with tender-crisp vegetables and crispy tofu all tucked into a tortilla or rice pancake for a delicious vegan meal. Served with tangy hoisin sauce.
Ingredients
The Stir Fry
- 1–2 tablespoons refined peanut oil or coconut oil
- 1 batch crispy tofu
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 5 large shiitakes, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 red pepper, sliced thin
- 4–5 scallions, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 baby bok choys, cut lengthwise
- 1–2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed
The Sauce (see notes)
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon miso
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Make the crispy tofu recipe here (salt and pepper version)
Make the Sauce
- Mix together the hoisin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and miso in a saucepan. Heat to almost boiling.
- Whisk together cornstarch and water. Slowly add to the sauce, whisking all the while. Once it comes to a boil turn off the heat.
Make the Stir Fry
- Get your wok or pan smoking hot. Add peanut oil or coconut oil. Stirfry shiitake mushrooms for 2 minutes. Push to the side of the wok.
- Add bell pepper, half of the ginger and half of the garlic stir-fry 1 minute. Push to the side.
- Add scallions stir-fry a minute add the remaining ginger and garlic and Bok Choy. Stir another minute until Bok Choy is just beginning to wilt. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Mix in the crispy tofu.
- Sprinkle the bean sprouts over the top.
Assemble
- Warm tortillas or rice pancakes on a pan.
- Spoon sauce onto tortilla.
- Fill with stir-fried mixture, fold and enjoy!
Notes
Shortcut: Alternatively you can use straight store-bought hoisin sauce rather than make the sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 48.8 mg
- Fat: 13.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.8 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 12.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Delicious!! I even found a recipe for rice pancakes and made those. Thoroughly enjoyed these! Thanks so much for ANOTHER fantastic recipe.
Great to hear!
Ann, where did you find your recipe for rice pancakes? Thank you.
what recipe did you use for the rice pancakes
Absolutely delicious! Loved the hoisin sauce, will make more just to have on other stir fry dishes!!
Great to hear Jean!
Another wonderful recipe – thank you! Followed the recipe with the exception of subbing cabbage for the bok choy and sautéed soy curls for the tofu.
So glad you enjoyed, love the adjustments.
This looks great. The recipe for the sauce calls for store bought hoisin sauce plus rice vinegar, sesame etc. But then in the notes it says you can use straight store bought hoisin sauce. So, you mean skip all the other sauce ingredients and just serve with hoisin?
Yes that is what that means. We just enhance the sauce a bit in the recipe. If you are short on time and/or have a hoisin you love as is, you can just use it as is.
Great recipe! It’s turning into our family favorite for Sunday night dinners. We hit the Asian supermarket and swap out different mushrooms, bok choy and cabbages.
Awesome, sounds like a fun ritual!
I made the crispy tofu but wasn’t sure if I was to add it to the stir fry or have it on the side. Ended up deciding to mix it in. Served it in a wrap and all tasted great!
Oh, thanks Cindy for commenting! Yes add it in but either way works! Recipe now specifies this. 🙂
I have made this with tofu and another time with chicken. It was delicious both times.
So great to hear!
My family loved this recipe! We often get Moo Shu take out from a local restaurant but this tasted so much more fresh, crisp and flavorful. Thank you so much!
Nice Dina, so happy to hear this!
Our kids have been asking for more vegetarian meals. I made this tonight and it was delicious! Easy to make, lots of flavor and everybody loved it!
Awesome Maggie!
This was delicious, Tonia! One question: how do you recommend incorporating the bean sprouts? It’s not in the recipe, so when I got to the end and still had the raw sprouts I sauteed them very briefly with a little seasoning then incorporated with the veggies. Were they meant to be used raw?
Oh thanks Tina, I will adjust the recipe! It is really up to you. I prefer them with the raw crunch but I know some like them wilted a bit. 😊
This is another great recipe and easy to make. I didn’t have tortillas or rice pancakes at home so we ate the stir fry with rice and spoon the sauce on the vegetables. Absolutely delicious !
Thanks, so great to hear Marie!
The sauce is delicious and tastes authentic compared with what I’ve had in restaurants here (if that’s authentic?). On a snowy night, I made this recipe with what I had in the fridge, so no sprouts, and spinach instead of bok choy, and had to serve it on a whole wheat tortilla … and it was still delicious. Looking forward to using the rest of the sauce with the leftover tofu! And trying it some time with the proper ingredients. Thanks.
Wonderful Marsha!
Hi Sylvia! This recipe looks delicious! Would you mind providing a link to the rice pancake you purchased? I can’t wait to make this for my family!
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. Keep up the great work!
~Amy
Thanks so much Amy! Do you have an Asian Market where you live? Usually you can find rice pancakes in the freezer section. We also have used Siete Cassava Flour tortilla’s, they are great! 🙂