Milkweed Mushroom Moo Shu

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Moo shu- thin, delicate pancakes wrapped around a savory shredded mixture (typically pork). But, pork not being my thing, I decided to go with a different take on the dish- milkweed mushroom moo shu. Milkweed’s thin blossoms perfectly lends itself to the thin and shredded nature of moo shu vegetables. Since the Chinese characters for moo shu can be translated many different ways, there are multiple theories as to why moo shu is so named. One of the more popular ones cites the dish is named after a delicate flower (sweet osmanthus), so it seemed fitting to add a blossom into this florally named dish.

My blog has been very quite lately because I’ve been off on my annual vacation. Laying down by the lake, swimming, reading. Really soaking in the cottage life. Making unnecessarily elaborate food in the days that seem to stretch on forever, without the distractions of technology to silently eat away at the daylight. I’ve been coming up to that cottage every year since I was one. And every year I’ve seen new plants and animal species creeping up, or disappearing. But one constant (so far) has been the milkweed- although I only recently learned it was edible. Since cottaging, this dish is very much made with what I had available (and I encourage you to do the same).

Milkweed plants are fairly tall, with large green leaves. The buds look like green pompoms, or broccoli. The flowers that come next are a beautiful light pink/purple on the tips of the long stalk. Even later, large seed pods will develop. Milkweed gets it’s name for the sticky, thick, white latex sap that it exudes when the stem is broken. If you’re going to harvest milkweed, do so sparingly and take only the flowers you need. Leave the leafs behind, as they are an essential food source for monarch butterflies. Please make sure you are positive with your identification, and check with an expert before consuming a plant you are unsure of. Remember- when in doubt, throw it out (or better yet, don’t pick until you’re sure).

There are some questions about pre-boiling milkweed, and whether or not it is necessary to avoid stomach upset. Some opinions I read stated that the flowers tasted best with no pre-treatment, whereas others recommended boiling in several pots of water before use. In order to avoid stomach aches, and maintain some texture, I went with a three minute boil in one change of water for this milkweed mushroom moo shu. Use your best judgement about using multiple waters, or not boiling at all.

My moo shu pancake making process is a little bit of turning a failure into a success. My technique is, I’m sure, not traditional, and the pancakes are not as thin as they should be, but they were tasty and got the job done. The recipe I was referencing directed me to make two pancakes, put them together and roll into one larger pancake, cook and then separate the two pancakes. Unfortunately I didn’t read the entire recipe before starting, and rolled my pancakes out far to thin to separate after cooking. Thus two pancakes became one semi layered pancake (which I assure you is still delicious). If you want to attempt the original technique, let me know how it went in the comments.

Milkweed Mushroom Moo Shu

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup hot water
• Around 10 milkweed buds or flowers with as much of the stem removed as possible.
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ¼ tsp. minced ginger (I used pickled ginger, but fresh is also lovely)
• ½ a medium onion
• 3 mushrooms
• Sesame oil, for cooking
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce

Steps

1. Combine flour and hot water in a large bowl and stir. When it forms a dough, remove and kneed on a floured surface until the dough is smooth- 5-10 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes or so, covered.

2. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. One at a time, on a well-floured surface, roll each piece into a small circle. Stack two small circles on top of each other (for a total of 6 pancakes) and roll together into a thin circle. Cook each pancake by placing on a hot, lightly greased skillet, flipping frequently so it blisters but does not get much color. Set all the pancakes aside in a warm oven and make your filling.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the milkweed and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside. Mince the ginger and garlic, slice the onions and mushrooms.

4. Heat the sesame oil on medium in a large skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, but not turning golden. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes before adding the milkweed. While cooking the milkweed, break it up a little with your spatula. Season with wine and soy sauce and continue to cook, stirring, until most of the liquid is evaporated.  

5. Serve the milkweed mixture warm with the pancakes, and enjoy!

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