Recipe: Shiu-Min Block's Stuffed Chinese Pancakes (Moo Shu Row) Vegetarian

SHIU-MIN BLOCK'S STUFFED CHINESE PANCAKES
(MOO SHU ROW)

"Rather like the traditional way of eating Peking duck, here thin white flour pancakes are lightly smeared with a little sweet hoisin sauce and used as a covering to roll around stir-fried vegetables. The trick to making these thin pancakes is to stick three well oiled balls of dough together and roll them out at the same time.

For a party or for the family, these are fun to eat, as everybody has to roll up the pancakes for themselves.

For those who like hot food, any hot sauce, such as chile paste with soybean or chile paste with garlic, or even Tabasco, may be added to the hoisin sauce.

Even though I have listed the ingredients for the pancakes and stuffing separately, I tend to prepare all the ingredients for the stuffing first, then make the pancakes, and finally stir-fry the stuffing, which only takes a few minutes. The ingredients needed for serving the pancakes may be prepared while the dough is resting."

FOR THE STUFFING:
1 loosely packed cup dried day lily buds
8 dried Chinese black mushrooms
1/2 loosely packed cup dried small black tree ear fungus (also called cloud ears and mo-er mushrooms)
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 scallions, each cut crosswise into 2-inch sections and the white part cut lengthwise in quarters
6 thin slices of fresh ginger, cut into fine strips
1 (8 ounce) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained and the slices cut lengthwise into fine strips
1/2 small green cabbage (about 1/2 pound in all), cut into fine, long strips (this is best done if the cabbage head is quartered, cored, and then cut lengthwise into strips)
3 tablespoons Chinese light soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed and peel left whole
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
FOR THE PANCAKES:
2 1/4 cups water
4 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour plus extra for dusting
3 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
4 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
FOR SERVING:
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce thinned out with 2 1/2 tablespoons water
5 scallions, the bottom 3 inches only, cut lengthwise into fine, long slivers

TO PREPARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE STUFFING:
Soak the dried day lily buds in water to cover them generously for 30 minutes. Soak the black mushrooms in hot water to cover them generously for 30 minutes. Soak the tree ear fungus in water to cover them generously for 30 minutes. Use plenty of water, as they expand considerably.

Drain the day lily buds and rinse well. Snip off the slightly knotted tops and then pull the buds into long shreds.

Lift the mushrooms out of their soaking liquid (the liquid may be strained through a cloth and saved for stock). Cut off and discard the coarse stems. Cut the caps into fine, long shreds.

Lift the tree ear fungus out of its soaking liquid. Feel each piece carefully and snip off any hard, knotted areas. Rinse well and set aside.

Prepare or measure out all the other ingredients for the stuffing and set aside.

TO MAKE THE PANCAKES:
Put the flour in a large bowl. Put 2 1/4 cups of water in a jug. Start to pour the water over the flour as you stir with a pair of chopsticks or a wooden spoon. When the loose flour is all gone and you have lumps of dough (you will probably use up all the water), empty the contents of the bowl onto the counter (or other kneading surface) that has been lightly sprinkled with flour. Knead for 1 minute, dusting every now and then with flour. Form a ball and cover with an upturned bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes. (This is a good time to prepare the ingredients needed for serving the pancakes.)

Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes, dusting it now and then with flour. It should no longer stick to your hands. Make a long roll with the dough, about 1 1/4-inches in diameter. Break this off into 18 pieces. Roll each piece in flour and then form balls with a light hand. Press each ball down with a light hand to make 2 1/2 to 3-inch patties.

Combine 3 tablespoons each of the sesame and vegetable oils in a wide, shallow bowl-like dish.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each patty out into a 4 1/2-inch round. The Chinese way of doing this is to roll from the center out and turn the patty slightly after each roll. Roll out each patty this way.

Dip the bottom of 2 patties in the mixed oil and then stick them to each other as if the oil were some kind of glue. Use this "glue" generously. Dip the bottom of a third patty in the mixed oil and stick it to the other 2. You should now have a small 3-layered "cake" of dough patties. Make 5 more "cakes" the same way.

Dust the work surface again with a little flour. Put down 1 "cake" and roll again going from the center out and turning a little after each roll, until a 9-inch round. Put it between 2 sheets of wax paper. Make 5 other pancakes exactly the same way, layering each pancake between sheets of wax paper putting one on top of the other.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large, heavy, nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When hot, put in 1 pancake. Let it cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until it is translucent. Turn it over and cook the second side for about 20 seconds. Turn it over again, slapping the pancake down hard into the pan. Cook for 5 seconds. Turn again, slapping the pancake down hard. (This begins to separate the layers.) Turn quickly 2 more times, each time slapping down hard. Remove the pancake and separate the 3 layers. Put the 3 pancakes on a large plate and cover with foil or an upturned plate. Keep covered in a warm place. Make all pancakes this way, separating the layers and keeping them warm with the others.

TO MAKE STUFFING:
Quickly stir-fry the stuffing. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick wok or large nonstick frying pan and set over high heat. When hot, add the eggs. Scramble them quickly and remove them as soon as they are cooked. Break up the scrambled egg into smaller pieces.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok or frying pan and put in the mushrooms, scallions, and ginger. Stir twice and add the lily buds, tree ears, and bamboo shoots. Stir twice and add the cabbage. Stir briefly and add the egg and the light soy sauce. Stir for a minute. Now add 1/2 cup of water, the garlic, salt, and sugar. Stir for a minute. Add the sesame oil. Stir to mix and turn off the heat. The garlic may be removed.

TO EAT:
Each diner should put about 1 teaspoon of the hoisin mixture down the center of the pancake, then scatter a few shreds of raw scallion if desired on top of the hoisin, and finally put some of the stuffing on top of the scallion. Now the pancake can be rolled up and eaten.

Makes 18 large pancakes
Source: Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes From Around the Globe by Madhur Jaffrey