Place of origin China Main ingredient Pork | Main ingredients Pork Origin Hong Kong | |
Alternative names meat wool, meat floss, pork floss, flossy pork or pork sung Similar Jerky, Pork, Nori, Congee, Sambal | ||
Chinese pork floss rousong buns
Rousong ( [ɻôusʊ́ŋ]; Chinese: 肉鬆; Cantonese Yale: yuk6 sung1), also known as meat wool, meat floss, pork floss, flossy pork, pork sung or yuk sung, is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China. Rousong is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, tofu, and savoury soy milk. It is also used as filling for various buns and pastries, and as a snack food on its own. Rousong is a very popular food item in Chinese cuisine.
Contents
- Chinese pork floss rousong buns
- diy meat floss rousong
- Production
- Pork less versions
- Other versions
- References
diy meat floss rousong
Production
Rousong is made by stewing cuts of pork in a sweetened soy sauce mixture until individual muscle fibres can be easily torn apart with a fork. This happens when the water insoluble collagen that holds the muscle fibres of the meat together has been converted into water-soluble gelatine. The teased-apart meat is then strained and dried in the oven. After a light drying, the meat is mashed and beaten while being dry-cooked in a large wok until it is nearly completely dry. Additional flavourings are usually added while the mixture is being dry fried. Five kilograms of meat will usually yield about one kilogram of floss.
Pork-less versions
Fish can also be made into floss (魚鬆; yú sōng), though initial stewing is not required due to the low collagen and elastin content of fish meat.
In Muslim majority Indonesia, beef floss is the most popular variant, and meat floss is commonly called abon. Malaysian Muslims make and consume meat floss made from chicken or beef called serunding, which is a popular delicacy during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
In Muslim majority Hausa cuisine, dambu nama is a dry shredded beef snack, similar to Rousong. It is fried and heavily spiced in its preparation.
Other versions
A very similar product is pork fu (肉脯; pinyin: ròufǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-hú), which is less fried and less shredded than rousong, and has a more fibrous texture.