Rousong

Rousong, also called meat floss, pork floss, pork sung or in Thailand moo yong, is a dried meat item that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton. ''Rousong'' is used as a topping for many foods such as congee, tofu, and savory 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 culture, and evident in its ubiquitous use in Chinese cuisine.

A very similar product is pork fu , which is less fried and less shredded than ''rousong'', and has a more fibrous texture.

Production

''Rousong'' is made by stewing cheap cuts of pork in a sweetened soy sauce mixture until individual muscle fibres can be easily teased apart with a fork. This usually happens when the collagen and elastin that normally hold the fibres have been cooked out of the meat. 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 completely dry. Additional flavourings are usually added while the mixture is being dry fried.

5 kg of meat will usually produce about 1 kg of rousong.


Fish can also be made into floss though initial stewing is not required due to the low collagen and elastin content of fish flesh.

Notable ''rousong'' brands

North America

*Soo Singapore Jerky

Malaysia

*Wing Heong
*Kiew Brothers
*Chun Me Food Trading
*Bee Cheng Hiang

Singapore

*Bee Cheng Hiang
*Fragrance Foodstuff
*Lim Chee Guan
*Tan Chee Yuan
*New Peng Hiang

Taiwan

*Jin Xiang Yuan
*Chuan Xiang
*Hsin Tung Yang

Philippines

*Bee Tin