Meat floss

Meat floss, also known as pork or yuk sung (Chinese: 肉鬆; pinyin: ròusōng; Jyutping: juk6 sung1 ; Mandarin Chinese: [ɻôʊsʊ́ŋ]), is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China.^[1][2] It is more commonly known as bak hu (Hokkien: 肉拊, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-hú) in Hokkien-influenced regions, such as Southeast Asia and Taiwan.^[3]

Meat floss

Meat floss made of beef
Alternative names	Meat wool, pork floss, flossy pork, meat cotton candy or pork sung
Place of origin	China[1]
Region or state	East Asia and Southeast Asia
Associated cuisine	Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam
Main ingredients	Pork, beef, or chicken
Media: Meat floss

Meat floss
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	肉鬆
Simplified Chinese	肉松
Literal meaning	meat fluff, meat flakes
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin ròusōng IPA [ɻôʊsʊ́ŋ] Wu Romanization [ɲiɔʔ soŋ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization yuhk-sūng Jyutping juk6 sung1
Southern Min name
Chinese	肉拊
Literal meaning	processed meat; rubbed / broken-down meat
Transcriptions Southern Min Hokkien POJ bah-hú Tâi-lô bah-hú
Southern Min name (Tainan)
Chinese	肉酥
Literal meaning	meat flakes, meat crisps
Transcriptions Southern Min Hokkien POJ bah-so· Tâi-lô bah-soo
Eastern Min name
Traditional Chinese	肉絨
Simplified Chinese	肉绒
Literal meaning	(fine) meat wool, fine meat floss (embroidery silk); meat down feathers (or fine hair); meat velvet, fine meat fabric
Transcriptions Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC nṳ̆k-ṳ̀ng
Hakka name
Chinese	肉麩
Literal meaning	meat wheat bran; meat gluten
Transcriptions Hakka Romanization ngiug fu
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	ruốc (Northern Vietnamese) chà bông (Southern Vietnamese)
Thai name
Thai	หมูหย็อง
RTGS	mu yong
Malay name
Malay	serondeng
Indonesian name
Indonesian	abon
Filipino name
Tagalog	mahu or masang
Khmer name
Khmer	សាច់ជ្រូកផាត់ sach chruok phat

Production and styles

Meat floss is made by stewing finely cut pork, chicken or beef (though other meats may be used) in a sweetened mixture of soy sauce and various spices until individual muscle fibers can be easily torn apart. This happens when the water-insoluble collagen that holds the muscle fibers of the meat together has been converted into water-soluble gelatine.^[4]

There are two styles of meat floss, which differ in whether oil is added during the last process of production. The Jiangsu style rousong is dry-cooked and the product is slightly chewy, while the Fujian style bak hu is fried with oil and the product is mildly crispy. Five kilograms (11 lb) of meat will usually yield about one kilogram (2.2 lb) of floss.^[5]

Variations

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. Rabbit and duck floss can also be found in China.^[6][7]

In Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, beef or chicken floss is the most popular variant, commonly called abon in Indonesian and serunding in Malay. In Malaysia, serunding is a popular delicacy during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.^[8]

• 
  Fish floss is roasted to look similar to yuk sung.
• 
  Beef floss for sale in Sulawesi, Indonesia
• 
  Meat floss buns from Hong Kong

Health effects

A study has demonstrated a positive correlation between increased processing temperatures of meat floss and increased formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) within the meat. Up to seven different HAAs were found when meat floss was processed at 150 °C (302 °F).^[9] HAAs are believed to promote the development of some cancers.^[10]

See also

• Bakkwa – Salty-sweet dried meat product
• Čvarci – Southeastern European pork rind
• Dried shredded squid – Seafood product
• Katsuobushi – Dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna
• Machaca – Mexican dish
• Pemmican – Food mix with long shelf life, sometimes used as survival food
• Pulled pork – Pork barbecue dish of the Southern United States
• Serundeng – Indonesian spiced grated coconut
• Food portal