meat floss

{{Infobox prepared food

| name =

| image = Abon sapi.JPG

| caption = Meat floss made of beef

| alternate_name = Meat wool, pork floss, flossy pork, meat cotton candy or pork sung

| country = China

| region = East Asia and Southeast Asia

| national_cuisine = Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam

| creator =

| course =

| served =

| main_ingredient = Pork, beef, or chicken

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| s = 肉松

| t = 肉鬆

| l = meat fluff, meat flakes

| p = ròusōng

| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|r|ou|4|s|ong|1}}

| wuu = {{IPA|wuu|ɲiɔʔ soŋ|}}

| y = yuhk-sūng

| altname = Southern Min name

| c2 = 肉拊

| l2 = processed meat; rubbed / broken-down meat

| poj2 = bah-hú

| tl2 = bah-hú

| altname3 = Southern Min name (Tainan)

| c3 = 肉酥

| l3 = meat flakes, meat crisps

| poj3 = bah-so·

| tl3 = bah-soo

| altname4 = Eastern Min name

| s4 = 肉绒

| t4 = 肉絨

| l4 = (fine) meat wool, fine meat floss (embroidery silk); meat down feathers (or fine hair); meat velvet, fine meat fabric

| buc4 = nṳ̆k-ṳ̀ng

| vie = ruốc {{noitalics|(Northern Vietnamese)}}
chà bông {{noitalics|(Southern Vietnamese)}}

| khm = សាច់ជ្រូកផាត់ sach chruok phat

| tha = หมูหย็อง

| rtgs = mu yong

| ind = abon

| tgl = mahu {{noitalics|or}} masang

| msa = serondeng

| j = juk6 sung1

| altname5 = Hakka name

| c5 = 肉麩

| l5 = meat wheat bran; meat gluten

| h5 = ngiug fu

}}

Meat floss, also known as pork or yuk sung ({{zh|t=肉鬆|j=juk6 sung1|p =ròusōng}} ; Mandarin Chinese: {{IPAc-cmn|r|ou|4|s|ong|1}}), is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China.{{citation|title=World Atlas of Food |first=Jane |last=Grigson|publisher=Bookthrift Company |date=January 1985 |isbn=978-0-671-07211-7}}{{Cite book |last1=Dikeman |first1=Michael |title=Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences Volume 1 |last2=Devine |first2=Carrick |date=2014 |publisher=Elsevier/Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-384734-8 |edition=2nd |location=Amsterdam |pages=524}} 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.{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Chimbridge Singlish Dictionary of Singlish & Singaporean Terminology |url=https://singlishdict.app/?q=bak%20hu}}

Culinary use

Meat floss is used as a decorative and flavorful topping for many foods, such as congee, tofu, rice and savory soy milk. It is also used as filling for various savory buns and pastries as well as a topping for baked goods filled with bean paste, for example, or as a snack food on its own. Meat floss is a popular food item in Chinese, Vietnamese (called ruốc in the North, and chà bông in the South), and Indonesian dining.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

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.Vickie Vaclavik, Elizabeth W. Christian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DzMhwchiTMMC&pg=PA169 Essentials of Food Science]. Springer, 2003, p. 169. The meat is teased apart, strained and partially dried in the oven. It is then mashed and beaten while being cooked in a large wok until it is nearly completely dry. Additional flavorings are usually added while the mixture is being fried.

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. {{convert|5|kg|lb|0|spell=In}} of meat will usually yield about {{convert|1|kg|lb|0|spell=in}} of floss.Melia, Ken (2017). Review of Meat Floss – Identifying opportunities for Australian Red Meat. North Sydney: Meat and Livestock Australia Limited

Variations

A very similar product is pork fu ({{linktext|肉脯}}; pinyin: ròufǔ; {{zh|poj=bah-hú}}), which is less fried and less shredded than meat floss, and has a more fibrous texture.

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.Zhou, Zhen (2017). "Research of new duck floss with spicy flavor" Food and Fermentation Technology: 120–125 – via Food Science and Technology Abstracts.Leistner, Lothar (2002). Hurdle Technologies: Combination Treatments for Food Stability, Safety and Quality. New York: Kluwer / Plenum Publishers. pp. 132, 139. {{ISBN|978-1-4613-5220-4}}.

In Japan, a variant made from fish is called {{Nihongo||田麩|dembu|lead=yes}}.

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.Thestar.com. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080923050546/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F9%2F20%2Fnation%2F2067208&sec=nation Thestar.com]." Mum’s meat floss legacy. Retrieved on 2008-09-19. It can keep for several days to several months unrefrigerated, depending on its moisture content.

In the Muslim-majority Hausa cuisine of Northern Nigeria, dambu nama is a dry, shredded beef snack, similar to meat floss. It is fried and heavily spiced in its preparation.

File:Fish floss.JPG|Fish floss is roasted to look similar to yuk sung.

File:Indonesian beef floss.jpg|Beef floss for sale in Sulawesi, Indonesia

File:HK CWB Yee Wo Street 大班麵包西餅 TaiPan bakery breads 肉鬆包 Sept-2013.JPG|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 {{Convert|150|C}}.Liao, Guozhou (April 2009). "Effects of Cooked Temperatures and Addition of Antioxidants on Formation of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Pork Floss". Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 33: 159–175. {{doi|10.1111/j.1745-4549.2008.00239.x}} – via Web of Science. HAAs are believed to promote the development of some cancers.{{Cite journal|last=Weisburger|first=John H.|date=2002-09-30|title=Comments on the history and importance of aromatic and heterocyclic amines in public health|journal=Mutation Research|volume=506-507|pages=9–20|issn=0027-5107|pmid=12351140|doi=10.1016/s0027-5107(02)00147-1|bibcode=2002MRFMM.506....9W }}