Rousong facts for kids
 |
|
| Alternative names | Meat wool, meat floss, pork floss, flossy pork or pork sung |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | China |
| Region or state | East Asia and Southeast Asia |
| Associated national cuisine | China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia |
| Main ingredients | Pork, beef, or chicken |
| Rousong | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 肉鬆 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 肉松 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | meat fluff | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Min name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 肉酥 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | meat flakes | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Min name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 肉絨 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 肉绒 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | meat fabric | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Hakka name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 肉麩 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | meat powder; meat fabric | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese | ruốc (Northern Vietnamese) or chà bông (Southern Vietnamese) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Thai name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Thai | หมูหย็อง | ||||||||||||||||||
| RTGS | mu yong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Indonesian name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Indonesian | abon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Filipino name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tagalog | mahu or masang | ||||||||||||||||||
| Khmer name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Khmer | សាច់ជ្រូកផាត់ sach chruok phat | ||||||||||||||||||
Rousong is a special dried meat product. It is also known as meat floss or pork floss. It comes from China.
Rousong has a very light and fluffy texture. It feels a bit like coarse cotton. People use rousong as a topping on many different foods. These include congee (rice porridge), tofu, and plain rice. It is also put inside savory buns and pastries. Sometimes, it tops baked goods that have bean paste inside. You can even eat rousong by itself as a snack! It is a very popular food in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Contents
How Rousong is Made
Rousong is usually made from pork, chicken, or beef. Other meats can be used too. First, the meat is cut into small pieces. Then, it is cooked slowly in a sweet mixture. This mixture includes soy sauce and different spices.
The meat cooks until its fibers can be easily pulled apart. This happens when the tough parts that hold the meat together become very soft. After cooking, the meat is pulled apart and drained. It is then partly dried in an oven.
Next, the meat is mashed and beaten. It is cooked again in a large wok until it is almost completely dry. More flavors are often added while it is frying.
Different Styles of Rousong
There are two main ways to make rousong. These styles depend on whether oil is added at the end.
- The Jiangsu style is cooked without oil. This makes the rousong a little chewy.
- The Fujian style is fried with oil. This makes the rousong slightly crispy.
About Five kilograms (11 lb) of raw meat usually makes about one kilogram (2 lb) of rousong.
Other Kinds of Meat Floss
You can also make floss from fish. This is called yú sōng (魚鬆). Fish floss does not need as much cooking at the start. This is because fish meat is naturally softer. In China, you can also find floss made from rabbit or duck.
In Indonesia and Malaysia, many people are Muslim. So, beef or chicken floss is more common there. In Indonesia, it is called abon. In Malaysia, it is called serunding. Serunding is a popular treat during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
In Northern Nigeria, the Hausa make a similar snack. It is called dambu nama. This is a dry, shredded beef snack. It is fried and has a lot of spices.
There is also a product called pork fu (肉脯). It is like rousong but less fried and less shredded. It has a more chewy texture.
In Japan, a type of fish floss is called dembu (田麩).
Images for kids
-
Fish floss looks similar to yuk sung.
-
Beef floss for sale in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
See also
In Spanish: Rousong para niños
