Is meat floss gluten free?

November 03, 2022

Meat floss is known as rousong (肉鬆), yuk sung or bak hu in Chinese, ruốc or chà bông in Vietnamese, หมูหย็อง in Thai, serunding in Malay, mahu in Tagalog, and abon in Indonesian. It’s sweet, savory, and meaty with an addicting fluffy texture. It’s used as a filling for buns, topping for rice, and condiment for congee. Most meat floss isn’t gluten free, but this does vary according to country and recipe. We’ll let you know which types of meat floss are likely to be safe.

meat floss

Fish floss sandwich from 38 Recipes

How Meat Floss is Made

Meat floss is most often made from pork, fish, beef, or chicken, although there are some vegetarian varieties. It’s made by stewing meat over many hours, then shredding it and pan-frying the shreds until they’re fluffy and light. In the Chinese and Taiwanese varieties, a sweet mixture of soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine, and spices is added either during the stewing process or when the meat is fried. Burmese and Vietnamese meat floss is often made with only spices, coconut milk, and fish sauce.

Fish floss is much quicker to make, because it only needs to be steamed before shredding. Malaysian and Indonesian fish floss is much more likely to be gluten free, because it’s seasoned mainly with salt and spices. However, Chinese and Taiwanese versions of fish floss will contain soy sauce.

Which Meat Floss is Gluten Free?

Most types of Chinese and Taiwanese meat floss contain soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, so they’re not gluten free. Burmese and Vietnamese meat floss is much more likely to be gluten free, as long as a GF variety of fish sauce is used in the recipe. Malaysian and Indonesian fish floss is also a safe bet. As always, read the ingredients or ask before consuming!

meat floss

Pork floss with century egg and soft tofu from Fobby Foody

Meat floss is really delicious. It’s basically meat candy. If you haven’t tried it before, I highly recommend it.

Buy Gluten Free Meat Floss

Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to find premade gluten free meat floss in the US, because most packaged varieties are prepared in the Chinese style. We’ve linked some GF options below, but you may have better luck going to a Vietnamese, Malaysian, or Indonesian restaurant in your area and asking if their meat floss is safe for you.

meat floss

Dramatic pork floss from Bonjerk

Gluten Free Meat Floss Recipes

You can make meat floss at home! It’s easy, but it does take a long time to stew and pan-fry the meat. We’ve linked a few gluten free recipes below, in case you want to give it a try.

meat floss