An Everyday Pleasure #8: Loose Pork Jerky

One of my favorite rice porridge (congee or jook) toppings, is roe-tsong, or literally translated, "loose meat." It is also known as "pork floss" in some circles. I am sure you are asking about now, "What is 'loose meat?' Sounds naughty!"

See the mottled fibers in the lower right-hand corner of the image? Loose meat is essentially seasoned and dried pulled pork, and it is packed with barbecued flavors. Imagine taking a piece of regular dried jerky, and pulling the individual meat tendrils apart, one at a time, to yield a tuft of stringy dried meat fibers. That is what it is. Basically it is pulled pork jerky. Perhaps my description sounds unappetizing, but lemme tell ya', it is very tasty. The Chinese always know how to make the most out of a little protein by "extending" it, either by chopping it up into little bite-sized pieces for a stirfry, or by ripping apart pork jerky, to serve as a delicious snack or topping for an entrée. Sound interesting? You should try it! Loose meat is sold in Asian markets everywhere.

For more exotic and unconventional (but tasty) Chinese foods, check out my posts on century/thousand-year-old eggs and on five spice pressed tofu:

• Four Score and One Thousand Years Ago
• Pressed Five Spice Tofu

And for more of my posts on congee and porridge, check out these two (non-substantive, but food pornish--meaning, there are pictures) of my congee/porridge experiences:

• An Everyday Pleasure #5: Brown Rice Porridge
  
• A Breakfast Haiku About Brown Rice Congee