So Long, Moo Yong! Pork Floss Sandwiches

A few months ago, while writing about the Lao sandwich Khao Jee Pate (an outstanding sandwich that you should try if you are ever given an opportunity), I ran across an unfamiliar (to me, anyway) ingredient: pork floss. Unfamiliar to an extent, I suppose–I am certain I’d heard of it, possibly even seen it in my frequent trips to Asian markets over the years, but I’d never had an occasion to pay much attention to it or use it previously.

Pork floss–and to some extent fish floss and other types of meat floss such as chicken or beef, especially in majority Muslim countries like Indonesia–is a near-ubiquitous ingredient and garnish throughout China and southeast Asia. Called rousong or yuk sung in China, ruốc or chà bông in Vietnam, sach chruok phat in Cambodia, moo foi in Laos, it is known as moo yong in Thailand, where according to 2020’s Best Sandwiches Around The World article on Thrillist in which the author wisely referred to me an “enterprising investigative sandwich blogger” (Yes, I will bring that up at every opportunity) it is served in moo yong sandwiches.

Moo Yong–the Thai name for pork floss–is pork that has been cooked and dried and teased apart into individual strands until the texture resembles that of cotton balls.

Though the use of pork floss may be widespread over Asia, its uses are more limited. As noted by the previously mentioned Thrillist article, “you’ll almost always find moo yong paired with a bowl of congee.” Congee is the name in Hong Kong (derived from the Indian Tamil language) for a type of rice porridge that is more commonly called Jook, Juk, or Jok over most of Asia. Congee is made by gently simmering a small amount of rice in a much larger amount of water or mild broth until the liquid thickens from the starches released by the rice. The rice grains themselves usually remain intact, though some forms of congee call for cooking the rice until it breaks up into pieces. The resulting gruel is considered a mild meal for children, the elderly, or the infirm; plain juk is something fed to weak or sick people, in other words. However, it is also frequently garnished with a number of strong flavors such as ginger, fried garlic, chili paste or oil, onions, chiles, mushrooms, herbs, dried shrimp, and various meats including pork floss.

As you might imagine, once these garnishes–in this case pork floss, shallots, ginger, cilantro, mushrooms, fried garlic, scallion, nam prik pao (Thai chili paste), garlic oil, and soy sauce–are mixed into the rice porridge, it is no mere gruel but a hearty and delicious meal.

If you dig and get past the endless congee recipes online though, you find other ways pork floss is used. Some Chinese and Taiwanese bakeries take their soft, slightly sweet bread rolls and use a thin swipe of mayonnaise to glue rousong to the top. Seaweed-wrapped rice balls called Onigiri are sometimes filled with pork floss or other dried meats in Japan and Taiwan. Taiwan does seem to be the epicenter for creative uses of pork floss. There, hot soy milk is curdled with vinegar and topped with pork floss to make a simple but savory soup, and savory crepes called dan bing–similar to Chinese scallion pancakes–are topped with egg, processed cheese, pork floss, and a sweet sauce or sometimes mayonnaise, then rolled up and sliced to make a shareable snack.

But according to Thrillist…

…sandwiched between two slices of white bread that are either smeared with chili oil, covered in mayo, or drizzled with condensed milk, moo yong becomes a delightfully simple breakfast sandwich common among Thais everywhere.

When I first acquired a tub of pork floss back in May, I bought it at Talard Thai Asian Market in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. And I did note at the time that there were sandwiches available that included the ingredient. I went back this month and bought a few more of the sandwiches, along with more pork floss.

From a distance, the sandwiches look very much like your typical cheapo 7-Eleven fare, but a closer look reveals some oddities. They consist of multiple layers of squishy white bread with a sweet eggy orange spread and some type of cheap prepackaged lunchmeat, likely bologna, with a wad of pork floss incongruously jammed between the two sandwich halves to make one metasandwich. The same sticky orange stuff is then spread on the cut edge of the sandwich, giving it a sloppy and frankly questionable appearance.

They are… not terrible. According to most recipes I’ve seen, which are invariably Thai-language Youtube videos, the sauce is made from egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, salt, lime juice, oil, and orange food coloring. It is essentially a freakishly orange, sweetened mayonnaise, or Miracle Whip. In fact some of the recipes I’ve seen add mayonnaise or Miracle Whip to the emulsion. The bread is soft, made softer by the sweet orange sauce. The bologna is soft as well.

That mass of fibrous pork floss in the center gives the sandwich a momentary bit of texture, but even that softens and dissolves upon contact with the moisture in your mouth.

There’s simply not much to this sandwich. I have all the ingredients I’d need to make it at home, but I think I know all I need to about it having tasted this version. More interesting to me is the mention on Thrillist of a version using chili oil.

It can go the savory route, with spices, chili oil, eggs, and scallions, for the ultimate loaded Thai-style breakfast sandwich.

I have not found many corroborating accounts though. I did find one brief Youtube video showing pork floss served on toast for breakfast, and tried that.

I also tried that combination as a sandwich using untoasted bread.

It’s a good combination, despite looking like a fuzzy PBJ. The chili paste is less spicy than you might imagine, consisting largely of fermented soybeans, but it does have a little kick and a hit of umami, complementing the mild salty-sweet flavor of the pork floss well. As a sandwich though it needs something else, and taking a cue again from the Thrillist article I came up with this.

Starting with lightly toasted bread, as this was to be a breakfast sandwich, I added a layer of chili paste and some pork floss.

What made this sandwich different than the previous attempts? A folded egg containing scallions and porcini mushrooms. I actually used 2 eggs here, which was overkill–a single egg with the scallions would have done it.

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing though. The folded egg would have made a great sandwich by itself or with some cheese, but the chili paste and pork floss were a great addition. Pork floss is a little sweet and salty, and so is the chili paste, with the addition of some heat from the chilis. There’s a little bite and crunch from the scallions as well. But between the egg, mushroom, and chili paste, the sandwich delivers a mouth-filling umami punch that I wouldn’t mind amplifying somehow. Should I add some cheese? Tomato? Possibilities present themselves.

And as I contemplate how to use up the remainder of the pork floss I bought, my mind does turn to making more of these egg sandwiches with chili paste and pork floss and whatever additional ingredients I might come up with. To be honest though, congee is more of a crowd-pleaser in my family. It’s likely I’ll be making a few more batches of that instead.

I’d love to hear from anyone out there with their own ideas of the best ways to use pork floss though. Please comment below and tell us your favorites! I can’t wait to try them! Plus I have kind of a lot of this stuff to go through.