If you are figuring out a way to use pork floss, then you should make a fluffy pork floss bun. This mouthwatering bun is filled with soft, cottony pork floss in the center and topped with salad dressing, tomato sauce, and green onions. It is a bomb of pork floss, best for snacks at any time of the day.
What Is Pork Floss (Sung) Bun?
If you haven’t heard of pork floss, it is an Asian snack and condiment originating in China. Pork floss is also called meat floss, meat wool, and rousong (肉松). It is made from pork that is dried and shredded into a fluffy and cottony texture, similar to cotton candy.
Seasonings are also added to the floss to enhance the flavor, including scallions, ginger, cooking wine, sugar, and light soy sauce. The taste is sweet and savory, with notes of meaty and umami flavors. Pork floss is used as a topping or garnish for various dishes, such as salad, rice, noodles, congee, crackers, toast, and pastries.
You can also use it as a filling for egg rolls, sandwiches, and dumplings. In this recipe, we use pork floss as a filling for buns. On a flat dough, we sprinkle a generous amount of pork floss with salad dressing before rolling the flat dough into a bun.
Where To Get Pork Floss?
Pork floss is typically available in grocery stores and online supermarkets. You can find this in the Asian section or condiments section. Aside from pork, floss can be made with beef, chicken (such as my chicken floss recipe), or turkey, so you may find these alternatives in case there is no pork floss.
Vegetarians and vegans can also enjoy a bomb of pork floss with meat-free alternatives, such as mushroom floss, sesame seaweed soya shreds, or vegetarian pork floss. If you prefer fresh and homemade to store-bought, you can make your own with my easy How To Make Pork Floss recipe. Making pork floss requires shredding the pork, seasoning the shredded meat, and rubbing and tearing to make fluffy and cottony pork floss.
Watch my tutorial videos on Instagram and TikTok to see the steps clearly. In summary, the steps to making pork floss are:
- Cook on high heat 500g of sliced pork tenderloin with 2 liters of water, 20g scallion, 20g ginger, and 1 tbsp cooking wine.
- Once thoroughly cooked, drain and tear the meat into the shreds.
- Fry the shredded meat in a pan on low heat and mix in 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil.
- Rub and tear the shredded meat apart with two hands to make finer strands. Repeat this step until the strands become airy and light.
- Lastly, continue rubbing and tearing the pork floss against a bamboo sieve until it is completely dried out.
Ingredients For Pork Floss Bun
The ingredients are divided into two parts: ingredients for the dough and ingredients for the filling and garnish. Each ingredient has a crucial role in making the perfect fluffy and tasty pork floss bun. You can make adjustments as needed and use alternatives if desired.
Bun Dough
To make the bun, you will need high-gluten flour, yeast, sugar, milk, egg, salt, and butter. Here are some things to know about each ingredient:
- High-Gluten Flour: For this type of bun, we will use high-gluten flour to make it chewy, elastic, and dense. Use vital wheat gluten flour, bread flour, or 00 flour for high-gluten flour. Avoid pastry flour, barley flour, and cake flour which have the lowest gluten content.
- Yeast: Yeast is the ingredient that makes the bun rise and become airy. In this recipe, use instant or fast-rising yeast to allow you to mix it directly with the flour without needing to dissolve in water first.
- Sugar: Aside from adding sweetness to the dough, sugar also helps speed up the fermentation process since yeast feeds on sugar. The yeast turns the sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol, which are two elements that make the bun rise.
- Milk: Milk helps make the buns soft and caramelized. It also adds flavor and balances out the sourness of the dough. Any type of milk will do, such as soy, oat, or almond milk. If you don’t have milk, you can replace it with water.
- Egg: Adding eggs can give you a crispier outer layer with a lighter and fluffier interior. It also acts as a binder which helps bind the dough together. You can replace eggs with an egg replacer such as aquafaba, ground flax seeds, or vinegar with baking soda.
- Salt: Salt is essential in strengthening the dough by tightening the gluten. It also helps slow down the process of producing gas by the yeast. Thus, the lack of salt will cause your dough to rise faster than normal, resulting in a weaker texture as well as less flavor development.
- Butter: For added flaky and light texture, you can add butter to the dough. It makes the bun soft and adds a delightful flavor and aroma. You can use unsalted or salted butter. Alternatively, margarine, vegetable shortening, and applesauce are excellent substitutes.
Filling & Garnish
- Filling: The filling is a mix of salad dressing and pork floss. Aside from salad dressing, you can also use mayonnaise such as regular mayo or Japanese-style mayo. For something sweet, add a drizzle of condensed milk.
- Garnish: For a beautiful shiny crust, brush the fermented rolled buns with egg yolk. Milk, cream, butter, and maple syrup are excellent alternatives to egg yolk for brushing the dough. After brushing the rolled dough with egg yolk, you can top it with more salad dressing, tomato sauce, and chopped green onions. If you don’t have tomato sauce, use tomato paste, ketchup, or spaghetti or pasta sauce.
What To Know About Making Bun Dough
There are a few things you should know about making bun dough. In this recipe, the dough should be kneaded thoroughly and undergo a double-proofing process. Read my tips and reminders when it comes to these crucial processes.
- Proof the dough twice
- In my recipe, I proof the dough two times. The first one is after the initial kneading, and the second is after rolling the dough with filling and topping with garnish.
- Double-proofing is essential for this bun to give it more elasticity and make it lighter and chewier.
- The buns should be proofed until 1.5 or 2 times their original size
- Do not overproof or underproof.Generally, proofing takes 30 minutes or more until the dough becomes 1.5 or 2 times larger than the original size.
- Over-proofing weakens the dough because of too much air. On the other hand, under-proofing won’t activate the yeast, leading to an unrisen bun.
- In addition to over-proofing, over-proofing can also happen in warmer environments. The warmer the environment, the faster it ferments. In this case, make sure it does not ferment too much in warmer environments.
- For colder places, you can let it proof in the oven or microwave with a cup of boiled water next to it to create a warmer environment.
- Adjust the dough‘s consistency as needed
- In this recipe, you can expect the dough to be stretchy and elastic. When you poke a hole in the dough using your finger, the dough should slightly stick to your finger but will not break.
- In case you get a watery or stiff dough, adjust the consistency by adding flour or milk. If the dough is too stiff, add more milk. If the dough is too runny, add more flour. Continue to make adjustments with the other dough ingredients as well until you get the right consistency. Remember to add small amounts only as you don’t want to overdo it.
Gather These Kitchen Items & Ingredients
Here’s a list of everything you need for the recipe. Some of the kitchen tools are optional and can be replaced with other alternatives. However, I highly recommend that you have them to make the recipe steps easier to do.
Kitchenware
- Mixing bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Dough cutter or knife
- Pastry brush
- Rolling pin
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper
- Oven
Dough
- 300g high-gluten flour
- 20g sugar
- 3g yeast
- 160g milk
- 1 egg
- 2g salt
- 20g butter
Filling
- Salad dressing
- Pork floss
Garnish
- Egg yolk
- Salad dressing
- Tomato sauce
- Chopped green onions
Step-By-Step Instructions For Pork Floss Bun
The recipe instructions include kneading the dough, shaping it into oblong wrappers, and stuffing it with filling. Then, we add some garnish before popping it in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Watch how I did it on Instagram and TikTok before reading the detailed steps below.
Knead The Dough
In a large bowl, combine the high-gluten flour, sugar, yeast, milk, and egg.
Mix the ingredients and knead until you get a soft and elastic dough.
Then, add salt and butter to the dough. Knead the dough again until the butter is well-distributed into the dough.
Continue kneading by stretching the dough outwards, similar to when washing clothes. Do this for approximately 15 minutes. By this time, the dough should become smooth and form a thin, elastic film when stretched.
Place the round dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Allow it to rise until it doubles in size. It should be a bigger ball of dough that is springy with a bit of stickiness.
Shape The Dough
Afterward, gently flatten the dough by hand and divide it into 6 equal parts using a dough cutter.
Shape each portion into a small ball by rolling it onto a flat surface.
Then, flatten each piece using a rolling pin to make a flat, oblong-shaped dough wrapper.
Add The Filling & Garnish
Drizzle salad dressing and sprinkle meat floss on 1/3 of the rolled-out dough.
Roll the dough wrapper from top to bottom, starting from where the dressing and meat floss are placed. The filling should be inside and sealed.
Place the filled and rolled dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Let it rise again until it increases to 1.5 times its original size.
Once it has risen, brush the surface of the dough with egg yolk.
Drizzle more salad dressing and tomato sauce on top and sprinkle chopped green onions.
Preheat the oven and bake the buns at 160°C (320°F) for 25 minutes.
Take a bite of your delicious pork floss buns!
Fluffy Pork Floss Bun Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Dough cutter or knife
- Pastry brush
- Rolling Pin
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper
- Oven
Ingredients
Dough
- 300 g high-gluten flour
- 20 g sugar
- 3 g yeast
- 160 g milk
- 1 egg
- 2 g salt
- 20 g butter
Filling
- Salad dressing
- Pork floss
Garnish
- Egg yolk
- Salad dressing
- Tomato sauce
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
Knead The Dough
- In a large bowl, combine the high-gluten flour, sugar, yeast, milk, and egg.
- Mix the ingredients and knead until you get a soft and elastic dough.
- Then, add salt and butter to the dough.
- Knead the dough again until the butter is well-distributed into the dough.
- Continue kneading by stretching the dough outwards, similar to when washing clothes. Do this for approximately 15 minutes. By this time, the dough should become smooth and form a thin, elastic film when stretched.
- Place the round dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Allow it to rise until it doubles in size. It should be a bigger ball of dough that is springy with a bit of stickiness.
Shape The Dough
- Afterward, gently flatten the dough by hand and divide it into 6 equal parts using a dough cutter.
- Shape each portion into a small ball by rolling it onto a flat surface.
- Then, flatten each piece using a rolling pin to make a flat, oblong-shaped dough wrapper.
Add The Filling & Garnish
- Drizzle salad dressing and sprinkle meat floss on 1/3 of the rolled-out dough.
- Roll the dough wrapper from top to bottom, starting from where the dressing and meat floss are placed. The filling should be inside and sealed.
- Place the filled and rolled dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Let it rise again until it increases to 1.5 times its original size.
- Once it has risen, brush the surface of the dough with egg yolk.
- Drizzle more salad dressing and tomato sauce on top and sprinkle chopped green onions.
- Preheat the oven and bake the buns at 160°C (320°F) for 25 minutes.
- Take a bite of your delicious pork floss buns!
