This pudding called “Chicken Breast” – Tavukgöğsü – is one of the most popular of all Turkish desserts. Chicken breast actually contains fine shreds of white meat but you can’t detect even the slightest trace of chicken flavor. All you taste is a sweet, milky, full-bodied pudding with a touch of cinnamon.
The consistency of authentic chicken breast pudding is much stiffer than regular pudding. A rectangular strip of the pudding is peeled from the bottom of a shallow pan and placed on a plate in a roll and sprinkled with cinnamon.
The key to making perfect chicken breast pudding is to use the freshest breast meat. The second important step is to wash the meat thoroughly in cold water until all traces of chicken odor are gone.
Ingredients:
• ½ fresh chicken breast
• 38 oz whole milk
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup white rice flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups water
How to prepare:
1. Start the preparations the day before you want to serve the dessert. First, place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover it. Bring it to a boil and cook the chicken until the meat begins to fall apart.
2. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and put it in a bowl. Shred the chicken as finely as you can. You can use the tines of a fork to help.
3. Put the shredded chicken into a fine wire strainer and run it under cold water for several minutes. Rub the chicken shreds against the strainer while you rinse it using your hand or a wooden spoon.
4. Prepare a bowl of cold water. Place the strainer over it and soak the shredded chicken for about 20 minutes. Drain it in the strainer and repeat this process four or five times.
5. Place the strainer in the bowl of cold water and put the whole thing in the refrigerator and leave it overnight. The next morning, drain it, rinse it a few more times under running cold water, then drain the shredded chicken completely, squeeze out the extra water and set it aside.
6. Put the milk in a large saucepan and boil it for several minutes. Add the shredded chicken to the milk and blend it with a hand blender until very smooth. Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook it for about 20 minutes more, stirring it constantly.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, rice flour and about two cups of water until smooth. Remove the milk from the heat. Drizzle the starch in a very fine stream into the milk as you whisk it.
8. Once all the starch is whisked in, return the pan to the heat and bring it to the scalding point stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir about five minutes more until the mixture begins to thicken.
9. Fınally, stir in the sugar and vanilla and cook the pudding 15 minutes more. The mixture should become so thick that you can no longer stir it. Use the back of your wooden spoon to “slap” the surface to keep it moving as it cooks.
10. Wet the bottom and sides of a shallow glass tray. A rectangular oven casserole pan works well. Pour the pudding into the wet tray and let it cool down to room temperature. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about six hours.
11. You can cut your pudding or scoop it out with a large spoon. Sprinkle some cinnamon on each portion before serving.
