You can’t talk about dessert in Turkey without mentioning a pudding called “chicken breast,” or tavuk göğüsü. Chicken breast is a fascinating dessert because it actually contains fine shreds of white meat chicken! Believe it or not, you can’t notice even the slightest trace of chicken flavour. All you taste is a sweet, milky, full-bodied pudding with a touch of cinnamon.
The consistency of authentic chicken breast is much stiffer than pudding. Furthermore, a rectangular strip of the pudding is scraped from the bottom of a shallow pan and placed on the plate in a rolled shape. The dessert is usually cut rather than spooned. Chicken breast is not only a dessert but also a flavour for afternoon teatime. There are several chain restaurants that specialize in ‘chicken breast’ and other Turkish milk desserts where loyal patrons flock every day at teatime enjoy a delicious, nutritious plate of chicken breast with their Turkish coffee or tea.
There are two important keys to make the perfect chicken breast pudding
What are the Keys to Make Perfect Chicken Breast Pudding?
Ingredients of Breast Chicken Pudding
- 1/2 fresh chicken breast
- 38 ounces (1 litre) whole milk
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups of water
Chicken breast pudding is a perfect combination of chicken and milk
How to Cook Chicken Breast Pudding?
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First of all, you should start the day before you want to eat the pudding. First, place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover it. Bring it to a boil and cook the chicken well.
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Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and put it in a bowl. Pull the meat apart with your fingers into fine strips. Continue to shred the chicken as finely as you can. You can use the tines of a fork to help. This should be easy if the chicken is cooked well.
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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.
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Next, 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.
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For the sixth time, 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, squeezing out the extra water and setting it aside.
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Put the milk in a large saucepan and boil it for several minutes. And then, add the shredded chicken to the milk and blend it with a hand blender two or three times until very smooth. Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook it for about 20 minutes more, stirring it constantly.
Cinnamon has a delicious flavour on chicken breast pudding
What are the Other Steps?
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In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, rice flour, and about two cups of water until smooth. Remove the milk from the heat. Using your whisk, drizzle the starch in a very fine stream into the milk as you whisk it.
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Once all the starch is whisked in, return the pan again to the heat and bring it to scalding temperature while stirring constantly. Cook it in this manner for about five minutes more until it begins to thicken.
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Lastly, stir in the sugar and vanilla and cook it 15 minutes more. Hence, the pudding 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.
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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.
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You can cut your pudding or scoop it out with a large spoon. Sprinkle some cinnamon on each portion before serving.
What??? No Women chefs???