Tavuk Gögsü is a Turkish dessert made with meat from a chicken breast. It is very white with a stringy consistency.
The core ingredients are chicken, milk, sugar, and a thickener such as cornstarch or rice flour. Flavourings include salt and cinnamon. Some versions call for almond milk instead of animal milk.
To make it, you cook the chicken breast in water. Then you cut the meat into pieces, and rub them into thin strands. You wash the strands with water several times, changing the water each time, and squeezing out excess water from the pieces. You then set aside this prepared meat.
You mix the milk with the sugar and thickener, and cook the mixture until it thickens. You add the chicken strands, and cook the mixture a bit more to thicken further. In restaurants, the mixture will be slowly cooked until a brown carmelized crust forms on the bottom.
You then pour the mixture out about 1 inch (2 ½ cm) thick onto a surface. You let this cool and set, and cut into squares. Alternatively, it can be put into a bowl to set, and served with a spoon.
It is usually sprinkled with cinnamon for flavouring. In summer, it is often served with ice cream.
A version without chicken, called “Yalancı Tavuk Göğsü”, is now also made. It requires whole milk and long chilling to set.
History Notes
Many sites on the web claim that the dish was introduced by the Romans into the area that is now Turkey, but to date, CooksInfo.com has been able to find no backing for that assertion.
The original versions of blancmange also contained chicken.
Language Notes
Tavuk Gögsü in Turkish means “chicken breast.”