Turkey, Day 3

Hung Ky's chao ga it's not, but there's something about turkey porridge that completely mesmerizes me. Turkey broth and turkey meat are fine, and I'm not even the biggest fan of rice, but the scent of turkey porridge spellbinds me every time.

Last night, I put the bones of the turkey I took apart in a slow cooker, covered it with water, added an onion, and let it cook on low overnight. By this morning my apartment smelled like turkey broth and the stock was rich and fat. I'm not making clear soup, so I could care less that it was murky and not properly skimmed. I ran it all through a strainger and picked out the meat.

The rice I used is broken Thai jasmine rice (you can buy it broken or break your own in a food processor). You can definitely use regular jasmine rice; it will just take longer to cook. For one serving use a third cup of rice and start with two cups of broth. Simmer slowly, stirring occassionally to prevent sticking. Porridge takes patience. I let mine cook for over an hour, but even longer would have been good. Add half a cup of broth at a time if the rice looks dry. You know the rice has soaked up enough liquid when the porridge starts to look milky and gummy, like oatmeal. If it still looks like rice floating in clear broth, you're not there yet. The above photo is the point at which I'll eat porridge, but ideally it should be even thicker and creamier. The broth should be gummy and thick from the rice's starch. Otherwise the porridge will just taste like rice in soup.

Add salt and white pepper to taste, and sprinkle with turkey meat, chopped green onions, and/or cilantro.