Which Turkish dessert is made from shredded chicken and milk?

The Turkish dessert made from shredded chicken and milk is tavuk göğsü. Its name literally means “chicken breast,” an unusually direct description for a sweet milk pudding.

Traditional tavuk göğsü combines finely shredded, boiled chicken breast with milk, sugar, and a thickener such as rice flour or cracked rice. The chicken is processed into very fine fibers, so its flavor is subtle and its texture blends into the pudding rather than tasting like a savory meat dish. Cinnamon is often used as a finishing flavor.

The dessert has an Ottoman association and was reportedly served at Topkapı Palace. Older food histories sometimes connect it to Roman blancmange, but surviving copies of Apicius do not contain a matching recipe; similar medieval Arab milk puddings provide a more plausible historical connection.

A common mix-up is kazandibi. Kazandibi is a caramelized milk pudding, traditionally made by browning the underside of tavuk göğsü. Sütlaç, by contrast, is Turkish rice pudding and does not traditionally contain chicken.