Instant Pot Turkey Congee

When it comes to Thanksgiving leftovers, I always have turkey congee or turkey “jook” on my mind. Congee or “jook” is a Cantonese dish where rice is cooked down with liquid to form a thick porridge consistency. It is usually a breakfast or brunch item. Congee can take a few hours to make in a pot on the stove top with a watchful eye. I have also made it in a slow cooker where I’ve turned it on at night and it’s ready in the morning. Now with the popular Instant Pot, you can make it in “30 minutes.” I’ve put “30 minutes” in quotes because that is the pressure cook time and doesn’t account for the additional time required to preheat (before) and the Natural Release (after). You are looking at 90 minutes total. But the good news is that, like the slow cooker, you don’t have to watch it!

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Instant Pot Turkey Congee

My favorite thing about Thanksgiving leftovers is having the turkey carcass so I can make turkey congee. Congee or "jook" in Cantonese, is made by cooking rice down for a long time where it turns into porridge. In this case, the flavor from the turkey carcass gets infused into the congee resulting in a hot, delicious bowl of comfort.

Note that this recipe is using my Instant Pot Mini Duo which is only 3 quarts so you can easily double the recipe. Matter of fact, I recommend doubling it if you have a larger pot so you can have seconds or leftovers.

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Servings: 4 people

Author: 510foodie

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

Congee

• 1/2 cup white rice
• 1/2 leftover turkey carcass
• 4-5 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Toppings for each bowl

• chopped scallions
• chopped cilantro
• fried shallots or fried onions (store bought)
• soy sauce to taste
• ground white pepper to taste

Instructions

• Rinse your rice a few times before adding it to the Instant Pot.
• Add the turkey carcass to the pot
• Add salt
• Add water. I like my congee super thin which requires the 5 cups. If you like your congee thicker, use less.
• Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to preheat before the timer begins and another 30 minutes after the cook time for a Natural Release. In total, you are looking at 1 hour and 30 minutes to make the congee.
• You will use a Natural Release vs Quick Release for two reasons. 1) The congee still needs this additional cooking time. 2) If you do a Quick Release, hot steaming liquid will splatter out of the pressure release.
• Remove the lid of the Instant Pot. Using tongs, carefully remove the carcass. Some of the meat would've fallen off the bones into the congee. If any meat is still left on the carcass, it would easily fall off and you can add it back to the congee. If you wish to add additional leftover turkey meat, now is the time to add it to the pot.
• Turn on the Sauté feature and stir the congee for a few minutes with a wooden spoon. It will thicken up as you mix.
• Ladle the congee into 4 bowls. Season with white pepper. If needed, you can add a little soy sauce. Top with optional herbs such as green onions, cilantro, and fried shallots/fried onions.