Instant Pot Turkey Congee

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Turkey Farmers of Canada. All images and opinions expressed are solely my own.

It’s getting dark, rainy, and chilly over here. November is our rainy season and with the rain comes the cold.

Lately, I’ve been resorting to my Instant Pot to make easy one-pot meals, because getting dinner ready on weeknights can be crazy. Especially when I’m chauffeuring my kids to TKD practice halfway across the city.

I’ve once again partnered with the Turkey Farmers of Canada to share my easiest congee recipe yet: Instant Pot Turkey Congee.

Congee is known as “jook” in Cantonese, and is rice cooked down with water until it reaches a porridge-like consistency. Traditionally, congee is savoury and paired with some type of meat. Growing up, congee was my go-to whenever I felt sick or unwell. There’s something comforting about the hot, soupy, savoury dish that would perk me up, even when I wasn’t feeling my best.

Instant Pot Turkey Congee: It’s easy to eat and digest, making it suitable for kids and the elderly. I love that turkey is such a lean protein, but in this congee, the meat is smooth, moist and tender. But what I like about this recipe is that it comes all together in 30 minutes. I tried it two ways:

1) using leftover cooked turkey meat and bones (eg. leftovers from Thanksgiving — I freeze the extra turkey meat for later)
2) using raw turkey leg quarters

They are both straightforward and easy to make, depending on what type of turkey you have on hand. Bones from the turkey give lots of depth of flavour, so my tip is to save those turkey bones (especially after Thanksgiving)! What I like to do is freeze the bones in a freezer bag, and when I need to make a soup or congee, I’ve got them on hand.

Using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker to cook the turkey along with the rice makes it simple and saves time. The resulting dish is rich, flavourful and heart-warming. My kids gave their approval by scarfing their bowls and asking for seconds. I can definitely see this recipe being on repeat through the winter months.

Try out this easy recipe for Instant Pot Turkey Congee — tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer — I’d love to see your creations! If you love turkey, try my Grilled Lemongrass Turkey Banh Mi or Five-Spice Turkey Green Onion Pancake Rolls. Be sure to check out Canadian Turkey for more turkey ideas and recipes.

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5 from 4 votes

Instant Pot Turkey Congee

A delicious rice porridge flavoured with turkey cooked in the Instant Pot

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword congee, instant pot, turkey

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6

Author Michelle | Sift & Simmer

Ingredients

• leftover turkey carcass/bones use whatever you have on hand, whether it be 1 or 2 drumsticks, etc OR
• 1 raw turkey leg quarter about 2 lbs
• 1 C long-grained white Jasmine rice rinsed
• 6 C water or vegetable broth
• 1 inch ginger peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ T sea salt
• ¼ tsp white or black pepper

Garnish:

• sesame oil
• green onions
• Chinese long donut sliced

Instructions

• Place the cooked turkey carcass with the meat and bones (or raw turkey leg quarter) into the Instant Pot.
• Add in 1 cup of rice and cover with 6 cups water or vegetable broth. Add in the sliced ginger and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Give it a stir.
• Place the lid on and ensure the steam valve is set to SEAL.
• Press the PORRIDGE function (or manually set to HIGH PRESSURE for 20 minutes). Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure without releasing the steam valve.
• When the steam float valve has dropped, you can open the lid. Carefully remove the turkey bones and meat from the Instant Pot. Using tongs or two forks, remove the turkey meat from the bones, shred the meat and return to the pot.
• Give the turkey congee a stir and taste. Add more salt if needed. If the consistency is too thick, add a little water to thin it out. If the consistency is too thin, press the SAUTE function and let the congee boil for a few minutes. Turn the Instant Pot off.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with extra turkey meat, a drizzle of sesame oil, green onions and serve with Chinese long donut if desired. Serve immediately.