Kiam Chye Buoy Recipe

I have been asked by some friends and bloggers alike to share this simple recipe which is one of the available options when dealing with leftover roasts of any kind and being in the theme of the season, the leftover of choice used in this recipe is none other than Turkey!

Word of caution though, the proportion is strictly guess-timation since my mother was giving me instructions over the phone. Also a note for those trying, apparently you’re supposed to boil the aromatics first before putting in the carcass but I was on the way home last night and just told JJ to go ahead and fill up my stock pot with water and drop the turkey it and by the time I got home [1 ½ hours later], I had a flavorful broth going.

Side story though which just makes me shake my head and giggle… for those of you who don’t know my fiancé JJ, he is as ‘white’ as you can get, his father is American and mother is English so whenever I experiment in the kitchen with my Malaysian/Asian cooking, he just scrunches up his nose and chuckles about me cooking my mumbo-jumbo ‘jungle’ cuisine… you’d think having spent a couple of years in the vast Peruvian jungles, he’d know what jungle food is! :)

Anyways, back to the funny story, I tell him to fill up the stock pot with filtered water and drop the turkey in when it starts boiling and before I hung up, I just thought that I better make sure that my instructions were clear and kind of kidded that he should remember to remove the FOIL the turkey was wrapped in… let me just say that lucky thing I said that or else I would have come home to a pot of boiled foil-wrapped carcass! Silly boy!

Alright, back to the recipe;

Kiam Chye Buoy [Hot-Sour-Spicy Mustard Greens Soup]

½ turkey carcass [we don’t eat dark meat so together with half of the body, I included one drumstick and wing, probably totaled 2 pounds]

Aromatics
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
5 pieces dried tamarind slices [assam keping]
20 dried red chillies
20 cili padi split [because I like it HOT! Feel free to omit or lessen quantity]
Golf ball sized tamarind pulp mixed with 1 cup water, strained and discard seeds and pulp
1 pack preserved mustard

Vegetable
3 lbs of Chinese mustard [not sawi, sure what it’s called in Chinese, I’ll check when I get home tonight], washed thoroughly and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces.
Optional – Leftover ju-hu char [stir fried jicama with cuttlefish]
1 tomato – cut into wedges

Instructions:
1. Fill stock pot till ¾ full with filtered water, boil.
2. Add all aromatics, bring to boil and let simmer for 30 minutes. Taste to ensure sourness level is okay, if not, add more tamarind pulp water.
3. Add carcass and allow to simmer for 1 ½ hours or so.
4. Add saltiness, hotness [with bird’s eye chillies] or sourness [with tamarind pulp water]
5. Add fresh vegetables and simmer till desired tenderness.
6. Enjoy!