Champorado (Filipino Chocolate Rice Porridge) Recipe from Mia P. Manansala

 

Bowl of champorado swirled with condensed milk and a side of crispy bacon

Hello, everyone! I’m Mia P. Manansala, the newest member of Mystery Lovers Kitchen. My debut novel, ARSENIC AND ADOBO, comes out May 4, 2021, and is a Filipino-themed culinary cozy. Because of that, my very first recipe that I’m sharing with you all is a popular Filipino breakfast: Champorado.

Champorado is a sweet rice porridge made with cocoa (or tablea, if you’re making the traditional version) and glutinous rice, topped with evaporated and/or condensed milk. I’m not usually into sweet breakfasts, but Filipinos love the sweet and salty combination, and I'm no exception. This breakfast treat is traditionally served with tuyo, or dried, salted fish. However, I didn’t grow up with that combination, so I prefer serving my champorado with a side of bacon. It has the same salty, crispy, smokiness of the fish without smelling up my kitchen so early in the morning (I actually really like tuyo, but frying the fish creates a rather pungent smell that’s not for everyone).

This was the first thing I cooked January 1st, as a simple but decadent way to bring in the new year. Hope you enjoy!

Champorado Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:

½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup sugar (I prefer brown, but white works just fine)
1 cup glutinous rice
4 cups of water
Evaporated milk, condensed milk, and additional sugar/sugar substitute for serving

NOTE: You can make this dish vegan by substituting coconut milk or your favorite non-dairy milk

Directions:

1. Boil the water and add the rice. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the cocoa powder and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture starts to thicken and the cocoa powder is fully incorporated with no lumps.
3. Add the sugar and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
4. Turn off the heat once you’ve achieved your desired doneness and consistency--some people prefer soft rice while others prefer it more al dente. The mixture will thicken as it cools, so you can add more water if you prefer a looser porridge.
5. Serve in bowls and let each diner top their champorado as desired with the assorted milks and sweeteners.

The cast of characters

The water and glutinous rice coming to a boil

Whisking the cocoa powder into the boiling glutinous rice

Adding in the sugar to the nicely thickening chocolate porridge

The finished product: Champorado

I absolutely LOVE condensed milk

These are tablea, blocks of ground, compressed cacao beans traditionally used for hot chocolate and champorado in the Philippines. If you can find them, I suggest using them in this recipe. However, they need to be finely chopped before being added to the rice and I don't have that kind of energy in the morning

The dish is very rich, so I recommend small servings. If this is too much for breakfast, it makes a great snack or even dessert, and can be enjoyed hot or cold. It gets very thick when cold, so make sure to add a splash of water or milk when you reheat it.

Lastly, many Filipino dishes are served in ways that allow you to customize to your palate, so it's common to see a table filled with sauces and condiments so you can season the food to your preference. For example, if you serve the champorado as is, it's rather bitter. Because people have such different sweetness preferences/sugar tolerances, the dish is meant to be topped with milks and sweeteners at the table. The fun is in finding the combination that works for you!

So Dear Readers, do you prefer sweet or savory breakfasts? I’m looking forward to sharing recipes with you all!