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All the dishes and accouterments from Christmas have been cleaned and the kitchen is ready to face another round of cooking for the New Year (not by much as I would like to greet the new year in peace, literally)…we’re slowly getting back to posting.
Ah, New Year! It’s all about beginnings. Good beginnings, I hope.
And to end the year 2008 and start anew for 2009, I’ll introduce you to a beloved Filipino breakfast, called Champorado. I figured that a day that begins with champorado is good, and a year that starts with champorado would be even better. Haha! This comfort food tugs at heartstrings of Filipinos everywhere. Back in the Philippines, being a tropical country, we especially like eating this on rainy mornings. Here in Canada, winter is a darn good time to have it. Warm, filling and very comforting.
Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge/Pudding)
I’ve seen it being called Chocolate Rice Pudding and Chocolate Rice Porridge in English, but it’s always going to be Champorado for me. It’s basically glutinous/sticky/sweet rice cooked with a lot of water to make it soupy-gooey (think oatmeal and congee), with chocolate and sugar added, and enjoyed with evaporated milk, powdered milk, milk or cream. As a child I’ve always wanted it with evaporated milk or powdered milk. The chocolate used was a traditional locally-produced chocolate (and us being very regional, the way this is made is different depending on where you go and who makes it). We’re a mishmash of cultures like that.
The day after Christmas I had the yearning to make this for whatever reason. Perhaps because we woke up to 3 feet of snow and that the possibility of our next Christmas celebration with friends for that day was getting slim. I have to admit that we were snowed in for good that day. After a few phone calls between friends, we all decided that it’s better to stay home. And then, I made this for dinner. I needed some comfort food. This is also Dan’s introduction to this very Filipino (”Pinoy“, as we refer to it) breakfast.
Champorado -- yummy!
So how do you make this super simple concoction?
Ingredients:
1 cup of white glutinous/sticky/sweet rice [What is this?]
3 to 4 cups water, depending on your thickness preference
1/2 cup cocoa powder [this will be very chocolate-y, you can decrease it up to 1/4 cup if you prefer]
1/2 cup sugar (I like to use brown)
Procedure:
Combine rice and water in a pot and wait for it to boil under medium-high heat. Stir regularly. Boil in medium for about 10 to 15 minutes minutes. When the mixture thickens and the rice starts to become translucent (meaning, it’s cooked), mix in the cocoa powder and sugar. Cook to your desired consistency. Serve hot with milk or cream mixed in the porridge.
Yeah, that’s it!
It’s super easy, relatively effortless and definitely delicious!!! And with that we wish you all an easy, relaxing and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We wish you the very best for 2009!
December 31st, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Every time I see Gourmeted, in my mind I read it as “gore-mett-ed” vs. Gourmet ed. Haha. I’m silly.
Thank you for this recipe. It may be a texture issue for me but I am definitely going to give this a try!!
What cocoa powder do you use? I mean, there has to be a better one than Hershey’s.
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joy Reply:
December 31st, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Haha… you’re not the only one who does that. I actually pronounce it as Gore-made. :)
You’re welcome. If you’ve had congee (and I should’ve added that there), this is the same texture. Hershey’s is kind of bitter for me. Have you tried Ghirardelli? We’ve gone through 3 tins of that for baking and cooking. I just picked up what I found at the supermarket here called Fry’s Cocoa (made by Cadbury-Fry’s) and used that for this champorado. :)
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Emily Reply:
January 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I thought I was alone on pronouncing it like that!
But I love chocolate and rice pudding. It never actually dawned on me to combine the two. Thank you for sharing.
Emilys last blog post..Debbie’s Shrimp Dip
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January 3rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Ooh, yum, one of my favorite merienda items. If it’s unsweetened, though, I like adding condensed milk to it– and an extra spoonful for me! :) Happy new year!
Manggys last blog post..Announcing: The Gastronomer’s Bookshelf
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joy Reply:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Manggy, I’ve found condensed milk to not be milky enough for my champorado. I like eating condensed milk on its own. Hahaha.
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ellen Reply:
January 20th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
haha i thought i was the only one who did this ;)
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January 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
I looked up glutenous rice for shopping because I have no idea where to even look for it here. Can you please tell me, do must grocery chains carry it or am I best to just get it online. One website said to soak it a for a little while before cooking? Is this an important step? If I ever do find some of this interesting rice? Thanks a bunch for the recipe. It does look completely like a bowl full of soul warming comfort.
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joy Reply:
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Hi Pink Bowl Baker, cute nick by the way! :) I’ve found glutinous rice (also called sticky rice, sweet rice, sushi rice, waxy rice, botan rice, mochi rice, Japanese rice, and pearl rice) to be widely available. Whereabouts are you located?
I personally don’t soak glutinous rice before cooking it to make champorado because that tends to make it too soft and mushy which I don’t prefer. Soaking it will make it cook faster as well. Soaking is a must if you want to make sticky rice cake that needs to be manually stirred until it is super thick, because that means less time to exert arm muscle power.
Hope that helps you! Let me know if you have other questions. :)
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January 19th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I’m so glad you published this post – I have lived on Guam several times in my life, including as a child, and champorado is one of my early memories. I had forgotten about it until I saw the title of your post. I’ve never known how to make it – all I knew was as a child it involved Nestle Quik :) — Cocoa powder will do nicely, thank you. :)
The very best to you, and thanks again!
Metroknow
Metroknows last blog post..Family Traditions
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joy Reply:
January 19th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
You’re welcome! You can definitely use Nesquik…but I couldn’t find it here. Plus, it is too sweet for me now. :) Champorado holds a lot of memories for me as well. Ahh…childhood food. :)
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June 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Wht woanks for posting this..Champurado is my favorite since I was a kid..I love it when I add milk powder on top of it..YUMMM!! :)
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joy Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
You’re welcome. Gosh, yes! I love powdered milk on it, too. I still miss Nido!
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