Chocolate for breakfast? This bowl of champorado will definitely fit the bill!
It is getting cold now, and having a hot bowl of chocolate-y champorado is perfect for the chilly mornings.
What is Champorado?
Champorado is a chocolate rice porridge that we have for breakfast in the Philippines. It is made by cooking glutinous rice and adding chocolate. Kind of like a chocolate congee.
Champorado is traditionally served with dried fish. But I don’t like dried fish, so I have mine with powdered milk and cheese for that salty component.
I grew up only ever having it cooked from a package (simply add water and cook until the rice is done!), with a couple of times eating it from scratch as prepared by an aunt, but made with cocoa.
Therefore, I have never tried it the traditional way made with tablea (which are these cacao discs), which is weird, because we loved drinking hot chocolate made from tablea. Next time I get my hands on them, I will definitely try making this with tablea.
But for now, I have found that the best champorado I can make with the ingredients available is with a mix of dark chocolate and cocoa powder. I have tried with only cocoa powder, and it is lacking the depth of chocolate flavor. Adding the dark chocolate fixed that issue. I got that idea from The Little Epicurean and adjusted a bit to my flavor preferences.
I also like my champorado a bit on the dry side; therefore I use less water and add powdered milk, instead of condensed or evaporated milk, as is the tradition as well.
The foggy view from my kitchen window is the perfect accompaniment to having a hot cup of coffee and champorado. And it couldn’t be easier to make!
How to make champorado:
I have made a scaled down recipe for 1 person, and 2 – 3 persons. If you are making for more, feel free to multiply the recipe, but start with a smaller amount of water and adjust as needed.
Here is a video I made of how I make champorado:
I am the only one who eats this at home, so I usually make for one person. Becca refuses to even try it! We will see when Sarah is bigger if she is more adventurous than her big sister.
What do you need to make champorado?
You will need glutinous rice (malagkit in Filipino, pilit in Ilonggo), which you can easily buy in the Asian store if you are not in the Philippines. In Silay, where I grew up, we easily can buy it at the public market. A local Asian market here sells them by the kilo (straight out of a sack), which brings back memories of how we used to buy rice!
Then, you will need unsweetened cocoa powder (the one used for baking) and some dark chocolate (the darker, the better) and brown sugar to sweeten the porridge.
It will take around 20 – 25 minutes to cook, and then you will be rewarded with a hot breakfast- a yummy bowl of chocolate goodness, with enough carbohydrates to power you until lunch.
I prefer champorado freshly made, so I usually cook only one serving. But, if you like leftover champorado, by all means, make a bigger batch. It will get thicker as it cools. It will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Simply add water or milk to thin it out.
Let’s get cooking!
Place the water, rice and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, around 5 minutes.
Add the chocolate, cocoa, and sugar. Mix well.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the rice is translucent and done to your liking. Around 20 minutes. Add more water if needed to loosen the champorado up. Or, cook a bit longer if you prefer it on the dry side.
Serve with toppings of choice. I like mine with cheese and powdered milk.
Pin the champorado recipe for future reference:
Other Filipino breakfast recipes that might interest you:
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Chocolate porridge for breakfast!
5 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- ¼ c glutinous rice/malagkit
- 1 ½ c water
- 2 tbsp (20 g) minimum 60% dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ c glutinous rice/malagkit
- 2 – 3 c water (depending on the final consistency you want)
- ¼ c (40 g), minimum 60% dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp (12 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Tuyo (dried fish)
- Cheese
- Condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Powdered milk
- Non-dairy milk
Directions
- Place the water, rice and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, around 5 minutes.
- Add the chocolate, cocoa and sugar. Mix well.
- Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice is translucent and done to your liking. Around 20 minutes.
- Serve with toppings of choice. I like mine with cheese and powdered milk.
