Champorado is a classic Filipino comfort food that combines the rich flavors of chocolate and the comforting warmth of rice porridge. While it's often enjoyed in the morning or as a snack, this sweet and creamy treat is great for dessert, too!
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What is Champorado?
Filipino Champorado is a chocolate rice porridge traditionally made with tablea (chocolate tablets), glutinous or sticky rice, and sugar. It's commonly enjoyed hot for breakfast or as a snack, often topped with milk and paired with salty dried fish.
In contrast, Mexican Champurrado is a thick, hot chocolate drink with masa harina (corn flour) and milk or water, often flavored with cinnamon and sweeteners like piloncillo.
Ingredients you'll need
Notes and substitutions
- Glutinous rice: Also known as sticky rice, sweet rice, or malagkit, this type of rice has a higher starch content that becomes sticky and chewy when cooked.
- Coconut milk: There are plenty of dairy options, like evaporated milk, coconut cream, regular milk or cream, or even plant-based milk. But If you prefer, plain water works too. Then, you can top it off with a little of your favorite milk for extra richness.
- Chocolate: Tablea, or cacao tablets, is traditionally used with a deep, slightly bitter flavor. Cocoa powder is a convenient and widely available alternative; Dutch-processed cocoa powder will specifically yield a darker Champorado. You can also use chocolate bar or chips, especially one with a high percentage of cocoa.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Cook the rice
In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine 1 cup of glutinous rice and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid clumping or sticking to the bottom.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 10, or until the rice is tender and fully cooked.
Step 2: Add your choice of dairy
Pour the coconut milk into the cooked rice and stir well. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, just enough to heat everything through and allow the flavors to meld together.
If you prefer a thinner consistency, feel free to add a bit more water during this stage, adjusting to your taste.
Step 3: Add the chocolate
If you're using cocoa powder, dissolve it in a small amount of warm or hot water to create a smooth paste.
Alternatively, if you're using chopped chocolate or tablea, make sure it's chopped to melt easily and evenly in the mixture. Stir gently to combine.
Step 4: Sweeten to your taste
Add sugar, tasting as you go, until you reach your desired level of sweetness. Then, add a pinch of salt to help balance and bring out the sweet flavors in your Champorado. Turn off the heat.
Ladle the Champorado into bowls and serve warm. For added richness, consider drizzling evaporated milk, condensed milk, or sprinkling some milk powder on top.
Pair it with tuyo or other salted dried fish for a savory contrast, or with pandesal for a classic Filipino breakfast combination.
Recipe FAQs
Tablea is made by roasting pure cacao beans, grinding them into a paste, and then shaping it into round or oval tablets. This process retains the natural flavors and oils of the cacao. Unlike commercial chocolate, tablea is unsweetened, with a robust, slightly bitter chocolate flavor.
While it's not mandatory, rinsing rice can bring several advantages. It removes excess surface starch, preventing the rice from becoming overly sticky. Additionally, it removes impurities like dust and debris, and can reduce arsenic levels, especially in some types of rice.
Glutinous rice is preferred for its sticky and creamy texture, but you can use regular rice in a pinch. It won't be as sticky or creamy, but it woll still taste great. Some like to mix both regular and glutinous rice to get a bit of both textures - a bit of stickiness but with some bite to it.
Traditional recipes use tablea (Filipino pure cacao tablets) for an authentic flavor. However, you can also use dark chocolate or cocoa powder as substitutes.
More Filipino rice treats
- Biko: A sticky rice cake made with glutinous rice, coconut milk, and brown sugar. It's often topped with latik or caramelized coconut curds.
- Puto Bumbong: A purple rice cake that's a staple during the Christmas season. Made from a special variety of sticky rice called 'pirurutong', it's cooked in bamboo tubes, then served with margarine, shredded coconut, and sugar.
- Suman: This is a popular sweet treat made with glutinous rice, coconut milk, and sugar, wrapped in banana leaves. Varieties like Suman sa Lihiya are often enjoyed with latik, a thick coconut syrup or caramel-like sauce.
- Ginataang Mais: A coconut rice pudding with glutinous rice, corn kernels, and coconut milk.
- Ginataang Munggo: A sweet and creamy porridge with mung beans, glutinous rice, and coconut milk.
Other merienda recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Filipino Champorado
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice see note
- 5 cups water
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk see note
- 4 ounces dark chocolate sub: tablea, cocoa powder; see note
- ¼ cup cocoa powder see note
- ¼ cup brown sugar adjust to taste
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Cook the rice: In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine 1 cup of glutinous rice and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid clumping or sticking to the bottom. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 10, or until the rice is tender and fully cooked.
- Add your choice of dairy: Pour the coconut milk into the cooked rice and stir well. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, just enough to heat everything through and allow the flavors to meld together. If you prefer a thinner consistency, feel free to add a bit more water during this stage, adjusting to your taste.
- Add the chocolate: If you're using cocoa powder, dissolve it in a small amount of warm or hot water to create a smooth paste. Alternatively, if you're using chopped chocolate or tablea, make sure it's chopped to melt easily and evenly in the mixture. Stir gently to combine.
- Sweeten to your taste: Add sugar, tasting as you go, until you reach your desired level of sweetness. Then, add a pinch of salt to help balance and bring out the sweet flavors in your Champorado. Turn off the heat.
- Ladle the Champorado into bowls and serve warm. For added richness, consider drizzling evaporated milk, condensed milk, or sprinkling some milk powder on top.
Notes
- Glutinous rice: Also known as sticky rice, sweet rice, or malagkit, this type of rice has a higher starch content that becomes sticky and chewy when cooked.
- Coconut milk: There are plenty of dairy options, like evaporated milk, coconut cream, regular milk or cream, or even plant-based milk. But If you prefer, plain water works too. Then, you can top it off with a little of your favorite milk for extra richness.
- Chocolate: Tablea, or cacao tablets, is traditionally used with a deep, slightly bitter flavor. Cocoa powder is a convenient and widely available alternative; Dutch-processed cocoa powder will specifically yield a darker Champorado. You can also use chocolate bar or chips, especially one with a high percentage of cocoa.
Jeannie says
How do you make it look dark like that?
Nora Reyes says
Hi Jeannie, the tablea will give you that dark color as well as Dutch cocoa powder.=)