How to Make Champorado

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Champorado is a traditional Filipino breakfast food that’s made of sticky rice, chocolate, and milk. The food is decadent and sweet and is often served as a dessert in western countries. While a favorite in many Filipino households, achieving a perfect champorado is no easy feat. Luckily, by following specific recipes, it’s possible to make the perfect champorado.

Ingredients

Cooking the Rice Separately

1 cup (158.0 grams) of sticky rice
5 cups (1182.94 milliliters) of water
1/3 cup (113 grams) of cocoa powder
1/4 cup (85 grams) of chopped chocolate
½ cup (170 grams) of brown sugar
Can of condensed milk to drizzle on top

Cooking the Rice with the Chocolate

1 ½ cups (354.882 milliliters) of milk
¾ cups (177.44 milliliters) of coconut milk
⅓ cups (59.14 milliliters) of cocoa powder
¾ cups (177.44 milliliters) of water
¼ cup (85 grams) of brown sugar

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Cooking the Rice Separately

1
Soak and strain 1 cup of sticky rice in cold water. Soak 1 cup of rice through cold water in a bowl. Drain your rice through a colander or fine mesh strainer after you soak it for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Soaking sticky rice allows the grains to expand and helps with cooking times.^{[1]
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2
Fill a pot with 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Place your pot filled with water onto your stove-top and set it to high.^{[2]
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Research source} Allow the water to come to a rolling boil before putting your rice in the pot.
- If you want a thicker champorado, add less water to the mixture.^{[3]
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3
Add the sticky rice to your pot of water. Add your soaked rice to the pot of boiling water. Allow the water to come to a full boil again before reducing it to a simmer.
- Do not keep your stove on high. You can burn your rice this way.^{[4]
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4
Let the rice cook for 15 minutes while constantly stirring. When you stir the pot, you’re preventing the sticky rice from sticking to the sides of the pot, where it can easily burn. Remember to stir the pot consistently to prevent this from happening.^{[5]
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- The rice should be finished when it has absorbed most of the water.^{[6]
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- Taste your rice to make sure the grains are not hard.
5
Add 1/3rd of a cup of cocoa powder to your rice. Mix in 1/3rd of a cup of cocoa powder to your pot and allow the champorado to thicken. Make sure to continue stirring so that you can dissolve all the cocoa powder in your pot.
6
Add 2 ounces of chopped chocolate and a ½ cup of brown sugar. Adding in full pieces of chopped chocolate and ½ cup of brown sugar will sweeten your champorado.
- You can use chocolate chips as an alternative to chocolate bars.^{[7]
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7
Stir until you dissolve the solid pieces of chocolate. Continue to stir your champorado until all the solid pieces of chocolate are dissolved.
- Your champorado should have a texture like porridge.^{[8]
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8
Drizzle condensed or low-fat milk on the top. Adding milk to your champorado will give it a watery consistency. Add more milk if you think the texture is too thick.
- Using condensed canned milk is the traditional way to make it, but you can substitute it with whatever milk you prefer.^{[9]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Cooking the Rice with the Chocolate

1
Add 1 ½ cups of milk and ¾ cups of coconut milk to a pot. Coconut milk will give your champorado a silkier texture. Replacing this with water will create a creamier champorado.
- You can substitute the coconut milk with evaporated milk.^{[10]
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2
Combine ¾ cups of water and bring your pot to a boil. Add ¾ cups of water into your champorado. This will be the mixture that will cook your rice. Quickly bring the milk to a boil but make sure not to keep it on the heat too long.
- Milk can burn and will ruin the taste of your champorado. Make sure to add your other ingredients quickly after it starts boiling.
3
Combine ⅓ cups of cocoa powder and mix. Combine the cocoa powder or chopped chocolate to your milk and mix, making sure to fully dissolve any chocolate with a wooden spoon.
- Traditional Filipino champorado uses Tablea Tsokolate, which is a cocoa from the Philippines.^{[11]
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4
Add 1 cup of sticky rice to your pot. You can soak your rice to elongate the grains if you prefer. This will help with the cooking process.
- Sticky short grain rice called mochigome is the most popular sticky rice in countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan.^{[12]
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5
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook your rice for 25–30 minutes and stir. While your rice cooks, make sure to keep stirring it so it doesn’t get stuck to the sides. Add more milk if the mixture becomes too thick, or your rice isn’t fully cooked.
- The rice will not cook as quickly as regular rice.^{[13]
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- Make sure to keep tasting your food to make sure it’s developing the right flavors.
6
Add ¼ cup of brown sugar and mix it in. Adding brown sugar will enhance the sweetness of the champorado. Adjust the level of brown sugar according to your palate.
- Traditionally, people in the Philippines eat champorado with dry salted fish.^{[14]
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Community Q&A

Question

Could I use Hershey's cocoa powder?

Community Answer

Yes. .It will make it taste very rich, so do not add too much.
Question

Can you use stevia instead of brown sugar?

adam z

Community Answer

Yes, you can use stevia as a substitute for brown sugar in a recipe for champorado. To substitute stevia for brown sugar, use about 1/2 teaspoon of stevia for every 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Keep in mind that stevia is much sweeter than sugar, so you may need to adjust the amount you use based on your personal preference. Additionally, stevia does not dissolve as easily as sugar, so you may need to add a bit more liquid to your recipe to help it dissolve. Overall, it is possible to use stevia as a substitute for brown sugar in a recipe for champorado, but you may need to make some adjustments to the recipe to ensure that it turns out well.
Question

Which ingredients can I skip?

adam z

Community Answer

It is generally not recommended to skip any ingredients, as each one serves a specific purpose in the final dish. However, you may be able to omit or reduce the amount of certain ingredients without drastically altering the final dish. For example, you could omit the milk or use a non-dairy alternative if you prefer a thicker, more chocolatey champorado, or omit the butter if you want a dairy-free version. It is generally not recommended to omit any of the main ingredients, such as the chocolate, rice, and sugar, as they are essential to the flavor and texture of the dish. Overall, it is best to follow the recipe as closely as possible to ensure that the champorado turns out well.