Champorado
Chocolate Porridge
Krizell•Mar 19, 2025
As kids we knew this as chocolate rice, but this time literally (lol). It is a Filipino breakfast made of cocoa, sweet rice, sugar, and evaporated or condensed milk. It is sometimes paired with salted fried fish for a sweet and salty breakfast. While reading up on the origin of champorado I found two different things. The first is that Filipinos adopted champurrado, a chocolate Mexican drink introduced during the colonial period. A second explanation is that Jose Rizal, the Filipino national hero, accidentally invented it.
Mexican champurrado is a chocolate-based drink made from corn flour/maza. During the galleon trade period between Mexico and the Philippines, Mexican traders introduced it to Filipinos. The corn flour was switched out for rice and champurado was born.
The second story is as follows. Legend has it that Jose Rizal accidentally spilled a cup of hot chocolate onto his plate of rice and dried fish. When he got scolded by his siblings, he told them he meant to do that, and called it champurado. Fun fact: Legend also has it that I was named after him because we have the same birthday!
Which story do you believe?
Hi, I’m Krizell, a third culture kid and second-generation Filipino American. I’m passionate about preserving our Filipino heritage through food and hope you give these recipes a try!
Instructions
Add water (2 ½ cups) to a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add in rice (½ cup) and mix well. Lower heat to a simmer and allow rice to cook, approx 10 minutes, until it start to expand. Make sure to stir occasionally.
Once rice begins to expand, add in tableas (2–3 pieces). Continue to mix until it dissolves and melted completely.
Add in sugar (⅛–¼ cup). Continue to stir and cook until desired consistency. Note that it will get thicker over time!
Serve and drizzle with evaporated milk!
