the Nom Lab.: January 2017

A Tale of Chocolate & Pinoy Champorado (Chocolate Rice Pudding)

By Passionthy 5:12 PM Desserts, Snacks, Student-Friendly

Champorado: Filipino Chocolate Rice Pudding

"One day, a young boy was bathing in the river. Swimming upriver, he saw by the riverbank huge footsteps that led to a cave. Curious, he followed the footsteps and stood at the entrance of the cave. The cave looked ancient. He was scared to enter it. He turned his back to leave, but when he did, he came face-to-face with two enormous legs. They belonged to Manggao, the giant! The boy looked up and was so frightened that he soiled his pants.

"I will not harm you," the giant said. "Come with me. I have something for you!"

The boy hoped that he would be given gold, for he had seen traders in the market exchange it with different products from overseas. He would become rich indeed if he received gold. So he went inside the cave with Manggao. With a flick of his fingers, Manggao produced a flame that danced in his palm. Using the light from the flame, he led the boy down a rocky path to an underground river. The ceiling of the cave reminded the boy of the big church in town. He was amazed to come upon a large ship made of solid gold floating on the river. Big crates of cacao were being hauled to the ship by servants.

"We will sell the cacao when the rains come,", Manggao told the boy. "Now I will introduce you to Maria."

Manngao led the boy to a winding stone path where a small opening could be seen. "Climb up the rocky steps and go through the small opening. You will find Maria."

The boy followed Manggao's directions. When he reached the opening, an orchard of cacao trees welcomed him. He took in air and smelled the sweet aroma of the cacao fruit. He heard lilting laughter. He turned to where the sound originated and saw a beautiful woman with long black hair, big round eyes, and a smile that was as warm as the summer sun. It was the diwata, the fairy, Maria Cacao!

She greeted him, "So my husband brought me a young boy this time. Tell me, where are you from?"

"I am from Argao, down by the mountain," the boy replied.

"I have been there many times. People there seem to enjoy my cacao fruit," she said. "You are too young to work in my orchard, but for your courage, I have something to give you."

Maria Cacao picked one cacao fruit from a nearby tree. "Give me your hands, boy," she commanded.

The boy, mesmerized, offered both of his hands.

Maria Cacao placed the fruit in the palm of his hands. She covered it with hers and told the boy to close his eyes. She whispered so many magical words that it was difficult for the boy to remember them.

At last, she said, "Open your eyes!"

When he did, he was back in the front yard of his house. He held in his hands the cacao fruit and a dark round tablet. He ran to his mother and breathlessly told her of his great adventure by the river, of the giant who took him inside the cave, and of the diwata who gifted him with the fruit and the tablet. Amazingly, he remembered what to do with the chocolate tablet and the cacao fruit.

This was how the first cacao tree grew outside the enchanted cacao plantation of Maria Cacao. The people of Argao, Cebu, cultivated the fruit and from it learned how to make tablea, the chocolate tablet."

- Manggao and Maria Cacao, a tale from Cebu, Central Visayas Region
Excerpt from Tales from the 7,000 Isles: Filipino Folk Stories

Many cultures, such as the Filipinos, attribute a mythical birthplace to chocolate. ..Aaaand we can't really blame them: i'm sure many of us would agree with its divine nature (in taste at least). I mean, there is a good reason why the Dark side keeps tempting us to join them with it.

My lightsaber is totally getting confiscated for this...

The Pinoy version of champorado is actually derived from champurrado, a Mexican hot and thick drink, closer to chocolate's origin roots, made from corn flour and cacao. Champorado is a type of sweet chocolate rice pudding, traditionally eaten as a hot oatmeal for breakfast. It can be considered as a comfort food and is best eaten during the cold and rainy season, with a splash of condensed milk poured over the top. A common ethnic touch is to garnish it with tuyo, a salted dried fish, to help balance out the chocolate's sweetness.

I initially researched about rice pudding to find a way to incorporate more fiber into the popular American version. The addition of chocolate was an interesting way to do that, via cacao powder, and to mask the taste of whole grain rice if they were to substitute the commonly used polished white rice. Conventionally, however, this dish is based on glutinous rice (also called malangkit locally).

Despite its misleading name, glutinous rice does not contain any dietary gluten (like all types of rice) - its name actually comes from the fact that it becomes sticky/glue-like when cooked. It differs from the rice that we commonly know by having a different ratio of amylose:amylopectin (the two main components of starch). Glutinous rice contains negligible amounts of amylose and high amounts of amylopectin - amylopectin is what confers cooked glutinous rice its stickiness. This type of rice is a core component in many South-East Asian cuisines, such as this champorado dish. Feel free to use whichever rice you would like to try. I personally love the mouthfeel of glutinous rice and find it especially fun to chew.

You can change the consistency of the dish by changing the amounts of water to the rice. Higher amounts of water causes the rice to expand and stick together more, making the pudding thicker. Mixing less water with the rice causes it to be drier and not adhere together as much.

Champorado: Filipino Chocolate Rice Pudding

Champorado (Filipino Chocolate Rice Pudding)

Servings: 10 x 125 ml

Ingredients:

250 ml brown rice or glutinous sticky rice, soaked in water overnight
1/8 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1150 ml milk
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 Tablespoons honey
50-60 ml cornstarch if needed
Up to 120 ml extra milk to reach desired consistency

Preparation:
1. Drain rice.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine rice, 1150 ml milk, cinnamon and salt. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to low and cover.
3. Let simmer on low heat until the rice is tender and the mixture thickens to a creamy consistency (it will take 15-20 minutes if you're using glutinous rice, and up to 45 minutes-1 hour if you're using brown rice). Stir occasionally to prevent rice grains from sticking to the bottom.
4. Add cacao powder and honey. Combine well.
5. Let stand 1-2 minutes and test consistency. Add cornstarch or extra milk as desired.
6. Serve warm with a drizzle of condensed or regular milk. Add a side dish of tuyo if you have more adventurous taste buds.