Yup, "chocolate rice"...have you ever heard of such a thing? My family grew up eating this stuff...it's so tasty. We didn't make it much at our house alone, but whenever we visited our cousins (who were also Filipino) in Atlanta, we'd ALWAYS make this stuff and chow down on it all day. I'd kind of forgotten about it until my mom reminded me of it a few months ago. Usually when I think of "dessert rice," I think of the "sweet rice" dish we ate all the time for special events and holidays and pot-luck get togethers, but I'll save that for another day. The chocolate rice is a really easy dessert to make, but I always thought it was something our families just made up. Imagine my surprise when browsing the web to find that it may, in fact, be authentic - a dish called Champorado. Who knew?
Ok, ok, so our version isn't all the way authentic, but it's pretty close and we like it.
The rice is cooked over the stove top, then hot chocolate mix is stirred in and...done! It's that simple. Depending on the type of mix, we'll add sugar to the dish, too, but it's all up to the chef. The rice is usually served with a little bit of evaporated milk - it makes it extra creamy. I love chocolate rice, especially during colder months, because the rice is so soothing and just warms you up with sweet, chocolately comfort.
Chocolate Rice Recipe:
1 part sweet rice (available at Asian food stores)
4 parts water
hot chocolate mix (to taste)
sugar (to taste)
evaporated milk
Put rice and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. (at end of 10 minutes, rice mixture will still be a bit watery - this is normal). Add hot chocolate mix until the rice is as chocolately as you want. If you're using packets, it's about two packets if you used a half cup of dry sweet rice to start. Add sugar as and if needed (some hot chocolate mixes are sweeter than others, so just flavor it however you want). Stir in hot chocolate until completely mixed in. Serve in bowl with a bit of evaporated milk If you don't have evaporated milk, you can use regular milk, but I find evaporated milk to make the dish extra creamy.
*UPDATE: I received an email question about what size cup to use for the rice and just wanted to put a clarification so I don't confuse any one...especially in case I described the "parts" wrong. My sister and I made chocolate rice last night, and the portions we used yielded enough to feed the two of us. We used a half cup of rice and 2 cups of water. We also used roughly 3-4 heaping tablespoons of hot chocolate mix, but just add yours till it's as chocolately as you want. Add sugar while you're mixing in the hot chocolate if you want it more sweet. Enjoy! Please feel free to comment or email if you have any other questions. :)
As you can tell, I love your blogs and I love interesting recipes ESPECIALLY CHOCOLATE ONES!! Can you tell me, when you say one part rice is that equal to a cup or half a cup? I want to try making this over the weekend. Is the chocolate rice served as a cold dessert or hot? I can't wait to try this!! Thanks!!!
Posted by: Amethyst | January 25, 2008 at 01:16 PM
I just wanted to write and tell you how much I love your blog: the pictures, the colors, the projects, the recipes. I am just in love with it all. Thank you for brightening my day!
Posted by: Sarah | January 25, 2008 at 05:23 PM
if only there wouldn't be storm outside I would ride my bike to the Asian food store right this minute!
i guess this chocolate thingy won't come out right with normal rice...
Posted by: ievute | January 26, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Yummy! This looks so tasty and seems so very easy to make! Thanks for the recipe - I'll have to try it. It looks like the ultimate comfort food!
Manuela
Posted by: the feathered nest | January 26, 2008 at 02:47 PM
I made it! It came out great! The only thing is I made too much and my husband & I ate the whole thing. We were full for the rest of the night! LOLL
Posted by: Amethyst | January 27, 2008 at 09:34 AM
I haven't heard of this, but since I am obsessed with all things sweet and eat rice at least once a day, it's on my list to try!
Posted by: The Clothes Horse | January 27, 2008 at 07:34 PM
taste is great!but y flavour get lost when u cooled the rice...
Posted by: JYOTI | July 19, 2008 at 06:18 AM
I'm Filipino and my mom used to cook this all the time too!! The best is when you cook some scrambled eggs and you eat the salty eggs with the sweet rice together... soooo good
Posted by: Leslie G | July 31, 2008 at 07:49 PM
I'm from a big Irish family and this has been a staple for longer than I can remember! Chocolate Rice was the dish to get at Grandma's! Thanks for refreshing my childhood memories...
Posted by: Donna | March 29, 2010 at 05:39 PM
Don't know if you still check this blog, but my wife is from the Philippines
and has been talking about the chocolate rice she used to enjoy as a
little girl. She has no idea how to make it. Thanks to you, I will
surprise her with this tonight.
Posted by: Chris | October 05, 2010 at 06:42 PM
My grandma made chocolate rice when my dad was young because he didn't like regular rice. She didn't make it the way you do. My mom had my grandma's recipe and used to make it for me. My grandma has been gone since 1938 so that shows how old her recipe is. And she had not heard of chocolate rice, she just made it so my dad would eat rice. So I guess everyone has great ideas.
Posted by: A Canadian-French descendent | November 27, 2010 at 09:52 PM
I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hell will break loose... it'll be much harder to detect.
Posted by: Nike Jordan | February 20, 2011 at 08:26 PM
never heard of such a thing but you can be sure i will try it..
we grew up with just rice sugar and milk and i thought that a treat.. chocolate?? yummm
why didn't i think of that? ty so much
Mary
Posted by: mary brannon | February 25, 2011 at 01:14 AM
chocolate and rice? this is first time that I saw this food option, well also in Choco Krispies and some other cereals, but this is the first recipe that I saw in this way.
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