My Mom Accidentally Upgraded Champorado With Oats.. I Love Her Version
There are some things in a Filipino household that you simply do not mess with.
Adobo recipes are one of them.
Your mothers cooking is another one.
Champorado is also something you do not mess with.
My 80-year-old mom recently did something that would probably make a traditional champorado lover raise an eyebrow.
She replaced the rice with oats.
Surprisingly it works.
It is not exactly the champorado I grew up with.
The texture is not quite the same.
Somehow it has become one of my favorite versions of champorado.
As usual there is a story behind it.
My mom is from Bohol and one of the food traditions she brought with her when she eventually settled in Surigao is something I do not think our family will ever get tired of: tablea.
If you are not familiar with tablea it is locally processed cacao formed into small discs or tablets.
Tablea is one of the ingredients behind the chocolate flavor of Filipino sikwate and champorado.
My mom does not simply buy a box of made chocolate tablets and call it a day.
The process starts with dried cacao beans.
She roasts them removes the shells grinds the beans and eventually forms the ground cacao into tablea.
It is a process that takes time.
She has been doing it for years.
There is something about food prepared this way.
It is not just food anymore.
It is memory.
It is tradition.
For my mom it is simply how chocolate is supposed to be made.
Then she did something
One day of making champorado with the usual glutinous rice she used oats.
I honestly do not remember how the idea started.
Maybe she simply wanted to try something
Maybe there was a little much oatmeal in the kitchen.
Maybe this was another one of those experiments that only makes sense inside a Filipino mothers mind.
Whatever the reason she made it.
We ate it.
The verdict: it is really good.
So what does oat champorado taste like?
If you are expecting champorado you will notice the difference immediately.
Traditional champorado has that soft sticky almost creamy texture from the glutinous rice.
Oats give it a character.
It is a little more textured. Has a slightly different mouthfeel but the homemade tablea completely carries the dish.
The chocolate is still the star.
Because my mom makes her own tablea the flavor is much deeper than the typical instant chocolate mix.
There is a richness to it that's difficult to describe until you have tasted real cacao.
Yes we still add the usual Filipino finishing touch: a little milk.
Why did my mom switch to oats?
This was not some calculated nutritional experiment.
She was not sitting at the kitchen table saying: "Today I shall optimize the profile of champorado."
No.
She is my mother.
She probably just thought: "Lets try oats."
That is how some of the best family food discoveries happen.
There is one interesting difference.
Oats contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber that has been studied for its role in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels as part of an overall healthy diet.
That does not magically turn oat champorado into a health food.
It is still champorado.
It still tastes like chocolate.
Depending on how much sugar and milk you add it can still be a fairly indulgent breakfast or snack.
The real star is still the tablea.
Much as I like the oat version I am convinced the homemade tablea is what makes my moms champorado special.
Commercial chocolate mixes are convenient.
Homemade tablea has a completely different personality.
You can taste the cacao.
It is not just sweetness.
There is a chocolate flavor that makes the whole kitchen smell like someone opened a chocolate factory in the middle of the house.
For me the interesting part of this whole thing is not really the oats.
It is the story behind the food.
My mom grew up with these traditions in Bohol.
Years later those same traditions became part of our familys life in Surigao.
The ingredients may be simple: cacao, oats, milk, sugar, water.
There is a lot of history sitting inside that bowl.
That is something I sometimes forget when I am busy with computers, technology, work and everything else.
Food has a way of keeping memories alive.
Does it still count as champorado?
This is probably where traditionalists will have something to say.
Technically if you replace the rice with oats you could argue that it is no longer champorado.
That is fair.
I am not here to start a Filipino food war.
I will just call it: Moms Oat Champorado.
That is good enough for me.
Here is how my mom makes it.
There is not really a recipe.
That is another thing I love about Filipino home cooking.
It is often more about instinct than measurements.
Ingredients:
* Homemade cacao tablea
* Oats
* Water
* Sugar according to taste
* Milk
* A pinch of salt if desired
Basic Preparation:
1. Boil water in a pot.
2. Add the tablea. Stir until the cacao dissolves.
3. Add the oats.
4. Stir occasionally while cooking until the oats reach your consistency.
5. Add sugar according to taste.
6. Add a salt if you want to balance the chocolate flavor.
7. Serve hot with milk.
That is it.
No complicated equipment.
No fancy ingredients.
Just a pot, some oats, homemade tablea and a mother who has been doing this kind of thing longer than I have been alive.
Would I recommend it?
As a food absolutely.
As a replacement for traditional champorado I would say it depends on how you prepare it and what your overall diet looks like.
Oats provide fiber, including beta-glucan but adding lots of sugar or sweetened condensed milk can obviously change the nutritional picture.
So I would not call this a miracle breakfast.
It is simply a variation of a Filipino favorite.
Honestly that is enough.
What my mom accidentally taught me is that sometimes you just try something and sometimes it works.
Sometimes your family ends up asking you to make it again.
In our house that is what happened with oat champorado.
Yes Ma we are going to need more of that homemade tablea.
A note about nutrition: this article is based primarily on my familys experience with food and my mothers traditional way of preparing tablea.
Oats contain beta-glucan, a fiber that has been studied for its relationship with cholesterol and heart health.
However eating oat champorado should not be viewed as a treatment, for any condition and the nutritional value of the finished dish depends on the ingredients and quantities used.
For dietary or health concerns it is best to consult a qualified healthcare professional.
-Mavs
System Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine. Think of this post as a diagnostic report — your doctor is the one who runs the actual repair.
Sources:
Wetravelphilippines — Discovering Bohol's Rich Chocolate Culture Through Tablea Craftsmanship: https://wetravelphilippines.com/bohol/bohol-tablea/ Dame Cacao — What Is Tablea? All About Filipino Hot Chocolate: https://damecacao.com/tablea-tableya-sikwate/ Auro Chocolate — Cacao Story: Tableya, Sikwate, and the Rich Filipino Chocolate Tradition: https://aurochocolate.com/blogs/community-programs/cacao-story-tableya-sikwate-tsamporado-and-the-rich-filipino-chocolate-tradition PubMed — Cholesterol-Lowering Effects of Oat Beta-Glucan: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21631511/
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