Venezuelan Chicha
Venezuelan Chicha is a cold, sweet, rice drink served over ice. You soak the rice for a few hours, blend it up, add sugar & milk and cook it down until it’s mush. Let it cool and serve it cold over ice! Yum!
We have been “traveling” the world for geography in our homeschool, my little ones and high schoolers alike. South America is so much fun to study and the culture and food are definitely our favorite part!
The culture of Venezuelan Chicha
From what we’ve learned, this drink was made popular to the people of Venezuela by a man, referred to as the “chichero”, who would push a chicha cart around the villages and schools, serving this sweet, blended rice and milk beverage. A filling and refreshing drink enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
Other Latin cultures also have a version of chicha, some use corn and some include alcohol. The Venezuelan Chicha is just rice and milk and does not contain alcohol. There are similar drinks to Chicha, such as Atole, in neighboring countries to Venezuela that are served warm. It seems to be one of, if not the only, differences of the two drinks. One is served hot and one is served cold. They are otherwise very similar.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- white rice
- cinnamon sticks
- water
- salt
- sugar
- milk
- sweetened condensed milk
For Serving:
- sweetened condensed milk
- ground cinnamon
- ice
How to make VENEZUELAN chicha:
Soak rice in 2 cups of water for 2-12 hours.
Rinse the rice and add to a medium size cooking pot with 4 cups water, salt and cinnamon sticks.
Bring to a boil then lower the temperature and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes until rice is quite mushy and can’t absorb any more water.
Remove from heat and set aside. Remove cinnamon sticks.
Add sugar while still warm and then allow to cool down.
Add whole milk and 1 can sweetened condensed milk and blend in blender until smooth. You’ll need to do this in batches. (I blend about 2 cups at a time) Add more milk if too thick.
Transfer to a pitcher and place in fridge to cool completely. (Or just enjoy it straight away!)
Once cooled, serve over ice! Drizzle sweetened condensed milk on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Yum!
Check out this recipe for Venezuelan Arepas!
Tip
If the texture of the drink bothers you, you can try blending the rice and 4 cups of water before cooking. This will provide a smoother texture.
Venezuelan Chicha
Equipment
- medium cooking pot
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 1-2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 cups water (2 for soaking & 4 for cooking)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
For Serving
- ground cinnamon
- ice
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Soak rice in 2 cups of water for 2-12 hours.
- Rinse the rice and add to medium size cooking pot with 4 cups water, salt and cinnamon sticks.
- Bring to a boil (stirring constantly) then lower temperature and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes until rice is quite mushy and can't absorb more water.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Remove cinnamon sticks.
- Add sugar while still warm and then allow to cool down.
- Add whole milk and 1 can sweetened condensed milk and blend in blender until smooth. You'll need to do this in batches. (about 2 cups at a time) Add more milk if too thick.
- Transfer to a pitcher and place in fridge to cool completely. (or enjoy straight away!)
- Once cooled, serve over ice! Drizzle sweetened condensed milk on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!
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