One of the street foods and drinks that I miss the most about Venezuela has to be the “chicha”. A Venezuelan chicha is a super thick drink made with rice and milk. It is dense and if you add a lot of ice you get a refreshing and fulfilling drink that tastes like heaven.
Chicha is a classic South American drink that you can find in a lot of countries and all of them have a different interpretation. In Perú, they have “chicha morada” made of corn and it has a strong purple color. The colombian chicha is also made of corn but isn’t purple. And of course, Venezuelan chicha that is made of rice and I will show you how to do it!
My sweet tooth always miss this scrumptious drink. A good glass of chicha was my reward after a long day of school. My mom used to take me to the “chichero” (the chicha guy) after class and this way I could wait for dinner without snacking like the hyperactive kid that I was.
This traditional drink is heavy. I mean, after one glass you will end up with a full stomach. It’s blended rice with milk and sweetened condensed milk. This is a bomb!
But it is so delicious and you can truly feel the Venezuelan gastronomy with one sip. Venezuelans are like this drink: kind and comforting.
There is no way you feel unhappy after drinking rice chicha with some friends after a long day.
The key for the perfect venezuelan chicha is to soak the rice for at least 2 hours. I recommend doing it overnight. After the soaking process you have to rinse the rice and then cook it with fresh water to soften the rice until it’s soggy.
After that,the process is basically blending the soften rice with the rest of the ingredients. To sweeten, I like to use only the condensed milk. But you can taste the chicha and if you would like it to be more sweet you can add a few tablespoon of sugar.
Finally, add a lot of ice and enjoy a typical Venezuelan homemade chicha!
- 1 cup rice
- 6 cup water
- 2 cup milk
- 400 gr condensed milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp nutmeg
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Soak the rice in 2 cups of water from 2 to 12 hours.
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Rinse the rice and cook it in a pot with the 4 cups of water remaining. Cook it for 40 minutes with the cinnamon stick until the rice is extremely soggy and can’t absorb more water. Let it chill and remove the cinnamon stick.
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Take to the blender and blend the rice, the milk, the condensed milk, the salt, the ground cinnamon and the nutmeg. Blend in high speed for 5 minutes. You can add more milk if your feel that the chicha is too thick.
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Top with extra sweetened condensed milk and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. (optional)
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.
This does look really good. I am not Venezuelan, but good food is good food! Yum.
Thanks! My motivation for this kind of post is that people from around the world can know a little bit more of the food of my country 🙂
Is it condensed milk sweetened or not?
Hi Claudia! It is sweetened condensed milk 🙂
When cooking the rice, do you bring it to a boil, and cook on lower heat? Also, do you cover the pot?
Hi Anita! It’s best to cook the rice on low heat so it can simmer gently. Covering the rice is optional. if you don’t cover it will dry quicker and you can get a thicker arroz con leche.
Do you bring the rice to a boil first then cook on low?
Hi Jane,
Yes, to speed up the process I bring it to a boil then I cook in low. Just make sure to not burn the rice and to add enough water.
I moved to Venezuela with my (now ex) husband in 1985 and had chicha for the first time. No one in my family had a recipe and did not make it at home, so I figured it out from street vendors. One thing I didn’t know was to soak the rice first, I just cooked it for a long time with extra water. Soaking would make it easier so I’m going to try this next time I make it! Also, I use half-n-half (or milk and cream) instead of milk, which makes it even creamier and more decadent! This is not a diet drink!
Hi Laurie! That’s right soaking the rice is the key to a good chicha. Thanks for commenting!
Omg your description is nostalgic its wonderful to be brought back to my childhood memories chicha is my favourite drink I love it one drink brings some much joy and certainly filling. My kids love it my cousin used to make it with spaghetti 🍝
Does it matter the kind of rice you use? I would love to make this – I’ve only had chicha once and it was HEAVENLY
Hi Andrea! As long as it’s white rice it doesn’t matter what type. I would stay away from brown rice.