Changua is a soup of Colombian cuisine, originally and typical of the Cundiboyasense region. It quickly prepared using very few ingredients. It is traditionally consumed for breakfast and accompanied by bread.
I've been eating this soup all my life, but I didn't know its name, until recently, that in Colombian cooking class I had the opportunity to learn and know a little about the foods of my country, and what a surprise, there I was the famous changua, a broth that I love.
It is an egg and milk soup, it tastes delicious, and best of all, its ingredients are very economical, and we almost always have them at home.
It has several forms of preparation. Some prefer to add cilantro and onion at the end, others add it from the beginning, some add potato. There is something for everyone, and the truth is delicious. In my house, my mom prepares us for this soup. Usually, on weekends where I am at home, I love to accompany it with hot chocolate, arepa, and sometimes even with rice, a real delight.
If, on the contrary, you have never tried the Changua, it is time for you to be encouraged to prepare it and try it, you will delight yourself with those who try it with you.
Changua is a dish with a lot of flavors. It consumed in almost all places in Colombia. However, the city with the highest consumption of this soup is Bogotá, since it is ideal for those cold days and withstand the lowest temperatures. Its preparation is one of the simplest, so I hope you are encouraged and prepared with us. Let's cook.
Recipe recommended for lunch: bandeja Paisa and canezalo.
Receta original en EspañolChangua FAQ
A breakfast soup from the Colombian Andes: eggs poached gently in a mixture of milk and water with scallion and cilantro, served hot over pieces of bread. It is everyday food in Bogotá, Boyacá and Cundinamarca, eaten first thing in the morning rather than as a meal course.
From Chibcha, the language of the Muisca people who lived on the highlands around Bogotá before the Spanish arrived. It is thought to come from their words for water and salt. The dish predates the milk in it: that arrived with the Spanish and was folded into something already there.
Whole, and gently. Crack each egg straight into the simmering milk and leave it alone so the yolk stays intact. Three to four minutes gives you a set white and a soft yolk, which is the point: the yolk breaking into the milk as you eat is part of the dish.
Straight milk is too heavy and catches on the bottom of the pot. The half-and-half mixture stays light enough to drink from the bowl and is less likely to boil over. It also keeps the flavour of the scallion and cilantro from being buried.
Plain white bread, and slightly stale is better than fresh: it holds together in the hot liquid instead of dissolving. In Colombia it is often calado, a dried sweet bread made for exactly this. A crusty roll torn into pieces works well.
You can, but it is doing more work here than it looks. Changua has very few ingredients, so the cilantro and the scallion carry most of the flavour. Without it you have milk with an egg in it. If you dislike cilantro, use more scallion and add it later so it stays sharp.
Somewhere between the two. It is served in a bowl or a large cup, the bread and egg eaten with a spoon and the remaining broth often drunk straight from the bowl. It is not a starter: in Colombia it is breakfast, on its own.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk (about 950 ml)
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups water (about 475 ml)
- 3 scallions, finely chopped
- 4 slices of bread (slightly stale holds up better; calado is the traditional choice)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (the leaf, not the seed)
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Wash the scallions and cilantro and chop them finely.
- Put the water and milk in a pot and bring to a boil.
- When it boils, add the scallions, cilantro and salt, and lower the heat to medium so it is barely simmering.
- Add the eggs one at a time, cracking them straight into the liquid and taking care not to break the yolks. Leave them 3 to 4 minutes, until the white is set and the yolk is still soft.
- Add the butter. Put the bread in the bowls, or serve it separately so each person adds their own.
- Serve hot, one egg per bowl, with a little more chopped cilantro on top.
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