How to Make Chicheme from Panama (Hominy Drink)

How many of us love horchata? I’m definitely a huge fan! One thing I love about horchata is the sweetness and how smoothly it goes down your throat when you drink it. Well, what I have for you today is a drink that is SO similar to horchata, but instead of rice, we’re going to use cracked golden hominy pieces (called maíz pilado). This is a DELICIOUS Panamanian drink recipe called chicheme. Stick around as I show you how to make chicheme from Panama that you’ll TOTALLY enjoy drinking!

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What Is Chicheme from Panama?

Chicheme is a hominy corn drink made primarily of milk and cracked golden hominy corn.

It is one of the most popular drinks in not just Panama, but in certain parts of Costa Rica, and even Colombia, too.

In particular, this traditional Panamanian drink is super popular in a district of Panama called La Chorrera, which is located about 30 kilometers southwest of Panama City.

It’s also popular in Córdoba and Ciénaga de Oro, both located in Colombia.

To be honest with you, as previously mentioned, it kind of reminds me of the Latin American horchata drink.

(Horchata is a sweet drink made from milk, rice, vanilla, and sugar. It’s sOOOooOOO incredibly DELICIOUS).

The one difference, of course, is chicheme is made from hominy corn while horchata is made from white rice. Also, there are NO little chunks of rice in horchata, while chicheme has plenty of golden hominy in it.

Maybe you can think of chicheme similar to a VERY liquified arroz con leche (rice pudding) but with hominy instead of rice.

Hmmm…

Anyway, for additional reference, these are some other very similar drinks in Latin America (you’ll notice they’re all corn-based):

Api (Peru, Bolivia, Argentina)
Somó (Bolivia)
Chicha (Venezuela)

Hominy vs. Corn

So, as mentioned plenty of times previously, what you’ll be using in this recipe is cracked golden hominy corn. Keep in mind, that hominy corn is different from regular corn.

For one thing, hominy is made from maize (field corn), which is used to make cornmeal, grits, and corn tortillas.

To make hominy, the field corn goes through a process called nixtamalization. This process involves soaking the field corn in an alkaline solution which removes the hull and germ.

This solution changes the inner molecular structure of the corn so that we can use it to make dough for tortillas and other corn food products.

If you’d like to learn more about hominy and how to cook hominy, I recommend you take a look at this article by Food Network.

Ingredients for Chicheme from Panama

These are some of the most basic ingredients that many Panamanian chicheme recipes require:

Cracked golden hominy corn
Evaporated milk
Cinnamon sticks
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Vanilla extract
Brown sugar

How to Make Chicheme from Panama

These are the basic steps for making this amazing chicheme recipe from Panama.

Rinse the hominy corn kernels in water.
Let the hominy corn kernels soak in water overnight.
In the morning, drain the water.
In a pot, add the cleaned hominy kernels, cinnamon stick, and more water.
Cover the pot with a lid and cook the hominy, making sure that the water does not evaporate.
Once the hominy is cooked, add the evaporated milk, sugar, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract one by one.
Mix the ingredients together.
Serve the Panamanian chicheme either hot or cold and enjoy!

Now, before making your chicheme recipe, I highly recommend you take a look at this EXCELLENT YouTube video below by Panama Tropic that shows us just how easy it is to make this DELICIOUS tropical Panama drink recipe.

FYI, these are the ingredients you’ll need to make this particular chicheme recipe from Panama:

Cracked golden hominy corn
Evaporated milk
Cinnamon sticks
Cloves
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Brown sugar
Vanilla extract

(FYI, this is the recipe I used to make my chicheme).

And now for the video:

By the way, if you would like to print her recipe for chicheme, you can find it by clicking here to be directed to the page.

(As mentioned above, this is the recipe I used to make my chicheme. The only difference is mine only took 1 hour to cook… not 1 and a half to 2 hours like it says in the recipe. Perhaps the flame on my stove was higher. I’m not too sure why).

Another Panamanian Hominy Corn Drink Recipe

I’m being serious when I say you’ll love how easy it is to make this homemade drink recipe from Panama.

However, I do gotta warn you, that although this recipe is easy, it CAN take a long time to cook the hominy.

But, it doesn’t have to take so long if you’re using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot!

This recipe, by Nashi Food, shows you 3 different ways to cook this drink: pressure cooker, slow cooker, and stovetop.

FYI, these are the ingredients you’ll need for this particular Panamanian tropical drink recipe:

Cracked golden hominy corn
Cinnamon stick
Evaporated milk
Condensed milk
Ground nutmeg
Vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon

Just take a look at the page in the link above to select your preferred cooking method 🙂

One Last Panamanian Chicheme Drink Recipe

Ok, so here’s one final recipe for chicheme from Panama.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe by Lisseth:

Cracked golden hominy corn
Cinnamon stick
Evaporated milk
Condensed milk
Sugar
Vanilla extract

Now, take a look at the video below to see how she makes her chicheme:

Helpful Tips About Chicheme From Panama

So, as you can tell from the recipes above, although many people make this recipe differently, the main ingredients are still the same.

However, I wanted to point out a few things that you might find interesting to know:

In the city of Colón, many people there enjoy drinking their chicheme with coconut milk in place of evaporated milk.
Some people enjoy drinking their chicheme hot while others enjoy drinking it cold. It’s all a matter of personal preference. (I liked mine better cold).
There are some people who use whole milk instead of evaporated milk.
To thicken the drink, some people like to add a kind of precooked cornstarch that’s super popular in Latin America called Maizena.
Finally, I’m not sure if this is how they make it in this certain part of Costa Rica, but I found this recipe online where they like to add coconut flakes to their chicheme. Take a look at the video below by Cocina con Jenny to see what I mean (FYI, it’s in Spanish):

Also, FYI, in case you’re interested in making the version with coconut flakes (as shown in the video above), here are the ingredients and the measurements for you:

5 Tablespoons of dried coconut flakes
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
3 cloves
3 whole allspice (aka Jamaican pepper or Jamaican pimento)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
Vanilla extract
Evaporated milk (167 grams)
Condensed milk (390 grams)
2 small cups of sugar
Coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounces)
Maizena (precooked cornstarch)
½ kilogram of cracked golden hominy corn
2 liters of milk

What to Serve With Panamanian Chicheme

This Panamanian drink of corn with milk goes well with the following foods:

Panamanian tortillas (thick corn cakes).
Carimañolas (stuffed cassava fritters).
Hojaldras (fried bread).
Patacones (fried green plantain chips).
Panamanian tamales.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chicheme from Panama

Here are some FAQs and answers related to chicheme tropical drink.

What is Chicheme made of?

These are the main ingredients for chicheme:

Cracked golden hominy corn
Cinnamon stick
Water
Evaporated milk or coconut milk
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Brown sugar or condensed milk

What is Chicheme in English?

There is no direct English translation for chicheme. The best translation is a hominy corn drink made from water, milk, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.

What can you drink in Panama?

These are some common drinks in Panama:

Chicheme
Chicha
Naranjilla
Batidos
Coconut water
Guarapo
Coffee
Seco
Beer

How do you cook dried hominy?

These are the steps for cooking dried hominy:

Rinse the hominy.
Put the hominy in a large bowl and fill it with water, covering the hominy completely.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit overnight.
In the morning, empty the water from the bowl.
Pour the soaked hominy into a large pot.
Fill the pot with water, about 2 inches above the hominy.
Bring the water to a boil.
Reduce the heat and let the water simmer for about 1 hour or until the hominy is soft.

Final Thoughts on Recipe for Panamanian Corn Hominy Drink

I seriously hope you consider making one of these delicious chicheme recipes from Panama. Chicheme is definitely different from any “American” drink you may have experienced and it’s something you should definitely consider trying 😉

What are your thoughts on chicheme? Have you ever had it? Please let me know in the comments below!