Travel Recipe: Coconut Porridge with Honey

This interesting porridge recipe I learned in Australia:

While I stayed in Adavale, a small outback town in the desert, where it was usually around 30°C degrees every day, we one day got hit by a very cold storm.

Temperatures suddenly dropped from 30°C to 9°C within a few hours and we struggled with the freezing cold in a house that had no heating, except for an old wood stove. After firing up the rusty relic, we sat beside it, warming our hands at the smokey fire in the morning, which was the coldest time of the day with only 4°C.

That is when we learned about this healthy Australian warm-up recipe that provides you with enough energy to survive a cold day:

To warm us up, we cooked hot porridge that we spiced up with sweet honey and creamy coconut milk. To make more interesting, we sometimes even added a bit of chili.

Ingredients:

25g Quick cook oatmeal

1 Teaspoon honey

5 Tablespoons coconut milk

6 Tablespoons milk

(Optional: A sprinkle of chili – flakes)

Put the oats in a breakfast bowl, add milk and coconut milk until the oats are just covered and mix it with a teaspoon of honey. Then put it in the microwave for approximately 80 seconds on high heat. Stop it as soon as the milk begins to bubble up.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can cook it in a small pot for 5 minutes, just until the milk begins to boil. Be careful not to overcook it, or it will become sticky and slimy. I prefer it when the oats are still a bit chewy and not too soft, but of course it’s up to you how soft you want your porridge to be. Just cook it longer according to your preferences.

A glass of orange juice or a cup of hot black tea go very well with it.

Enjoy it on every cold day, be it winter in Europe, or sudden cold weather in the Australian desert. It will warm you up and give you lots of energy for the day. It’s no surprise that the Scots made porridge their favorite breakfast, since it’s a great comfort food for bad weather!