Chinese Breakfast

We love to introduce what Chinese people eat for breakfast. Breakfast is considered the most important meal for Chinese people because it provides energy and nutrients to the body and provides the necessary nutrition for daily life. Traditional Chinese breakfast has a large scope including congee, steamed buns, youtiao (deep-fried dough stick), Chinese pancakes (bing), soy milk, all types of noodles and etc.

Chinese breakfast differs in area

What’s your favorite breakfast? If you ask a Chinese such a question, people from different places may provide you with completely different answers. There are many reasons for the popularity of Chinese breakfast. Enjoying a traditional Chinese breakfast often involves consuming multiple small dishes to create a full meal.  So you can enjoy different flavors, and textures to pleasure your stomach and start a happy day. Following are some of the most popular Chinese breakfast options nationally.

Soy Milk

Soy milk, also known as soybean milk, soya milk, or soymilk, is a drink made from whole soybeans. At most breakfast stalls, you can find soy milk filled in disposable cups. Commonly soy milk is sweetened and tasted with the fresh fragrance of soybeans. Soy milk is fresh, light, and healthy. It can be served with steamed buns, youtiao, and other fried noodles or dumplings.

Among all of the combinations, the most popular one is soy milk and youtiao. This combination can even be better if you dip the youtiao and soak it. After absorbing enough water and the taste of soy milk, youtiao successfully transformed into a juicy and soft dessert. In addition to the great taste, another reason, causing this combination to be a star as breakfast is because Chinese people think fried things like this fried stick are “unhealthy” and will bring us extra “hotness” (上火). Soy milk is believed to be helpful to cool us down. You can find this combination countrywide, especially in Shanghai.

Deep-fried Dough Sticks- youtiao

Deep-fried dough sticks, known as youtiao in Chinese, are long and golden sticks of dough. The fermented dough is shaped and deep-fired in the heated cooking oil, which will make youtiao crisp outside and hollow inside.

Usually, youtiao and soy milk perform well to partner with each other. Dipping youtiao into the hot and sweet soy milk for one second is my favorite way of taking them as breakfast. Sometimes it can also be added to congee, porridge or even wrapped in a rice ball to add a crispy texture.

Deep-fried sesame balls – Jiandui

Fried sesame balls are made from sticky rice flour. Those sesame balls are usually filled with sweet red bean paste or black sesame paste and deep-fried until golden crisp. They are coated with toasted sesame seeds on the outside, giving them a nutty flavor. It has several other names, like Jian Dui, Ma Tuan, or Ma Yuan. It can be served as a snack or breakfast.  

Mantou

Mantou or buns are a kind of steamed bread with no fillings. These buns are made from wheat flour. After being steamed, they taste faintly sweet, soft, and fluffy with a fresh touch of wheat aroma. Mantou can be turned into something really delicious if some addons are used like chili oils, sauce, and pickled. The famous Gua bao shares the same dough with mantou and it is super delicious when partnered with braised pork belly. Apart from breakfast, they are also taken as a staple food in northern China.

Baozi

Baozi or bao are steamed buns stuffed with various types of fillings, which can be either salty or sweet. Usually, the salty fillings are ground meat, vegetables, or a mixture of them. The sweet fillings are often red bean paste, sesame seeds, and sugar.

Baozi is actually a wide category and there are many varieties, such as cha xiu bao, goubuli, xiaolongbao, and so on. I love xiaolongbao the most. Its filling contains meat and an aspic, which will turn to be a juicy broth when steamed. You can taste the most delicious xiaolongbao in Shanghai for originally it’s a Shanghai traditional snack.

Scallion Flower Rolls

The ingredients to make scallion flower rolls are composed of scallion and wheat flour. The fermented dough is shaped in a flower shape and then steamed. Scallion flower rolls are tasted salty and fluffy, with a nice crunch and a mild onion flavor from the scallions. They can be enjoyed with a bowl of congee or soy milk as you like.

Congee and porridge

Porridge is the most popular option for Chinese people. In cold winter, it is warm enough and in summer days, the cooled version is mild enough. In Chinese porridge is called ” 稀饭 ” while congee is called “粥”. Back in the old days, porridge is a poor man’s porridge as a small amount of rice is boiled with a large amount of water. Congee is a type of rice porridge. It is usually made by simmering white rice in a large pot of boiling water or stock until it becomes a thick, creamy consistency. Congee usually is much thicker than porridge and sometimes adds leafy greens and meat inside.

Almost every breakfast street vendor provides porridge or congee and you are offered with a large group of choices like plain white rice porridge (白米稀饭)，mixed congee (八宝粥), millet congee (小米粥), preserved egg congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥). You can learn how to make perfect Chinese congee with those detailed steps.

Usually, people eat congee with different kinds of pickles, like pickled turnips, sour cowpea, or other pickled vegetables.

Recipes

• Preserved egg congee (皮pí蛋dàn瘦shòu肉ròu粥zhōu) – a quicker way to make a congee by frozen the rice previously.
• Mixed congee (eight treasure congee) –  the national food for the Laba rice porridge festival
• Millet congee (小米粥) – a healthy congee to warm up your stomach
• Chicken congee (鸡肉粥) – a luxury congee cook with chicken stock and serve with shredded chicken.
• Chinese steamed buns-mantou (馒头) – an easy way to make plain Chinese steamed buns. Those buns are quite plain and without any special taste. This is the popular Northern version. You could top it with pickles or chili oil.
• Sweet red bean buns (豆沙包) – a great option for sweet teeth. Can be matched with soy milk or congee.
• Milk Custard buns (奶黄包) – popular dim sum buns and also available as breakfast in Guangdong province.
• Steamed scallion buns (葱花花卷) – this is flower shaped buns dotted with chopped scallion.

Dumplings

It might be quite weird to lots of people when dumplings and wontons are listed as breakfast. But they have obtained enough love as breakfast options. Steamed dumplings (蒸饺), potstickers (煎饺), and wonton soup are popular breakfast choices across the country.

Dumplings can have lots of tastes and the primary taste of dumplings depends on the fillings. The fillings are often composed of ground meat (pork or beef), fish, shrimp, eggs, or vegetables.

Wontons

Wontons are quite similar to dumplings in fillings and cooking methods but different in shapes, fillings, and wrappers. The wrapper of wontons is in a square share and is a little thinner than that of dumplings. Usually, wontons are served in chicken soup, which makes the wontons taste fresh and savory.

But wontons are named Chao Shou in Chongqing and Sichuan provinces, and they are often seasoned with hot and spicy seasonings. And in Hongkong, wontons are served with noodles, that is wonton noodles.

Shumai(Shao Mai)

Shumai is a kind of Cantonese dumpling and it is usually steamed in bamboo steamers. The outer covering is made of a thin sheet of dough, and its filling primarily consists of ground pork, small whole or chopped shrimp, Chinese black mushroom, green onion, and ginger with seasonings of Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chicken stock. In some places, glutinous rice is also added to the filling. Shumai has a little salty taste and a savory flavor.

Tofu Puddings

Tofu pudding (豆腐花) is very soft tofu. Flavors of tofu pudding vary by region. In the north, people like to have salty tofu pudding with soy sauce, sat, or even meat. However, in the south, people prefer the sweet version sweetened with brown sugar syrup or sugar. In Sichuan, tofu pudding has a totally different flavor. We add crispy soybeans, pickles, aromatics like green onion and garlic, chili oil, and freshly ground Sichuan peppercorn to make it super appealing and delicious.

Recipes

• Tau Foo Fah—soy bean pudding  – In mainland China, tofu pudding is made with gypsum (石膏) or Glucono delta-lactone (葡萄糖内脂). However, Linda provides us with a new option to use agar-agar powder as the coagulant.
• Chinese sweet tofu pudding – Rasa from rasa malaysia introduces a traditional way to use gypsum (石膏) as the coagulant of tofu pudding. With sweet syrup, you can make a classic sweet Chinese tofu pudding with this recipe.
• Milky youtiao   – this recipe from Elaine uses milk to replace water and make a milky version of youtiao. She only uses baking powder and baking soda as the agencies.
• Youtiao (Chinese crullers)  – if you plan to use alum to make youtiao as instructed by the traditional way, you could resort to this version.

Noodles are another group of options for Chinese breakfast. We have dozens of noodles for breakfast options.

Chow mein

Chow mein is one of the most popular and beloved Chinese dishes around the world. Chow mein consists of wheat noodles fried with a mixture of vegetables and meat, typically beef or chicken. This tasty dish has become a staple in many Asian restaurants. Some Cantonese restaurants also provide chow mein as an option for breakfast.

Chow fun

Chow fun is made with wide, soft rice noodles with protein like beef and chicken. The most popular chow fun in China is beef chow fun. Some of the crunchy vegetables like bean sprouts, Chinese chives, and other vegetables will be also added to make it a super rich and savory dish.

In addition to steamed buns, pan-fried soup buns (生煎包) is also extremely popular because of the juicy and tender filling and chewy wrapper. Pan-fries soup bun is the top star in Shanghai.

Steamed soup dumplings – Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao (Chinese steamed soup dumplings) is a famous Chinese dessert. Sometimes you may hear Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, but like Beijing style Zha Jiang Mian, this soup dumpling can be found in many Chinese cuisines. Xiao Long Bao recipe might differ from one cuisine to another.

Scallion pancake

Scallion pancake is a popular Chinese street food, a breakfast pancake with a lovely crispy shell and soft inside. It is widely loved because of the strong aroma of scallions or in mainland China, we use green onions. I know that many Chinese restaurants in the world provide this lovely pancake. However, making some at home is a nice experience. Only with simple and everyday ingredients, we can make our own extremely aromatic scallion pancakes. In China, there are, actually, several types of scallion pancakes.

Scallion Oil Noodles

Scallion oil noodles are made with boiled noodles, scallion oil, and soy sauce. The blend of scallion oil and soy sauce gives the noodles a rich and savory flavor that is simply irresistible. The noodles can also be topped with vegetables, meats, and seafood as your preference.

Chongqing Noodles

It is a good choice for you to start a day with a bowl of Chongqing noodles, especially in winter. The spicy and numbing flavor will refresh your mind completely. The savory broth of Chongqing noodles is made from ingredients like chili oil, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. You can also add many toppings, such as ground pork, peas, vegetables, or a fried egg. 

Hot and Dry Noodles

In Wuhan and many other cities of Hubei province, the Wuhan hot and dry noodles are the most popular breakfast. The seasonings composed of sesame paste, chili oil, soy sauce, salt, and garlic provide a fragrant and slightly spicy flavor. Also, you can choose to add some sour cowpea or pickled turnip, which will add a crunchy taste to the dish.

Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Originating from Lanzhou, a city in northwestern China, the Lanzhou ramen is characterized by its chewy noodles and delicious broth. The broth is usually a combination of beef and lots of spices. The noodles are cooked in broth, seasoned with chili oil, and coriander, and then topped with sliced beef. It is really a treat for your mouth to enjoy a bowl of Lanzhou ramen.

Soy Sauce noodle

Soy sauce noodle is a very basic and humble Chinese noodle soup in the past when China was not as prosperous as now. Yang Chun is referring to the tenth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The noodle was priced at ten. It is Chinese custom to call ten “Yang Chun”, so the name Yang Chun noodles is used till now.

Changsha Rice Noodles

Changsha rice noodles belong to a local specialty of Changsha. Made from rice flour, these noodles are known for their smooth texture and delicate flavor.

The noodles are usually served in soup with various toppings, such as pork, beef, vegetables, pork liver, and pickled vegetables. The soup is often flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili oil.

Yunnan Small Pot Rice Noodles

Yunnan small pot rice noodles are the most favored breakfast in Yunnan province, especially in Kunming. The rice noodles are boiled in a small pot over a charcoal fire, with fresh meat, leeks, pickles, and chili oil added. A steaming bowl of rice noodles is then served for you, which will satisfy your appetite in the early morning.

Steamed Rice Rolls

Steamed Rice roll, also known as Cheong fun, is a classic Cantonese dim sum. The rolls are made with a thin layer of steamed rice noodles, which are then filled with ingredients including pork, shrimp, Chinese sausage, or vegetables. The rolls are often served with a light soy sauce or hoisin sauce. It is a super popular breakfast in Cantonese cuisine.

Roujiamo

Roujiamo is a popular breakfast taken by people from Xi’an. It is usually filled with diced pork mixed with green peppers and coriander before being stuffed to fill crispy oven-baked buns.

Jianbing Guozi

Originally Jianbing is a Tianjin specialty and gradually it has become a breakfast popular all over China for its delicious flavor, well-balanced nutrition and convenience to be taken away. It is a round pancake made of sticky wheat-based paste, which is usually rolled with an egg, scallions, cilantro, chili paste, and fried crisp fritter.

Douzhi(Mung Bean Milk)

Douzhi, a traditional Beijing snack, is a kind of fermented mung bean milk with a gran-green color. The fermentation process helps to bring out the unique flavor of douzhi and gives it a unique texture. It is generally slightly sour and sweet, with an egg-like smell. Although the smell of douzhi is not so pleasant, it is beloved by the Beijing locals.

Stuffed rice balls -Zi fan

The outer cover is made of glutinous rice, stuffed with a deep-fried dough stick(youtiao), pork floss, pickles, or other ingredients like eggs or sausage, etc. It is quite delicious and can satisfy your taste. You can choose the filling based on personal preference.

Eggs & Tea eggs

hardboiled eggs are also a popular option for Chinese breakfast. But we have a more interesting version – tea eggs, it is also named marbled eggs. A boiled egg is cracked slightly and then boiled again in a broth made with tea, spices, and soy sauce. It is also known as a marble egg because cracks in the eggshell create darkened lines with marble-like patterns.

Pickles

Different kinds of pickled vegetables (pickled Chinese long beans: 酸豆角, Sichuan pickled vegetables: 川味泡菜, kimchi, and spicy dried radish:拉萝卜干)are often offered as free toppings to congee, porridge, noodles or steamed buns.

Recipes

• Quick Chinese pickles – from Noobcook uses cucumber, carrot, pineapple and pepper.
• Chinese Pickled Cucumber with Soy Sauce (酱黄瓜)  – is quite infamous but really an extremely nice dish. The cucumber has a crunch texture with a strong aroma bought by soy sauce and black vinegar
• Chinese Tea Eggs (茶叶蛋) – classic Chinese tea eggs.
• Pickled ginger (泡姜) – sweet and sour pickled ginger slices.

Tofu pudding (豆腐花) is very soft tofu. Flavors of tofu pudding vary by region. In the north, people like to have salty tofu pudding with soy sauce, salt or even with meat. However, in the south, people prefer the sweet version sweetened by brown sugar syrup or sugar.

2.Porridge & Congee and Steamed buns (稀饭包子)

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Porridge is the most popular option for Chinese people. In cold winter, it is warm enough and in summer days, the cooled version is mild enough. In Chinese porridge is called ” 稀饭 ” while congee is called  “粥”. Back to old days, porridge is poor man’s porridge as a small amount of rice is boiled with large amount of water. Congee usually is much thicker than porridge and sometimes adds leafy greens and meat inside.

Almost every breakfast street vendor provides porridge or congee and you are offered with a large group of choices like plain white rice porridge (白米稀饭)，mixed congee (八宝粥), millet congee (小米粥), preserved egg congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥). You can learn how to make perfect Chinese congee with those detailed steps.

Steamed buns might be served as desserts among any meal in a day but the most popular Chinese option is breakfast. Unstuffed Chinese steamed buns is mantou, usually quite plain, only has a fresh touch of wheat aroma. However it is a great partner with chili oils, sauces and pickles. Stuffed steamed buns are named as Baozi, either savory baozi filled with meat or sweet baozi filled with all kinds of sweet fillings. In this Introduction to Chinese pancakes and buns, I have bring more details about Chinese buns. Come and check for further information.

In addition to steamed buns, pan-fried soup buns (生煎包) is also extremely popular because of the juicy and tender filling and chewy wrapper. Pan-fries soup bun is the top star in Shanghai.

Recipes

• Preserved egg congee (皮pí蛋dàn瘦shòu肉ròu粥zhōu) – quicker way to make a congee by frozen the rice previously.
• Mixed congee (eight treasure congee) –  the national food for the laba rice porridge festival
• Millet congee (小米粥) – a healthy congee to warm up your stomach
• Chicken congee (鸡肉粥) – a luxury congee cook with chicken stock and serve with shredded chicken.
• Chinese steamed buns-mantou (馒头) – an easy way to make a plain Chinese steamed buns. Those buns are quite plain and without any special taste. This is the popular Northern version. You could top it with pickles or chili oil.
• Sweet red bean buns (豆沙包) – great option for sweet teeth. Can be matched with soy milk or congee.
• Milk Custard buns (奶黄包) – a popular dim sum buns and also available as breakfast in Guangdong province.
• Steamed scallion buns (葱花花卷) – this is flower shaped buns dotted with chopped scallion.

3.Noodles (面条)

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Noodles seem not to be a great option for breakfast but Chinese people loves it. A large bowl of wheat noodles or rice noodles is the best choice for lots of Chinese people in several cities. In Chongqing, people love to eat mala (hot and numbing) noodles. In Shanghai, busy workers love to start their day by a bowl of soy sauce noodles. In Wuhan, people on the street love to walk with a bowl of hot dry noodles (武汉热干面).

Recipes

• Chongqing Mala Noodles (重庆小面) –  for those who loves spicy food. In cool autumn or cold winter, a bowl of mala noodles are quite comforting. If you visit Chongqing, you can choose to top those noodles with braised beef, minced pork or fried pickled Chinese long beans.
• Wuhan hot noodles (武汉热干面) – a extremely popular local breakfast and snack noodles in Wuhan and other places in Hubei. It is chewier than common noodles and seasoned by a long list of sauces and sesame paste.
• Taiwanese Nuo Rou noodles (台式红烧卤肉面) – this version given by lady and pups (the author is born in Taiwan) is an authentic and luxurious version.
• Soy sauce noodles (阳春面) – a very basic and humble Chinese noodle soup in the past when China was not as prosperous as now. Yang Chun is referring the tenth month of Chinese lunar calendar. The noodle was priced as ten. It is Chinese custom to call ten “Yang Chun”, so the name Yang Chun noodles is used till now.
  

  4.Pancakes (饼)

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