What’s For Breakfast Around The World?

Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?
Intro
Breakfast cereal, an egg sandwich, toast and jam… do you have a “continental breakfast”, day in and day out? Perhaps it’s time to shake things up. We’ve scoured the globe to look for the most interesting and unusual dishes traditionally eaten in the a.m. – often as part of a generous spread, especially on weekend mornings. Dig in!

By Irene de Vette

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Ackee
Ackee And Saltfish, Jamaica – A fruit with an eggy flavour and consistency, ackee is often dubbed “vegan eggs”. However it’s not exactly vegan in Jamaica’s favourite breakfast dish, combined with saltfish, onion, red bell peppers, tomatoes and spices, and served on the (weekend) morning table with many other items such as fried dumplings, fried plantains and fruits.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Bal Kaymak
Bal Kaymak, Turkey – Order a traditional Turkish breakfast, and your table will be filled with an insane amount of fresh breads, olives, eggs, cheeses, sausages, spreads and vegetables. If you’re lucky, it will contain the best dish of all: a small plate of fresh kaymak, a sumptuous clotted cream made from water buffalo milk and served with high-quality honey (bal). Bal kaymak is usually eaten by dipping soft bread in it, but no one will judge you if you want to eat it by the spoonful. [Photo: Quinn Comendant/Flickr]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Müsli
Birchermüsli, Switzerland – A Swiss doctor named Maximilian Bircher-Benner became a breakfast game-changer at the turn of the 20th century, when he introduced his patients to a new dish that he claimed would help them with their recovery. Later renamed Birchermüsli, his recipe contained rolled oats, soaked overnight and combined with nuts, grated apple, condensed milk and lemon juice. Nowadays, just about every supermarket carries packaged dry müsli, but the modernised soaked versions (some say the oats take just 15 minutes) are worth a try, too.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Biscuits and gravy
Biscuits And Gravy, Southern United States – The American South has an irresistibly rich breakfast repertoire, from grits to hash browns and of course, the classic biscuits and gravy. A biscuit is a flaky buttermilk bun akin to a scone, and it’s topped with gravy – a thick, milk-based sauce speckled with bits of sausage and black pepper. Just the kind of hearty start we heart.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Boterham Met Hagelslag
Boterham Met Hagelslag, Netherlands – The Dutch love to eat dessert for breakfast, and it’s totally acceptable for kids and grown-ups to do so every single morning. They slather slices of bread (boterham) or rusk (dry biscuits) with butter and blanket them with chocolate sprinkles known as hagelslag. 14 million kilos of sprinkles made of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate – as well as other types of sweet sprinkles – are consumed annually in the lowlands. [Photo: Amin/Wikimedia Commons]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Bougatsa
Bougatsa, Greece – Believed to have originated in the Greek Macedonian city of Serres, different types of bougatsas are now found all across the country. If made well, they’re crispy, creamy and highly addictive pies. Phyllo dough, preferably handmade, is carefully rolled out paper-thin, brushed with butter, filled with a ricotta-like cheese or sweet semolina custard, then folded and baked until golden. The pie is cut into bite-sized chunks, sprinkled with sugar and eaten while still warm. [Photo: Andy Montgomery/Flickr]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Champorado
Champorado, Philippines – Many a Filipino child will have fond memories of eating champorado, a glutinous rice porridge flavoured with dark chocolate. Yes, you read that right: chocolate rice! The dish is traditionally topped with tuyo, a small dried and salted fish. Yes, you read that right, too. Salted fish. With chocolate rice. You can skip the fish – no questions asked – and enjoy the chocolatey comfort dish served with a generous amount of sweetened condensed milk on top, but if you’re brave enough, you might discover how well the salty and sweet flavours go together.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Changua
Changua, Colombia – The Colombian version of egg drop soup, changua is a lifesaver for many Colombians after a night of merrymaking. The dish originates from the colder mountain areas of the Cundinamarca and Boyaca regions, where it was eaten to ensure a proper, warm start to the day. The soup is made with milk and boiled water, with a poached egg inside and topped with green onions, cilantro and parsley. It’s usually served with pieces of toasted bread, or calado, in the soup (which makes for a thicker consistency) or with an arepa on the side.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles, Mexico – Mexicans have found nifty ways to use up leftover corn tortillas, and the undoubtedly the best way is to make chilaquiles. The tortillas are cut into strips and lightly fried, then covered with green or red salsa and simmered until soft. Popular toppings include fresh cheese, avocado and cilantro, and the dish is often served with refried beans or a fried egg, but there are numerous regional and family variations. Again, chilaquiles are perfect for the morning after a night of revelry. [Photo: Massa Assassin/Flickr]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Flapjacks
Flapjacks With Bacon And Maple Syrup, Canada – Canadians like to dig into the quintessential breakfast of champions also known as the “Lumberjack Breakfast”. Flapjacks (or pancakes) are part of it, together with loads of eggs, ham, sausages, peameal bacon and maple syrup, all to prepare for a long day in the Great Outdoors. There probably isn’t anything more Canadian than the combo of salty bacon and sticky-sweet maple syrup. Pure magic.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Granita
Granita E Brioscia, Sicily – In an earlier edition, we explored Sicily’s love affair with ice-cold granita, especially on days when it’s already sweltering before noon. However, we wouldn’t mind starting off on a sweet note on a chilly autumn day …or any day, for that matter. Now, we just have to master the art of this sherbet-like frozen treat and soft brioche (a sweet yeast pastry) at home. [Photo: Sebastian Fischer/Wikimedia Commons]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Haleem
Haleem, Iran – A thick, filling porridge of unknown origins, haleem is a breakfast fave in many Arab countries. Recipes vary, but it always consists of some type of grain and meat combo, for which the cooking and stirring starts in the early morning hours (all-nighters were required before the advent of modern kitchen equipment). Persian haleem, for one, is made with bulgur combined with lamb, chicken or turkey and topped with a generous pat of butter and a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon before serving.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Puri
Halwa Puri, Pakistan – Poori, a type of bread that puffs up like a blowfish during frying, has developed into a beloved breakfast combination with choley (chickpea curry) and halwa, a semolina dish flavoured with quite a bit of ghee, sugar, cardamom and nuts. Halwa puri is mostly sold at street carts and in modest restaurants all across the Indian subcontinent.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Idli Dosa
Idli And Dosa, South India – Breakfast is a serious affair all over India; food author Madhur Jaffrey estimates that there are more than 25 different major types of breakfast eaten across the country, each with a choice of over 100 foods. People in the south are particularly fond of laying a solid foundation with a host of savoury, carb-laden foods, with the breakfast of choice being fermented rice-and-lentil creations such as idli (fluffy steamed rice cakes) or dosa, a type of hearty crepe. Both are accompanied with coconut chutney and sambar (a lentil-based stew), and can keep you going for hours.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Jianbing
Jianbing, China – Obviously, there are countless breakfast options in a country as vast as China, especially since the Chinese like to start their day with dishes that aren’t exclusively breakfast items. Jianbing is a wildly popular item you’d find on the streets, a type of crepe made of wheat and grain flour, topped with an egg, chilli oil, various sauces, pickles and scallions or coriander. For extra crunch, a baocui, or crispy cracker, can be added inside.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Jok
Jok, Thailand – As in many Asian countries, few dishes are considered “for mornings only” in Thailand. One exception would be jok, a thick rice porridge similar to its Chinese cousin congee. Jok moo sab is a popular version, cooked in pork stock with seasoned ground pork, served with a poached egg and garnished with spring onion and ginger.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Kaya
Kaya Toast, Singapore – Kaya, an addictive creamy-sweet coconut jam, is served on crust-free toast at kopitiams – coffee houses in Singapore and Malaysia. To make it, coconut milk is infused with fresh pandan leaves, then palm sugar and white sugar is dissolved into it. After being mixed with beaten eggs, everything gets slowly cooked and stirred into a thick, curd-like consistency, sometimes finished off with bit of salt. Locals dip their toast in runny soft-boiled eggs, soy sauce and a dash of white pepper, along with a strong cup of kopi (coffee) or teh (tea). Totally shiok (cool), right?

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Malasada
Malasadas, Hawaii – While you could grab a poke bowl after a morning surf, Hawaii also offers a more indulgent breakfast option: the malasada. It’s a doughnut, but not quite. For one, there’s no hole, plus the dough contains more eggs and (evaporated) milk. The malasada is a Portuguese addition to the rich palette of Hawaiian flavours, and Honolulu-based bakery Leonard’s claims to have popularised it. The puffs are served plain, only rolled in sugar (and sometimes cinnamon) after frying, or filled with custard, jelly or flavoured cream. [Photo: e.t./Wikimedia Commons]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Mas Huni
Mas Huni, Maldives – If you, like some, like it it hot in the a.m., try this Maldivian delight – and be generous with the green chillies. The spread calls for tuna (traditionally fresh, but canned is okay), finely chopped onions, freshly grated coconut, said chillies, lime juice and a vegetable such as aubergine or pumpkin. Manually grind it to a fine paste and serve with huni roshi (a type of flatbread) and sweet tea.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Msemen
Msemen, Morocco – Pancakes are breakfast darlings the world over, but we’re particularly smitten with msemen, which you’ll find in little food stalls in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Msemen, and their round cousins rghaif, are made from a folded and flattened dough which contains fine semolina and quite a bit of butter. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, they’re perfect with more butter and honey or cheese, and a glass of mint tea.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Putu Pap
Putu Pap, South Africa – Also known as krummelpap, putu pap is a mieliemeel (corn flour) porridge, made Zulu-style. Prepared with very little water, it has a crumbly consistency and is often served with tomato- and onion-based sauces as a side dish for barbecued meat. People in the Western Cape, however, have it for breakfast, combined with butter, sugar and milk.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Scrapple
Scrapple, Mid-Atlantic US – Fried pork scraps and trimmings might not make you want to leap out of bed in the morning, unless you’re from the mid-Atlantic region of the US (between New York and Virginia). An invention of the Pennsylvania Dutch (who call it Pannhaas), scrapple combines pork leftovers with flour and spices. The mixture is cooked into mush, then pressed into solid blocks and refrigerated. Once congealed, slices are cut and then fried. Combined with fried eggs, it’s pretty tasty …or so they say. [Photo: Ron Dollete/Flickr]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Syrniki
Syrniki, Russia – Oladyi, blini, syrniki: Russians seem to have a fondness for griddle cakes. Here we highlight syrniki, deliciously fluffy, quark-based pancakes. Also known in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Serbian cuisines, they’re fried and served with sour cream, applesauce, jam, fruit preserves or honey. The name comes from “syr”, which once meant “soft white cheese” in Russian; the cheese in question is tvorog, similar to cottage cheese but drier, with a nice tangy kick to it. [Photo: Joerg Vollmer/Wikimedia Commons]

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Vegemite
Vegemite, Australia – For many (if not all) Australians, a “brekkie” is synonymous with toast and vegemite. The trick, they will tell you, is to spread a very thin layer of the dark sticky stuff onto generously buttered toast. Still, this yeast extract might be an acquired taste for anyone who wasn’t born Down Under. The toast is usually part of a generous spread, which the New York Times has called “an art”: “a cooking style features bright mashups of foods that are healthy, natural and luxurious all at once.”

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
Weisswurst
Weisswurst, Bavaria – Although it’s not an everyday breakfast, the traditional Weisswurstfrühstück is still revered in Bavaria. The starring role is reserved for Weisswurst, greyish-white sausages made with veal, pork and seasonings that are slowly poached in hot water. They are served in the warm water, with a side of sweet mustard, a Breze (pretzel) and, of course, a Weißbier (wheat beer). Weisswurst is a morning food because it’s highly perishable, and the sausages needed to be eaten fresh. Check the video for instructions on the various ways to eat them.

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Food
What’s For Breakfast Around The World?.
White Pudding
White Pudding, Ireland – Like its black counterpart, white pudding originated as a vehicle to use up leftover offal, made palatable by adding cream, breadcrumbs and eggs. A medieval invention, the recipe evolved into a sausage made of beef suet with oats, onions and spices such as white pepper, nutmeg and sage. As such, it’s still a staple of the full Irish breakfast, cooked whole or fried after being cut into slices. [Photo: O’Dea/Wikimedia Commons]

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What’s For Breakfast Around The World?

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