Today we’re going to be talking about breakfasts from around the world. I wanted to do a couple of episodes this week to help you to think of good ideas for breakfasts, and before we narrow it down to anything, I thought it’s a good idea to expand our thinking in terms of breakfast.
We’re going to talk about all the different things that they eat in different countries – to break out of the mold a little bit so that we can try some new things.
I’m always looking for more ideas, and perhaps you are too. If you have something you love to eat in the morning, that’s great, but sometimes it’s nice to try different things, and you may even find something new that you love – either for you, or for your kids and your family. Today we’re going on a global breakfast tour. Then on Wednesday, we’re going to talk about ideas that are specifically for us, ones that you can add to your breakfast meal list. But for today, let’s get inspired by what people eat for breakfast in different countries.
So, the first country is Japan, and we’ll look at a traditional Japanese breakfast. By the way, I researched these and I hope they’re correct. If you happen to live in one of these countries, and this is definitely not what you eat for breakfast there, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you – you can email me at karyn@familyfoodformoms.com. Japanese breakfasts often consist of steamed rice with a protein like salmon, and then there’ll be sides like pickles, and often miso soup – it’s almost like a lunch or dinner. It sometimes includes seaweed or tofu, and it’s a really nourishing morning meal. Ichijū-sansai is the foundation of a Japanese meal, and it consists of one soup, three side dishes, and rice. Breakfast is a slightly smaller version of that, so it’s not heavy or too rich. It’s designed to stimulate the appetite, but not weigh you down. Sometimes it also includes a rolled omelet or some natto, which is fermented soybeans.
Then French food, which is our favorite to think about, though I’m not sure if I would like to eat just pastries for breakfast. The French skip the protein heavy meal. They often have tartine, which is part of a French baguette sliced lengthwise, and spread with butter and jam or fruit preserves like apricot and raspberry. Sometimes they’ll have a buttery croissant or a pain au chocolat – a chocolate croissant or a chocolate pastry. They’ll always have coffee with it, cafe au lait. It’s served in a wide cup so that you can dunk your meal in it.
It’s simply translated “coffee with milk.” They enjoy those little treats with their coffee – simple, sweet, and elegant for breakfast.
Then in Mexico, a favorite breakfast is chilaquiles, which is a clever way to use leftover tortillas. Corn tortillas or tortilla chips would be lightly fried, and left to simmer in green or red salsa until they’re softened. That’s a spicy base to the dish, and then they top it with crumbled cheese and crema, which is like sour cream, but it’s a bit thinner in consistency. They’ll sometimes add onions, avocado or guacamole, and a sunny side up egg or some shredded chicken for extra protein. So, it’s tangy, spicy, and hearty; just right to start your day with a flavorful punch.
Now let’s look at a Turkish breakfast. This sounds amazing, and I’m definitely going to try some variety of it. Kahvaltı is the name of this, and it’s a whole lot of different small plates with things like crusty bread – something called simit, which is sesame crusted rings of bread, almost like large pretzels baked in the shape of a ring. There’ll be different cheeses like feta and kaşar, which is a combination of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheese. There’ll be black and green olives, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, jams and sweet jams, and tahini mixed with molasses. There’ll be something called kaymak, which is similar to clotted cream, topped with honey. All of this is sort of a mix; you can dip one into the other. The people in Turkey also like strong black Turkish tea with breakfast. It’s often a leisurely and social time, shared with family and friends. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, especially when you think outside the box for how creative breakfast can be!
Next would be India. Masala dosa is a thin, crispy, fermented crepe, like a thin pancake made from rice and Urad Dal, which is made by soaking black lentils with rice, then grinding them into a smooth paste, and letting them ferment to enhance the flavor and boost the vitamin content. The batter is used to make the crepe, and then it’s filled with a mildly spiced potato curry with onions, mustard seeds, turmeric, and curry leaves. It’s quite strong in my opinion. There’s coconut chutney or tangy tomato chutney on the side.
Sambar, another Indian breakfast dish, is vegetable and lentil stew. It’ll be served hot off the griddle. It sounds like it has a lot of preparation, so perhaps they make it the night before and then warm it up, but it sounds really delicious.
Let’s look at a breakfast in Egypt. A dish that goes back thousands of years is ful medames, which consists of slow cooked fava beans mashed with olive oil, garlic, cumin, and lemon juice. That’s served with warm pita bread, and then on the side there’ll be chopped tomatoes, onions, hard boiled eggs, and sometimes tahini. It’s protein packed, and very hearty.
In Sweden they have something called smörgås. That’s an open face sandwich, often layered with cheese, ham, sliced cucumbers, hard boiled egg slices, or even shrimp salad. It’s usually on a hearty rye bread or a crisp bread. It’s similar to what we’d maybe have for lunch, and it’s often accompanied by a glass of milk or strong brewed coffee. Maybe on the side there’ll be some yogurt with berries or muesli, the Swiss kind of muesli, which is like granola, but it’s usually not baked. So, they have a lighter breakfast in the case of Sweden,
Then in Brazil, pão de queijo are chewy cheesy rolls. I’ve seen a video of these, and they’re amazing – they look so good. You pull them apart, and the cheesiness stretches like on a piece of pizza when you separate it from the base. These are made from cassava flour and minas cheese, so they’re naturally gluten-free. They’re very soft and cheesy inside, and crispy on the outside. I highly recommend that you try one of these. If you want to try making them, I’ll link to a recipe in the show notes. These small breads are often eaten with butter or jam, and then again, washed down with strong coffee served in tiny cups, traditionally sweetened. You can get these small chewy cheese rolls at bakeries and street stalls.
Then, moving to Africa, let’s look at Nigeria. A popular breakfast in this country is akara and pap. Akara are deep fried fritters made from black-eyed peas blended with onions and chilies, so it’s quite a spicy dish. They end up crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and they’re served hot with pap, which is a creamy, smooth porridge made from fermented corn, sweetened with sugar and served with milk. This is comfort food at its finest.
Now let’s do South Korea. A traditional Korean breakfast looks very similar to lunch or dinner. It’ll be centered around rice and soup, and there’ll be an array of side dishes called banchan. Some elements that it’ll commonly include would be things like kimchi, steamed or grilled fish, stir-fried vegetables, fermented soybean paste soup, and sometimes a rolled omelet – a savory and nutritious breakfast.
In Russia, breakfast is often kasha, which is a warm porridge made from buckwheat, oats, or millet. It’s a traditional breakfast. It can be sweet or savory, served with butter, milk, or honey added. Then on colder days, they’ll have boiled eggs with black bread; the typical Russian black bread with cheese, or sausage. With this, they’ll have a hot black tea with lemon. It’s a hearty meal, and so comforting on those frosty mornings in Russia.
A common staple in Morocco is msemmen, a flaky, square shaped flatbread made from semolina flour, pan-fried until it’s golden, and served with honey or jam. Sometimes they have hard boiled eggs with round breads, olives, fresh goats, cheese, and then of course sweet mint tea that’s served hot with the breakfast.
In Vietnam, pho isn’t something they only have for lunch or dinner, but also for breakfast sometimes. It’s a fragrant noodle soup made with the best broth, a slow cooked beef or chicken broth, and those flat rice noodles, with herbs like cilantro and basil. Sometimes they’ll add beans, sprouts, lime juice, and chili. The most traditional version includes newly sliced beef that cooks in the bowl as the broth simmers. It’s light, but very flavorful and very nutritious.
In the legendary full English breakfast – no half measures with this one – there’s a hearty plate, often including fried eggs, crispy bacon, pork sausages, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, sometimes black pudding, which is a type of blood sausage, slices of toast or fried bread, sometimes hash browns, and sometimes bubble and squeak, which is often made of fried mashed potatoes and cabbage in egg. This will be served with a cup of strong black tea. That’ll be a very comforting and filling breakfast.
Then last of all, let’s look at breakfast in South Africa. A popular one is mieliepap, which is somewhat like a porridge made from ground white maize. It’s similar in texture to polenta. It can be served sweet with sugar and milk, or savory with grated cheese and butter. Sometimes it’s paired with boerewors – Afrikaans influenced spiced beef sausage, grilled to perfection. That combination is very good. Sometimes they’ll add a tomato based sauce over the top of the pap and boerewors. This is often eaten for other meals of the day as well, but it’s a good hearty breakfast. Rooibos tea, a naturally caffeine free tea from the local bushes, will complete this nourishing breakfast.
For now, that’s all. I might mention some more breakfasts in another episode. If there are any of these that inspire you, go look them up and try and make them. Some of them sound like a lot of work and for me, breakfast can’t be a lot of work; life is too busy. But the cheesy breads of Brazil, these elaborate spreads in Turkey, and the light French or Italian breakfasts are all very inspiring, and they help us to break out of the mold and do something new and different. I hope that you’re feeling inspired, and please do email me any ideas you have from your culture or any others that you’ve experienced of unusual breakfasts. I’d love to hear from you – it’s karyn@familyfoodformoms.com.
