Chinese BreakfastStreet-stall favourites, from soy milk to jianbing
Breakfast in China is usually bought on the way to work from a street stall or small shop, and eaten hot. It changes by region: soy milk and fried dough in the north, congee and rice noodles in the south.
Chinese Breakfast: the essential names
1. Soy milk
Freshly made hot soy milk, sweet or unsweetened, the classic partner of youtiao.
2. Youtiao (fried dough sticks)
Long, golden fried dough sticks, crispy outside and airy inside. Dip them in soy milk or congee.
3. Baozi (steamed buns)
Fluffy steamed buns with fillings such as pork, vegetables or red bean paste.
4. Jianbing (Chinese crepe)
A thin crepe cooked with egg, scallion and sauce, folded around a crispy cracker. Made in front of you in about a minute.
5. Congee (rice porridge)
Rice simmered into a soft porridge, eaten plain with pickles or cooked with other ingredients.
6. Century egg and pork congee
Cantonese congee with preserved "century" egg and lean pork, a southern breakfast favourite.
7. Mantou (plain steamed bun)
A plain steamed bun without filling, the northern staple eaten like bread.
8. Tea egg
Eggs simmered in tea and soy sauce, with a marbled pattern on the white. Sold in pots at stalls and convenience stores.
9. Tofu pudding (savoury)
Silky tofu pudding, served savoury with soy sauce and toppings in the north. In Taiwan and parts of the south it is called 豆花 and often eaten sweet.
10. Scallion pancake
A flaky pan-fried flatbread layered with chopped scallions.
11. Shengjian (pan-fried buns)
Shanghai pork buns pan-fried until the bottoms are crisp, topped with sesame and scallion. Careful: hot soup inside.
12. Hot dry noodles
Wuhan's breakfast: noodles tossed in sesame paste with pickles and scallion, eaten fast on the way to work.
Useful phrases
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 来一碗豆浆。 | Lái yì wǎn dòujiāng. | English A bowl of soy milk, please. | Note |
| 要甜的还是咸的？ | Yào tián de háishi xián de? | English Sweet or savoury? | Note |
| 两个包子。 | Liǎng ge bāozi. | English Two baozi. | Note |
| 带走。 | Dài zǒu. | English To take away. | Note |
| 早饭吃了吗？ | Zǎofàn chī le ma? | English Have you had breakfast? | Note |
Frequently asked questions
What do Chinese people eat for breakfast?
Common choices are soy milk with youtiao, baozi, jianbing, congee and noodles. It varies a lot by region.
Is Chinese breakfast sweet or savoury?
Mostly savoury. Soy milk and tofu pudding come in both sweet and savoury versions, and northerners and southerners love to argue about which is right.