It is said that the main meal in China is breakfast. At least that’s what all my friends related to China have said. The basis of this statement is the simple idea that you need to eat in the morning to have the strength to work, eat moderately during the day, and make supper as light as possible or completely refuse it. This, however, coincides with the famous Russian proverb: “Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend and give supper to enemy.” So what is a chinnese zaofàn — 早饭 — breakfast?
I first tried a Chinese breakfast in Hefei, the capital of Anhui, China. Last night, we were with Chinese friends at the huǒ guǒ (火锅) restaurant, where more than one bottle of bái jiu (白酒) was opened by us, so my expectations from a sad morning were very motivated. However, expectations did not come true: a hangover after Chinese vodka did not happen, and even the appetite was not hurt.
Chinese rice gruel xīfàn (稀饭)
Early in the morning, as usual in China, we went for breakfast. It was an interesting experience. Over time, some details were already forgotten, but I remembered eatery under the sky. Perhaps one of the most popular dishes was served there — Chinese liquid rice porridge xīfàn (稀饭). The seller put the bowl in a plastic bag, poured some rice gruel there and gave it to me. It looked very convenient: after that there was no need to wash the bowls, the seller just needed to throw away the dirty bag and put on a new one.
It is claimed that xīfàn was invented in monasteries, where many pilgrims needed to be fed, but it seems to me that it was most likely in times of poverty, which the Chinese experienced many times. And then it was necessary to cook a limited amount of rice for everyone, boil it for as long as possible, so that there would be at least a little food in excess. This is probably why xīfàn does not have a certain, canonical density and can be more or less dense.
Soup xīdòufěn (希 豆粉)
Morning gruel can also be called simply zhōu (白 米粥), dàmǐzhōu (大 米粥) or báimĭzhōu (白 米粥), and it can already be with various additives, from mushrooms to meat, for example, pí dñn shòu ròu zhōu (皮蛋瘦肉 粥) – rice gruel with meat and “century-old” eggs or lǜdòuzhōu (绿豆 粥), rice gruel with mung bean or xiǎomǐzhōu (小 米粥) – millet gruel.
The gruel we ate in Hefei was very hot and completely insipid, but with the addition of a tablespoon of salted vegetables. I did not determine what kind of vegetables they were, it could be zha cai (榨菜) or yá cài (芽菜), but in a bowl it looked like green onions or leeks. There was nothing particularly nutritious in it, but it shades the taste of gruel.
Famous yóutiáo (油條)
We ate gruel with long slices of deep fried bread, called yóutiáo (油條), also very tasty. This simple but legendary Chinese food is not only food, it even symbolizes some of the heroes of Chinese history. By the way, the Chinese word lǎoyóutiáo (老油条), old youtiao, also means a person experienced, skillful and advanced.
Youtiao is added to shāobing (烧饼) cakes, and shāobing yóutiáo (烧饼 油条) is obtained, it is eaten with the popular soup xīdòufěn (希 豆粉), youtiao is wrapped in fried rice pancakes and put into jiānbing guǒzi (果子) pancakes. This is a modest and very traditional breakfast.
Cháyèdàn (茶叶蛋) – eggs boiled in tea with salt and spices
Of course, my little experience does not mean that all Chinese breakfasts are equally simple. If you want, you can find places where pieces of pork or chicken, garlic, vegetables and even berries, tofu, onions, peppers, soy sauce and other options are added to traditional rice. In a richer version, duck eggs, salad, and centenary pídàn (皮蛋) eggs will be added to xīfàn.
Noodles regànmiàn (热干面)
There are local specialties too: for example, in Wuhan, you eat for breakfast régànmiàn (热干面) noodles, and in Beijing we recommend trying dòuzhī (豆汁), a bean drink. Do not confuse dòuzhī with soy milk, this is a completely different, traditional drink from Beijing.
Beijing Breakfast: dòuzhī kaj jiāo quān
Most likely, you will be given not only a drink, but also a gourmet breakfast with dòuzhī, fried rings of jiāo quān (焦 圈) paste and a plate of chopped salted vegetables xiáncài sī (咸菜 丝).
Steamed pies with meat or vegetables
In addition, they usually cook fried pancakes with green onions cōngyóubǐng (葱油饼) or with onions and eggs jiānbing (煎饼), type of sandwiches with pork meat ròujíamó (肉夹馍), a Chinese version of a European hamburger. The standard and right choice for breakfast is large steamed pies with meat or vegetables bāozi (包子) or cháyèdàn (茶叶蛋) – eggs boiled in tea with salt and spices. And as a drink you can take not only tea, but also a glass of hot soy milk dujujiāng (豆浆) or rice-water mǐ shuǐ (米水).
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