Breakfast
57 recipes
You Tiao: Chinese Twin Fried Dough Sticks for Breakfast
Youtiao, the twin fried dough sticks of a Chinese breakfast, made from an overnight-rested dough. Learn the shaping, oil heat and aluminum-free leavening.
Riebel: Vorarlberg Fried Corn Grits Crumbled in Butter
Riebel from Vorarlberg, Austria: coarse corn grits cooked in milk, chilled and fried into golden crumbs. Learn the crumbling, the heat and safe chilling.
String Hoppers: Sri Lankan Steamed Rice-Flour Noodle Nests
String hoppers are Sri Lanka's steamed rice-flour noodle nests. Learn the lukewarm-water dough, pressing the nests, the touch test and which rice flour to buy.
Xôi Đậu Phộng: Vietnamese Peanut Sticky Rice in the Rice Cooker
Xôi đậu phộng, or xôi lạc, is Vietnam's peanut sticky rice for breakfast. Learn the peanut pre-boil, the water line and the two-cycle rice cooker method.
Xôi Gà: Hanoi Sticky Rice Steamed with Chicken
Xôi gà from Hanoi: glutinous rice and chicken steamed together. Learn the long soak, the coconut finish, scallion oil and how to check the chicken is done.
Xôi Đỗ Xanh: Vietnamese Steamed Sticky Rice with Mung Beans
Xôi đỗ xanh, Vietnam's salted sticky rice steamed with split mung beans. Learn the long soak, the two-stage steam with oil, and which beans to buy.
Xôi Xéo: Hanoi Turmeric Sticky Rice with Shaved Mung Bean
Xôi xéo, Hanoi's turmeric sticky rice with shaved mung bean. Learn to soak and steam, shape the beans while warm, and choose the fat and fried shallots.
Onsen Tamago: Japanese Hot-Spring Egg Cooked in a Covered Pot
Onsen tamago, the Japanese hot-spring egg, made with a pot and a lid: the boil-then-cool water ratio, a covered 30-minute rest, and how to choose the pot.
Sabudana Khichadi: Maharashtrian Tapioca Pearls Stir-Fried with Peanuts
Sabudana khichadi, India's tapioca pearl stir-fry with potato and peanuts. Learn the overnight soak, the squash test and how to keep the pearls separate.
Upma: South Indian Toasted Semolina with Mustard and Dal
Upma is the savory semolina breakfast of South India. Learn the 1 to 2½ rava-to-water ratio, how to add rava without lumps, and which semolina to buy.
Uttapam: Thick South Indian Fermented Rice and Lentil Pancake
Uttapam is a thick South Indian pancake of fermented rice and urad dal. Learn to soak and grind, read the rise by bubbles, and pour without spreading.
Huevos Rancheros: Fried Eggs and Roasted Tomato Salsa on Corn Tortillas
How to make huevos rancheros at home: soft corn tortillas, fried eggs and a coarse roasted tomato salsa, built plate by plate. Covers charring the salsa vegetables, keeping yolks visible, choosing a fully cooked egg, sensible substitutions, and how the dish changes across Mexico.
Indori Poha: Fennel-Scented Flattened Rice from Indore
How to make Indori poha at home: rinsing thick flattened rice without breaking it, a mustard and fennel tempering, a brief covered steam on low heat, and the final layers of raw onion, coriander, jeeravan, pomegranate, masala boondi, sev and lemon.
Macaroni in Oxtail Tomato Soup: Macau's Slow-Simmered Breakfast Bowl
How to make macaroni in oxtail tomato soup, a dish described in Macau as a favorite local breakfast. Based on a 4–5 serving home recipe: blanch bone-in oxtail, simmer it low with vegetables and herbs until the meat comes away from the bone, cook the macaroni separately, and pour the soup over it in the bowl. Also covers how shop versions differ, choosing ingredients, fixing problems, and handling leftovers safely.
Kaya Toast: Golden White Toast with Kaya and Butter
How to make kaya toast, the Malaysian and Singaporean breakfast of golden white toast sandwiched with sweet kaya and thin slices of butter. A simple two-serving assembly with ready-made kaya, plus how to choose the bread, kaya and butter, fixes for common slips, and how the dish is eaten at kopitiam tables with kopi and half-cooked eggs.
Manx Kippers: Warming Isle of Man Smoked Herring for Breakfast
Manx kippers are herring that are split, brined and smoked on the Isle of Man. Learn to warm ready-smoked fillets in the bag, in the microwave or under the grill, and serve them on buttered toast with an optional poached egg, plus the island's herring culture and how kippers differ from priddhas and herring.
Besan Cheela: North Indian Gram-Flour Pancake (Besan Chilla)
How to make besan cheela (besan chilla), a thin North Indian pancake of gram flour, onion, tomato, green chili, ginger and coriander. Covers how cheela fits a wider family of Indian pancakes, how it differs from moong dal chilla and dosa, how to choose besan, and how to judge batter thickness, flipping and browning.
Bobor: Cambodian Chicken Rice Porridge (Bobor Sach Moan)
How to make bobor (បបរ), Cambodia's rice porridge, in its chicken version, bobor sach moan, with jasmine rice, a bone-in chicken leg quarter, ginger and fish sauce. Covers the 4-serving recipe, toasting the rice before simmering, judging how loose the porridge should be, adding fried garlic oil, bean sprouts, herbs and lime at the table, how fillings vary, and safe handling of chicken and leftovers.
Fiteer Meshaltet: Egyptian Spiral-Layered Butter Pastry (فطير مشلتت)
How to make fiteer meshaltet (feteer meshaltet), the Egyptian round of unleavened dough layered with butter, rolled, coiled into a spiral and baked on a hot tray. Follows one Egyptian cook's home recipe exactly, explains clarified butter versus regular butter, how it differs from street-style flying feteer, and how to eat it with honey, salty cheese or molasses on the side.
Nigerian Pancake (Diet): Thin, Lightly Sweet Pancakes with a Touch of Cayenne
How to make Nigerian pancake, also called Diet: a thin, unleavened batter of flour, eggs, water and evaporated milk, seasoned with sugar, salt and dry ground cayenne. Covers adding the water in stages, avoiding lumps, pouring thin in a lightly oiled pan, turning once the surface sets, optional onion and habanero, how it is served, and how it differs from masa and akara.
Banitsa: Bulgarian Rolled Phyllo Pie with White Cheese (Баница)
How to make banitsa (баница), Bulgaria's well-known breakfast pastry, as a rolled home version: 400g of thin phyllo, each sheet spread with a yogurt, egg and white-cheese filling, rolled and baked. Covers choosing sirene versus feta, handling phyllo, keeping back filling for the top, checking that the egg filling is fully cooked, and how banitsa fits the Bulgarian breakfast table.
Caldo de Costilla: Colombian Beef Rib and Potato Soup
Caldo de costilla, Colombian beef rib broth with potatoes and cilantro, made in a deep pot with a blended onion, scallion and garlic base. Serve with arepa.
Xôi: Vietnamese Steamed Sticky Rice, the Plain Base Recipe
How to make plain xôi, Vietnamese steamed sticky rice, with just glutinous rice and water: rinsing, a refrigerated soak, draining, and 40 minutes in a steamer, then tasting a grain to check for a hard core. Also covers how plain xôi differs from named variants such as xôi vò and xôi ngũ sắc, how to judge substitutions, and how to handle leftover rice safely.
American Buttermilk Pancakes: Fluffy Griddle Cakes with Butter and Maple Syrup
How to make American buttermilk pancakes from one published source formula: flour, buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda, rested uncovered for 15 minutes and cooked a quarter cup at a time. Covers when to flip by bubbles and underside color, the Greek yogurt and milk substitute, fixing flat or scorched pancakes, and serving with butter and pure maple syrup.
Mas Huni: Maldivian Tuna and Coconut Breakfast with Warm Roshi
How to make mas huni (mashuni), the Maldivian breakfast of tuna, grated coconut, red onion, chilli and lime, with soft homemade roshi flatbread for 4. Covers the mixing order, kneading, rolling and cooking eight roshi, adjusting heat and acidity, frozen grated coconut, smoked tuna and vegetable variations, and how it differs from mas kurolhi.
Ta'ameya: Egyptian Fava Bean Falafel
Ta'ameya is Egypt's green falafel made from dried fava beans. This recipe covers how it differs from the chickpea version, soaking the beans, drying the herbs, frying temperature, shaping patties that hold together, and serving with pita and tahini.
Harcha: Moroccan Semolina Flatbread with a Crumbly Grain
Harcha is a Moroccan flatbread made from semolina and butter, enjoyed at breakfast and with afternoon tea. Covers household variations in the formula, choosing flour, ingredients and steps for 4 servings, how to read the dough after the milk goes in, cooking over low heat, what to do if it crumbles, storage and reheating, and enjoying it with sweet or savory toppings.
Akara Recipe: Nigerian Black-Eyed Pea Fritters for Breakfast
Nigerian akara, with notes on peeling black-eyed peas, whipping air into the batter and frying at 170°C. How to serve it with pap or bread, how it differs from Ghana's koose and Brazil's acarajé, storage, reheating, menus and fixes.
Bolón de Verde: Ecuador's Green Plantain Breakfast Dumplings
A recipe for bolón de verde, the coastal Ecuadorian breakfast. Boil green plantains, mash them with lard, salt, and cheese, shape into balls, and pan-fry until golden. Includes its Montubio roots, the coffee habit, and tips for round balls that do not crack.
Chechebsa: Ethiopian Breakfast of Torn Flatbread in Berbere Spiced Butter
A recipe for Ethiopia's breakfast chechebsa (kita firfir), made from a thin flatbread in a home kitchen. The aroma of berbere and niter kibbeh, serving with honey, how it differs from the injera version, substitutes for flour and fat, storage, how to read color and texture, and how to rescue it when it goes wrong.
Firfir Recipe: Ethiopian Injera Breakfast in Berbere Tomato Sauce
Ethiopian breakfast firfir, in which day-old injera is folded into a berbere-scented tomato sauce until moist. How to keep the sourness, how to tear the bread, sauce thickness, adjusting the heat, how it differs from the kitcha version, storage and substitutions, with amounts and steps that a beginner can reproduce in a home kitchen.
Genfo: Ethiopian Breakfast Porridge Eaten by Its Aroma
Genfo, the Ethiopian breakfast porridge, made in a home kitchen. Steps for shaping wheat flour into a smooth mound and pouring spiced butter with berbere into a well in the center, how to use fenugreek, flour substitutes, regional tables, storage, adjusting heat, allergies and the order in which the flavor changes through a morning plate.
Baghrir Recipe: Moroccan Honey-Soaked Pancakes
Baghrir are Moroccan holey pancakes made with fine semolina. Cooked on one side only, they develop tiny holes that soak up honey and butter. Covers breakfast and tea-time serving, differences between households, choosing flour, batter thickness, heat, fixes when no holes form, storage, and reheating.
Canjeero Recipe: Somalia's Fermented Breakfast Pancake
Canjeero (or canjeera) is Somalia's everyday breakfast: a spongy flatbread of wheat, sorghum and white corn flour, fermented and cooked on one side.
Suqaar Recipe: Somali Diced Beef Simmered with Xawaash
A recipe for Somali home-style suqaar made with small cubes of beef, onion, potato, and carrot, plus the homemade spice mix xawaash. Covers the blend of toasted and ground cumin and coriander, how to cut the meat, the morning habit of eating it with canjeero, and how to pair it with rice or flatbread.
Lablabi Recipe: Tunisian Chickpea Soup Over Torn Bread
Tunisian lablabi, in which stale bread is loosened by a thin chickpea soup. Covers the heat of cumin and harissa, canned versus dried chickpeas, a weeknight method with canned chickpeas, how to top it with egg or tuna, how to recover if the bread falls apart, storage and reheating, and how to set the heat bowl by bowl.
Balila: Lebanese Warm Chickpeas with Garlic, Lemon, and Cumin
Balila is a warm Lebanese breakfast of tender chickpeas dressed with garlic, lemon, and cumin. Covers dried versus canned chickpeas, mashing to keep a coarse texture, how it differs from the street food of Hejaz, when tahini and sumac are worth buying, and storage and menu ideas.
Çılbır: Turkish Poached Eggs on Garlic Yogurt with Red Butter
Çılbır is a Turkish dish of poached eggs over garlicky yogurt, finished with red-spiced butter. Learn how it is eaten in Turkey beyond breakfast, the Isparta version, paprika as a stand-in for chili flakes, and how to poach eggs without a watery plate. Serves 2, with heat adjustments, fixes, and storage and egg-safety notes.
Firi Firi: Tahiti's Sunday-Morning Figure-Eight Coconut Doughnuts
A recipe for firi firi, the doughnut no Sunday morning in Tahiti (French Polynesia) is complete without, made with flour, coconut milk, dry yeast and sugar. How to judge the 3-hour rise, pipe figure eights onto parchment, fry at 170°C, keep the oil temperature steady so they are not greasy, coat with sugar, and store and reheat.
Mangú: Dominican Mashed Green Plantain with Red Onions and Los Tres Golpes
Dominican breakfast mangú, from choosing green plantains to mashing them smooth with their cooking water, red onions and the three sides. Its link to African food culture, regional differences, substitutes, storage and reheating, and fixes for mistakes, for 4 servings.
Ven Pongal Recipe: South India's Savory Rice and Mung Dal Porridge
A recipe for South Indian ven pongal made in an ordinary pot. Rice and mung dal cooked until they fall apart, then a hot ghee tempering of black pepper, cumin and cashews: the flavor backbone, the water ratio, substitutes, storage, and the background of the South Indian breakfast and harvest festival.
Pol Roti Recipe: Sri Lanka's Coconut-Scented Flatbread
A pol roti recipe from Sri Lanka made with unsweetened desiccated coconut and a frying pan. How to rehydrate dried coconut, how much water to add, and how to judge thickness and browning. Choosing curry leaves, serving with spicy curries or sweet breakfasts, household differences in the formula, fixing failed dough, and storage.
Bai Sach Chrouk (បាយសាច់ជ្រូក): Cambodia's Morning Grilled Pork and Rice
A recipe for bai sach chrouk (pork and rice), the Cambodian breakfast staple, made with pork marinated in coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce, and garlic. The morning street-stall scene, the sweet-sour pickles, the soup served alongside, how to grill for gloss without scorching in a pan, and how to confirm the pork is cooked through.
Khao Piak Sen: Laos's Hand-Cut Rice Noodle Soup
Khao piak sen is a Lao breakfast soup of thick hand-cut rice and tapioca noodles simmered in chicken broth until silky. Covers the noodles and toppings.
Hsi Htamin: Burmese Turmeric Oil Sticky Rice
Hsi htamin is Myanmar's breakfast rice: glutinous rice steamed with turmeric and onion oil, topped with fried onion and beans. Soaking time, oil temperature, steaming cues, a rice cooker option, fixes for mistakes, side dishes and storage.
Ful Medames: Egypt's Breakfast Fava Bean Stew
Ful medames is the fava bean dish Egyptians eat for breakfast. Canned versus dried beans, balancing cumin, lemon, tahini and olive oil, substitutes, taking the canned taste out, mashing so it isn't dry, storing it, and menus with bread and eggs, for home cooks.
Shakshuka: Eggs Simmered in Spiced Tomato Sauce
Shakshuka is eggs simmered in spiced tomato sauce. This recipe blooms the spices in oil, uses a cast-iron skillet, and covers dropping the eggs and storage.
Chickpea Fatteh: The Levantine Breakfast of Pita, Chickpeas and Garlic Yogurt
A Levantine breakfast, fatteh, made with chickpeas, pita, yogurt and tahini. Differences between the tables of Lebanon, Jordan and Damascus, how to layer without losing the crunch of the bread, substitutes, how to toast pine nuts without scorching, fixes when it goes wrong, and storage.
Gallo Pinto: Costa Rica's Black Bean and Rice Breakfast
Gallo pinto is a Costa Rican breakfast of rice and black beans stir-fried with aromatics, bean cooking liquid and Salsa Lizano. Learn the Central Valley method, how it differs from Nicaraguan, Guanacaste and Limón versions, substitutions, and how to rescue a soggy pan.
Baleadas: Honduran Bean and Cheese Flour Tortillas
Baleadas are Honduran breakfast flour tortillas folded around refried red beans, white cheese and crema. Includes egg or avocado, substitutes and storage.
Nasi Lemak: Malaysia's National Dish, Made in a Rice Cooker
Nasi lemak is Malaysia's national dish: coconut rice with sambal, crispy anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and egg, made in a rice cooker with homemade sambal.
Longganisa: Skinless Filipino Breakfast Sausage
Longganisa is Filipino breakfast sausage; this skinless version uses ground pork, garlic, coconut vinegar, sugar and annatto. Includes cooking and storage.
Chilaquiles Verdes: Mexico's Breakfast of Tortillas in Green Salsa
How to make chilaquiles, the Mexican breakfast of fried tortillas tossed in salsa: chip thickness, reducing salsa verde, runny eggs, tomatillo substitutes, switching to red salsa, adjusting texture, storage, common mistakes and what to serve alongside.
Salteñas: Bolivian Baked Empanadas Filled with Soup
Salteñas are Bolivian baked empanadas filled with soup: a juicy gelatin-set filling in a sweet dough. Covers the repulgue seal, baking at 220°C and storage.
Ackee and Saltfish: How to Make Jamaica's National Dish
A complete guide to ackee and saltfish, Jamaica's national dish: canned ackee folded into salt cod with onion, tomato, thyme, allspice and a whole Scotch bonnet. Covers desalting the fish, handling ackee safely, classic sides, variations and history.
Bubur Ayam: Indonesia's Javanese Chicken Rice Porridge
Bubur ayam is Indonesian chicken congee: porridge in a yellow turmeric chicken broth with fried shallots, sambal and kecap manis. Includes substitutes.
Mohinga: Burmese Catfish and Rice Noodle Soup
Mohinga is Myanmar's breakfast soup: catfish broth with lemongrass and turmeric, thickened with chickpea flour, over thin rice noodles. Covers banana stem.