Question 1

What do Chinese people eat for breakfast?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the region, and most people buy it from a stall on the way to work or school. In the north it is often soy milk, 豆浆 (dòujiāng), with fried dough sticks, 油条 (yóutiáo), steamed buns, 包子 (bāozi), or a jianbing crepe, 煎饼 (jiānbing). Rice porridge, 粥 (zhōu) or 稀饭 (xīfàn), with pickles, 咸菜 (xiáncài), is eaten everywhere. In the south people have noodles or rice noodles, 米粉 (mǐfěn), and in Guangdong dim sum, 点心 (diǎnxin). Tea eggs, 茶叶蛋 (cháyèdàn), and milk, 牛奶 (niúnǎi), are common too.

Question 2

What is breakfast called in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

早饭 (zǎofàn) in everyday speech, 早餐 (zǎocān) on menus and signs, and 早点 (zǎodiǎn) for the food sold at breakfast stalls. In Guangdong and Hong Kong, a breakfast of dim sum is 早茶 (zǎochá), morning tea, or 饮茶 (yǐnchá), drinking tea. In Wuhan, to have breakfast is 过早 (guòzǎo).

Question 3

What is the Chinese fried dough stick?

Accepted Answer

油条 (yóutiáo), oil stick: two strips of dough pressed together and deep-fried until they puff up, eaten dipped in soy milk or congee, or rolled inside a crepe or sticky rice. A legend says they began in the Song dynasty, when people in Hangzhou fried two strips of dough as the traitor Qin Hui and his wife, who had the hero Yue Fei put to death; in Cantonese they are still called 油炸鬼 (yàuh jaahk gwái), fried devils.

Question 4

Is soy milk sweet or salty in China?

Accepted Answer

Both. In the north it is usually drunk sweet or plain. In Shanghai and Taiwan many people have salty soy milk, 咸豆浆 (xián dòujiāng), with vinegar that makes it curdle, soy sauce, chopped pickles, dried shrimp and pieces of dough stick. Tofu pudding, 豆腐脑 (dòufunǎo) or 豆花 (dòuhuā), starts a friendly argument online: northerners eat it salty with gravy, many southerners sweet with syrup.

Question 5

How do you order breakfast in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

At a stall, say 老板，来一个煎饼，加个蛋 (lǎobǎn, lái yí gè jiānbing, jiā gè dàn): boss, one jianbing with an extra egg. Dough sticks are counted with 根 (gēn): 两根油条 (liǎng gēn yóutiáo), two dough sticks; soy milk by the cup, 一杯豆浆 (yì bēi dòujiāng), or bowl, 一碗 (yì wǎn). Add 不要辣 (bú yào là), not spicy, and 打包 (dǎbāo), to take away.

Question 6

What is Cantonese morning tea?

Accepted Answer

早茶 (zǎochá): a pot of tea and small plates of dim sum, 点心 (diǎnxin), with friends or family, often for hours on a weekend morning. The classics are shrimp dumplings, 虾饺 (xiājiǎo), pork shumai, 烧卖 (shāomài), rice noodle rolls, 肠粉 (chángfěn), and barbecued pork buns, 叉烧包 (chāshāobāo). The old phrase is 一盅两件 (yì zhōng liǎng jiàn), one pot of tea and two dishes.

Question 7

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Accepted Answer

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	In Chinese	What it is
Everywhere	豆浆油条 dòujiāng yóutiáo	Soy milk, sweet or salty, with a long fried dough stick to dip in it
Tianjin and Beijing	煎饼果子 jiānbing guǒzi	A crepe with egg, scallion and sauce round a crisp cracker or dough stick, made at a street cart
Beijing	豆汁焦圈 dòuzhī jiāoquān	A sour fermented mung bean drink with crisp fried rings: loved by old Beijingers, a test for everyone else
Shanghai	粢饭团 cífàntuán	Sticky rice rolled round a dough stick; with flatbread, dough sticks and soy milk, one of the city’s “four heavenly kings”
Guangzhou and Hong Kong	早茶 zǎochá	Morning tea: dim sum like 虾饺, 烧卖, 肠粉 and 叉烧包, “one pot of tea, two dishes”
Wuhan	热干面 règānmiàn	Hot dry noodles in sesame paste; in Wuhan, having breakfast is 过早 (guòzǎo)
Xi’an	肉夹馍 ròujiāmó	Flatbread stuffed with chopped stewed pork
Henan	胡辣汤 húlàtāng	A thick, peppery soup, with fried buns or flatbread
Taiwan	蛋饼 dànbǐng	An egg crepe, with rice rolls 饭团 and soy milk, from a breakfast shop, 早餐店

Chinese breakfast

Breakfast across China

Breakfast words

Drinks and porridge

Fried, baked and steamed

Pancakes, rolls and wraps

Noodles, soups and dim sum

On the side

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