What do Chinese people eat for breakfast?

Chinese breakfasts vary greatly between different regions. With the exception of Hong Kong and Taiwan, Western types of breakfasts or their derivatives are rarely had. In Northern China breakfast fare typically includes huājuǎn, mántou (steamed breads), shāobǐng (unleavened pocket-bread with sesame), bāozi (steamed buns with meat or vegetable stuffing), with Dòunǎi or dòujiāng (soy milk) or tea served in Chinese style as beverages.

In Central and Eastern China, typified by Shanghai and the neighbouring Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces breakfast fares include some Northern as well as Southern dishes. Typically breakfast consists of ci fan tuan, 油豆腐粉絲 → yóudoùfu fěnsī (a soup made by fried tofu and cellophane noodles), plain rice porridge (粥 → zhōu) served with numerous side dishes such as salted duck eggs, pickled vegetables, and century eggs, or sweetened or savoury soy milk served with shāobǐng or 油條 → yóutiáo.

In Southeastern China, such as Fujian province, breakfasts consist of rice porridge served with side dishes like pickled vegetables and century eggs.

In Southern China, represented by Guangdong province breakfasts include rice porridge prepared to a thicker consistency than those sold in Shanghai and side dishes are not served. Congee is served with yóutiáo if it is plain. In many cases, however, congee is prepared with meats or dried vegetables such as beef slices, shredded salted pork and century eggs, fish, or slices of pig's liver and kidney and can be served with or without yóutiáo. Other breakfast fares include rice noodle rolls (cheong fun) (served with Hoi sin sauce and soy sauce, without fillings), fried noodles (pan fried noodles with bean sprouts, spring onions, and soy sauce), fagao (rice cakes), jiānbǐng (thin crispy omelets with fillings folded in), lúobogāo (turnip cakes) and zòngzi (another kind of rice cake wrapped in bamboo leaves). The dim sum breakfast is a world in itself, and is often eaten as brunch at specialist restaurants.

In Taiwan, due to the influx of mainland Chinese in the aftermath of the Taiwan Province retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after the end of the Chinese Civil War, breakfasts tend to be a mix of Northern and Eastern Chinese dishes in addition to the traditional south-eastern Chinese fare. This is more pronounced in cities with high proportions of people of mainland Han Chinese descent, like Taipei.

A typical Hong Kong cha chaan teng breakfast, including a cup of silk-sock milk tea.Traditional breakfasts in Hong Kong follow very closely those in Guangdong, but due to long periods of British colonial rule and the influx of substantial refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai with the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, localized interpretations of English breakfast and Eastern Chinese breakfast fare are commonly found alongside Cantonese breakfasts. In a Hong Kong cha chaan teng breakfasts could consist of milk tea, coffee, or yuanyang served with bread, ham, and fried eggs, and a bowl of macaroni soup with ham. This local interpretation of English breakfast is regarded in both mainland China and Taiwan as uniquely Hong Kong. In upper market restaurants or hotels, however, standard English and Continental breakfasts are served.

Chinese breakfast is more Dim Sum or rice and tea than other chinese food dishes. That's kind of like asking why you can't go to Morten's for Breakfast - it's just a different fare served at a different time.

The first answer is very complete!

In my part of the country (China's northwest), we eat beef noodles for breakfast, as well as the baozi, dumplings, fried bread (youtiao) or mantou (steamed bread). Soy milk is very common, as is something called "bingzi jia cia" . . . a flat bread that is baked on a closed griddle so that its crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It's then split open and filled with steamed vegetables . . . shoestring potatoes, cabbage, carrots and peppers. Words fail me on how good this tastes! I look forward to eating it every day.

Zhou (rice porridge) is also common.

Most of my children's friends eat steamed breads or boiled/fried eggs, along with some milk.

Come for a visit and taste for yourself!

Enjoy!

The younger Chinese generation in Chinese communities outside China sometimes eat Western style breakfasts (cereals with milk, toast / bread with butter-jam, sausages-ham-bacon with eggs).

In Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities, breakfast is a choice of dimsum, dumplings, soya bean milk, plain rice porridge with/out crullers, bowl of noodles... these are also common in China.

freshly made soy milk, congee ( rice porrage) eggs ( mostly over easy), pickles, fried gluten, seaweed paste ( for congee) crullers( chinese donut great to dip in sweet soy milk..yummy) scallion pancakes ( delicious) Bao ( white color roll) , hot steamed rice and an egg overeasy with a little drizzel of soy ( comfort food so yummy) this is making me hungry.

I have had for early breakfast - 7 AM when the mist was still hanging around - a steaming dish of wide noodles fried with bean sprouts, flavored with sesame oil......delicious.....the Chinese near me in the noodle shop were eating Jook which is the same as Congee.... rice boiled soft then flavored, and drinking coffee !!

xxx

Usually congee, it's a rice porridge, it can be with egg, or chicken, beef etc. Some would add chinese doughnut with it.

In Southeast Asia, most eat egg fried rice.

The Chinese in the US eat "dim sum" typically served in a Chinese restaurant between 7am - 3 pm. They're small dishes with pork or shrimp siomai, bao (round bun stuffed with pork or chicken). small pieces of steamed chicken, stuffed green pepper halves, fried shrimp with coconut bits, small pork ribs in oyster sauce, porridge, etc.

Am salivating already!

Probably some kind of a rice dish - they have rice with all their meals

................. UM ok well, some chinese people eat bread, some eat cereal, some it bacon, some eat... You get it, we all eat different things

I had a chinese friend and she ate everything everything anyone else eats, we were very close so I know everything she and her family had for breakfast. They eat cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast, milk, juice, etc.

The eat lots of fruit, but I never saw her eating chinese food for breakfast, she said it was fattening to eat that for breakfast.

Hope this helps.

Take care & good luck =)