Unusual breakfast ideas

August 28, 2008 2:56 AM

I'm looking for unusual/exotic/foreign breakfast ideas - I've become tired of the usual cereal option, and would like something new. Doesn't matter if it needs cooking, because I have plenty of time, and should preferably be relatively healthy.
posted by PTCHFRKR to food & drink (39 answers total)

ooh, try cereal with orange juice instead of milk. and also try eggs avec steamed tomatoes.
posted by parmanparman at 3:10 AM on August 28, 2008

I recently read about my muesli in the guardian. they apparently let you mix "your dream cereal" out of "70 organic ingredients." I'm quoting them as I haven't tried this service out yet but I'm tempted. going gluten- and high-fructose free can only help.
posted by krautland at 3:15 AM on August 28, 2008

Slather some refried beans (I love Kuner's Refried Black Beans with Lime Juice) and salsa on a tortilla. Heat in microwave for about 1 minute. Top with scrambled egg.
posted by marsha56 at 3:34 AM on August 28, 2008

Fried rice?
posted by iamabot at 3:47 AM on August 28, 2008

Scrambled Egg, Hashbrowns, Bacon/Sausage, and Cheese between whole wheat toast.
posted by iamabot at 3:51 AM on August 28, 2008

The wikipedia page on breakfast has some great ideas from all over the world- some healthier than others, but all interesting.

I had my own version of a Japanese breakfast this morning - leftover rice from last night's dinner with furikake and home made lightly-pickled cucumbers (just sliced thinly in a small bowl into a marinade of rice vinegar and a little sugar - I keep this going in the fridge for a couple of weeks, just adding more cucumbers as they're eaten and sometimes thinly sliced onion), all topped with a fried egg. I rarely eat typical breakfast foods like pastries, cereal, etc. because I feel like something savory is more satisfying and keeps me feeling full for longer. If there are leftovers from dinner, I almost always have them for breakfast the next day- I'll often take leftover chicken, steak, etc., and have it on a tortilla rolled up with a little salsa and lettuce. Leftover pasta is good too, as is curry.

In other words, don't limit yourself to breakfast food. Anything healthy and filling that you eat any other time of the day will make a great breakfast. My only concession to the fact that it's breakfast is that I try to avoid things that are too greasy because they make me feel sluggish, and I try to avoid things that are too messy (like soup or spaghetti with tomato sauce) because in my half-asleep state, I will spill it down the front of my clothes and make myself late.
posted by cilantro at 4:01 AM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm not a big fan of muesli but will definitely try something Japanese/with rice.
posted by PTCHFRKR at 4:14 AM on August 28, 2008

Who says breakfast has to be breakfast food? My sister, when she was living in India, always had leftover curry for breakfast wrapped in either a crépe or other flatbread. tasty, filling, etc.
posted by gwenlister at 4:42 AM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

Pho.
posted by saladin at 4:54 AM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

When I was in Cambodia a few years ago, I used to get a savoury rice noodle soup for breakfast. If you had your stock frozen in individual portions, it'd probably take about ten minutes of effort over the course of twenty minutes to prepare something similar. I found that it was a great start to the day.
posted by Kreiger at 5:01 AM on August 28, 2008

Costa Rican Gallo Pinto?
posted by 4Lnqvv at 5:05 AM on August 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

Daal (lentils) and rice. It's eaten in many different forms across South Asia and it really is the breakfast of champions. You can make a milder version for breakfast with a bit less chilli and garlic. The lentils are full of protein and the rice gives you plenty of complex carbs. If I'm expecting a long, difficult day, I start it with rice and daal.
posted by [ixia] at 5:06 AM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

Bara brith (Welsh tea bread)
Pikelets with a variety of toppings
Toast wy of bara brith with baked plums and yoghurt ice cream
All kinds of porridge
As-You-Like-It Breakfast Casserole
Traditional Dutch breakfast of ham, cheese and bread

*dashes off to kitchen to make some porridge...*
posted by ceri richard at 5:10 AM on August 28, 2008

I agree that breakfast can be whatever food you want it to. It sometimes feels kind of weird, say, grilling fajitas for breakfast, but it's often a way more satisfying meal than cereal or whatever crappy pastries they have across the street from the office.

Upma (also spelled uppama) is kind of like a savory cream of wheat, and seriously delicious.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:18 AM on August 28, 2008

Poached eggs are incredibly simple to make once you get a hang of it. SmittenKitchen has a great step by step how to make perfect poached eggs. Put that on top of a nice piece of wheat bread, toasted and lightly buttered, and have a nice side-salad, and you've got a breakfast that is delicious and will seriously last at least 6 hours.

That being said, I am now going to eat my Low-Fat Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart from the box I keep in my filing cabinet.
posted by banannafish at 5:38 AM on August 28, 2008 [4 favorites]

Kreiger: Do you have a recipe for that?
posted by PTCHFRKR at 5:52 AM on August 28, 2008

Miso soup.
posted by fire&wings at 6:01 AM on August 28, 2008

Kedgeree is an old fashioned British breakfast, as are jugged kippers. Both are great. And seconding curry or dahl and rice.
posted by tallus at 6:14 AM on August 28, 2008

If I want a wierdo breakfast, I have a naan with some homemade chutney on it. And homemade chutney doesn't have to be mango preserves, either. I've made chutneys out of mint, grapes, apples, and coconut.
posted by LN at 6:16 AM on August 28, 2008

Breakfast sandwich! Pumpernickel toast, cream cheese, fried egg, salsa verde. YUM!
posted by grateful at 6:19 AM on August 28, 2008

Migas is magic. My favorite is a bread-based version that includes chorizo, eggs, fresh grapes, and lots of paprika (kind of like this).
posted by ourobouros at 6:31 AM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

I like pickled herring with breakfast sometimes. (Minnesota residency requires this.) Bonus: healthy protein, fish oils, etc.

Typical Indonesian hotel/homestay breakfast: fried rice, topped with fresh cucumber and tomato slices, a fried egg, and a nice, fresh, crispy rice cracker (krupuk) on top of that. If you want the fresh rice cracker experience, look for them at Chinese/Asian groceries in your area--they're tons of fun to fry up on your own.
posted by gimonca at 6:33 AM on August 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

Garifuna pancakes are fantastic. Just add cinnamon and banana to the usual pancake mix. The texture and the flavor are very different and really nice.
posted by micayetoca at 6:44 AM on August 28, 2008

Umeboshi? (Eaten by samurai for breakfast to assist virility.)
Balut? (NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Do not view this page unless you have a strong stomach... or you're a filipino who eats it all the time anyway.)
posted by Citrus at 6:52 AM on August 28, 2008

Wow...I have nothing to add other than the thought of having Balut upon waking (nevermind any OTHER time of day) is making me gag up my own breakfast. Good lord.
posted by spicynuts at 7:02 AM on August 28, 2008

When I was much younger and learning to make dishes from other ethnic traditions I was browsing in a Middle Eastern market (in Columbus, OH) and picked up a bag of dried chickpeas and a jar of imported tahini and took them to the counter. The clerk was very excited that I (who look about as white bread middle-American as they come) planned to make some hummus, and assured me that it was very best eaten for breakfast. (Which of course blew my 21-y.o. brain.)
posted by aught at 7:04 AM on August 28, 2008

i was in sweden a few years ago and some of the dudes i was working with their had some kind of caviar in a tube (like a toothpaste tube) -- i assume it was not terribly fancy stuff because it was in the fridge at a not-very-fancy sound studio -- and they ate it on toast for breakfast almost every day.
posted by blapst at 7:41 AM on August 28, 2008

Yogurt. With nuts and fresh fruit or jam if you like. Laban or hummus with pita. Bacon sandwiches.
posted by QIbHom at 7:41 AM on August 28, 2008

You may be interested in this previous question.
posted by ssg at 8:02 AM on August 28, 2008

Unfortunately, no. It tasted a lot like a mild Pho, basically.

If I wanted to make it at home, I'd make a stock with some meaty beef bones (oxtail or shank would be fine), some ginger and onions that I had scorched under a broiler in the way that you would for Pho, and some black peppercorns. I wouldn't put in any of the star anise or other Pho spices though.
For the rice noodles, just get yourself some of the rice stick noodles that are about linguine-sized, and soak them in cold water for about ten minutes before boiling them until they're as soft as you like them.
To serve the soup, put the noodles in a bowl, ladle some stock over them, then garnish with whatever you have on hand...leftover beef, green onions, some fresh chillies, fresh herbs if you've got them, etc. Think of the bowl of soup sort of like a wet sandwich...you can put nearly anything on there.
They used to give us little pastries that were like unsweetened, icing-free eclairs when I was there, which were awesome to dip into the soup...any kind of small bun would be nearly as good.

-----

2 lbs. meaty beef bones
2 fist-sized yellow onions
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
1 piece of kombu, rinsed briefly under a tap
1 tsp. black peppercorns

rice stick noodles

garnishes

Halve the onions, and scorch them and the ginger under your broiler. Cover the onions, ginger, peppercorns, and bones [and kombu, if you have it] with water in a stockpot, and simmer for as long as you can. I would say a minimum of three hours, and up to five if you have time.

Once you're finished simmering, strain the stock, let it cool, and parcel it out into 1 cup freezer containers...alternatively, reduce the stock down to about a fifth of it's volume, and freeze it in ice-cube trays.

When you get up in the morning, stick the rice noodles in some cold water to soak, and chop your garnishes up. After the noodles have soaked for ten minutes, boil them until you think they're ready. While they're boiling, heat your stock up in the microwave. Once the noodles are ready, dump them in the stock, and garnish them.
posted by Kreiger at 8:05 AM on August 28, 2008 [4 favorites]

Dim Sum!
posted by shadowfelldown at 8:20 AM on August 28, 2008

Kreiger: Thanks.
Shadowfelldown: Too complicated, I think.
Citrus: Couldn't handle that, least of all in the morning.
posted by PTCHFRKR at 8:30 AM on August 28, 2008

I like pinto beans with a tortilla or two and fried or scrambled eggs.

Pinto beans are completely easy to make. Rinse one pound dried pinto beans. Add enough water to cover with about two inches to spare. Soak overnight. Drain. Add a piece of salt pork with slices cut into it and a couple whole peeled cloves of garlic. Cover with water. Simmer until done, adding more water of needed, probably somewhere around an hour, but go by the consistency of the beans because I never time it. They should be firm but creamy. I'm told that you can also blow on them: if the skin splits, they're done.

Anyhow, that will keep in the fridge for a while, and makes for several hearty meals.
posted by lore at 8:43 AM on August 28, 2008

Chinese rice congee. Very filling and can be eaten with yummy fried dough. Keeps overnight as well.
posted by monocot at 9:29 AM on August 28, 2008

How about Idlis and Sambhar, staples in Southern India.
posted by sk381 at 12:41 PM on August 28, 2008

Shakshuka. You could make a batch of the tomato sauce ahead of time and then add the eggs in the morning. With pita warmed in the oven on the side to scoop up the sauce.
posted by lemonwheel at 7:41 PM on August 28, 2008

The delicious and filling traditional Turkish Breakfast consists of bread with butter and jam or honey, olives, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, soft cheese (like feta), a cold hard-boiled egg and tea. It is the perfect mix of sweet and savory, light and filling. Also, if you boil the egg the night before it is very easy to throw together in the morning.
posted by JennyK at 10:54 PM on August 28, 2008

Couscous.
posted by Iridic at 6:51 AM on August 29, 2008

2nding the Turkish Breakfast idea. I usually also keep a supply of a dipping sauce- plain yogurt and a lot of garlic. (Basically tzatziki without the sliced cucumbers)- it goes great with bread/pita.
posted by Seeba at 10:56 PM on November 20, 2008