Chinese Breakfast : Congee and Crullers

Congee, crullers and Chinese tea is a good combination if you want a typical Chinese breakfast.

Congee is a rice poridge, either sweet or savoury, that you can eat by itself or cook with vegetables and meat.

For a whole dedicated page of congee cooking methods, you will probably find this website very useful.

If you feel like a savoury congee, you will probably love this chicken congee recipe:

Chicken Congee

Ingredients

• 1 pullet (disjointed)
•  6 cups of water
• 4 sliced spring onions
• 1 teaspoon of minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1/4 cup of sherry
• 1/2 cup of raw long grain rice (washed and drained)
• parsley
• soy sauce

Preparation:

Combine the chicken, water, spring onions and ginger in a saucepan.

Bring to the boil.

Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the salt and the sherry, then cover.

After 20 minutes, remove the chicken from the soup, remove its skin and chop the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding the bones.

Stir the rice into the soup; cover and cook for 35 minutes. Stir from time to time.

After the 35 minutes, add the chicken and cook for another 5 minutes.

Place 1 tablespoon soy sauce in each soup bowl and spoon the congee over it. Garnish with parsley.

If you want to try a sweet recipe, the sweet potato congee, is delicious !

Sweet Potato Congee

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of water
• 1 cup of rice (washed and drained)
• 1 cup of sweet potato (peeled and diced)
• 4 tablespoons of honey
• 1 slice of fresh peeled ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick

Preparation:

In a deep saucepan, combine all the ingredients (except the honey), and bring to a boil – stirring often.

Reduce heat to low simmer for one hour – stirring often. After an hour, you should have a poridge-like consistency.

Remove from heat, remove the cinnamon stick, and stir in the honey.

Ladle into bowls and serve.

Crullers

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of frozen bread dough
• oil for deep frying

Preparation:

Thaw the bread dough overnight in the fridge. About 1 hour before using, remove it from the firdge and tear the dough into 24 pieces.

Roll each piece between your hands to form a long sausage.

Let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Heat the oil for deep-frying. When the oil is ready, take each strip of dough and putll, twisting both ends before dropping it into the oil.

Deep fry until golden brown.

Remove and drain on paper towels.

You now have a typical chinese breakfast, after all the effort, you can now enjoy it with a cup of chinese tea !

Moroccan breakfast

My favorite Moroccan breakfast is composed of Msemmen, Laasida, and of course Moroccan mint tea.

Msemmen

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of semolina
• 3/4 cup of oil
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
• 1 to 2 cups of water depending on the quality of absorption of your flour
• Cinnamon (optional)

Preparation :

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Slowly add the water little by little and mix until itis not powdery anymore. You know you’ve reached the right consistency when you’re able to make a ball with your dough. If you need to, don’t hesitate to add a little bit of flour.

To knead the dough by hand, you need to use energetic and quick strokes. Kneading by hand takes approximately 20 minutes.

To speed up the kneading you can also use a machine with the special kneading head.

You will get a very elastic and sticky dough; add a little bit of flour to make a ball out of the dough. Your dough is now very elastic and malleable.

In a bowl, add the oil to the butter. Dip your fingers in the oily mixture and squeeze the dough (see picture) to make small balls of the size of golf balls.

Let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

To roll your Msemmen, you will need the oil and butter mixture and some semolina.

Spread some oil mixture on your work surface. Take one dough ball and gently flatten and widen it until you get a large and thin circle.

Sprinkle a pinch of semolina on your circle. Fold the upper part of the circle towards its centre. Fold the lower part of the circle towards its centre. It will look like an empty folded tortilla (see picture).

Sprinkle a pinch of semolina, then fold the right side towards its centre, then the left side towards its centre to get a 3 to 4 inch square. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once all your dough balls are turned into small squares, take the first square dough you made and gently spread it with your fingertips until you get a thin rectangular.

Cook on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes on each side. You know it is cooked enough when both sides are browned.

Once cooked, you can sprinkle right away some cinnamon on the top. When you’re done with all your dough, open your Msemmen, put some honey inside, roll it and it’s ready to be eaten !

Laasida

• 6 cups of water
• 1 pack of original plain couscous 10oz
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Serve with butter and honey

Preparation:

On medium heat, put the water in the pan and add the couscous.

Cover your pan and let it cook until the water is boiling.

After 10 minutes, the water is boiled and the semolina is getting thicker. Add the salt and the butter.

For the next 20 to 30 minutes, let the semolina cook on low heat and stir it from time to time. After 30 minutes on low heat, you will get a thick consistency, similar to the mashed potato consistency.

Serve immidiately in a bowl, with butter and honey.

Mint Tea

If you want to make your own Moroccan mint tea, you will need :

• 10 fresh mint springs, plus 4 to garnish
• 3 teaspoons of green tea
• 3 table spoons of sugar
• 4 cups of water

Preparation:

Boil the water. Pour a small amount in the teapot and swish around to warm the pot.

Combine the mint, the green tea and the sugar in the teapot, then fill it with the rest of the hot water.

Let the tea brew, stirring the leaves once or twice for three minutes.

Fill one glass with the tea, then pour it back in the pot. Repeat a second time to help dissolve and distribute the sugar.

You can now pour the tea in the different cups.

Your tea should be sweet and fresh. If it is too bitter to your taste, add some sugat; if it is too vibrant, add some green tea.

Garnish each cup with the remaining springs of mint.

Enjoy your Moroccan Breakfast !!

Mexican Huevos Rancheros

One of my favourite Breakfasts is the Mexican Huevos Rancheros.

I found this nice recipe here.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped (about a half cup)
• 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, if you can get it (or 1 -2 large fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, when in season)
• 1/2 6-ounce can diced green Anaheim chiles
• Chipotle chili powder, adobo sauce, or ground cumin to taste (optional)
• 4 corn tortillas
• Butter
• 4 fresh eggs
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Method

 

1 Make the sauce first by softening the onions in a little olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once translucent, add the tomatoes and the juice the tomatoes are packed in. Break up the tomatoes with your fingers as you put them in the pan. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them first, then add. Note that fresh tomatoes will take longer to cook as canned tomatoes are already cooked to begin with. Add chopped green chilies. Add additional chili to taste, either chipotle chili powder, adobo sauce, regular chili powder, or even ground cumin. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let simmer while you do the rest of the cooking, stirring occasionally. Reduce to warm after it has been simmering for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed.

 

2 Prepare the tortillas. Heat the oven to a warm 150°F, place serving plates in the oven to keep warm. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium high, coating the pan with the oil. One by one (or more if your pan is big enough) heat the tortillas in the pan, a minute or two on each side, until they are heated through, softened, and pockets of air bubble up inside of them. Then remove them and stack them on one of the warming plates in the oven to keep warm while you continue cooking the rest of the tortillas and the eggs.

 

3 Fry the eggs. Using the same skillet as was used for the tortillas, add a little butter to the pan, about two teaspoons for 4 eggs. Heat the pan on medium high heat. Crack 4 eggs into the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for runny yolks, more for firmer eggs.

To serve, spoon a little of the sauce onto a warmed plate. Top with a tortilla, then a fried egg. Top with more sauce, sprinkle with cilantro if desired. Serve either one or two tortillas per plate depending on how much you want to eat.

Makes 2-4 servings depending on your appetite.

Note, some people like refried beans with their huevos rancheros. Just spread some warmed refried beans over the tortillas before adding the egg and salsa.

 Enjoy !!! I think I know what I’ll have for breakfast on Sunday morning !

Traditionnal Japanese Breakfast

A traditional Japanese breakfast is based on rice, seafood, and fermented foods. A typical Japanese restaurant breakfast presentation would be miso soup, rice with toasted nori (dried seaweed), or other garnishes, natto (a type of fermented soybeans), rice porridge, grilled fish, tamagoyaki (omelette roll) or raw egg, tsukemono (mixed vegetables) pickles and green tea. 

Traditional Japanese breakfast is served in a unique way. Japanese food is served in bowls, wherein the bowl of rice is be placed to the left of the person and the miso soup to his/her right. Westernization has influenced the Japanese cuisine. But, even today, most of the the Japanese love to have their breakfast made in a traditional way.  

Traditional Miso Soup

Miso soup is one of the common dishes that is served with steamed rice for breakfast. Miso is a soybean paste that is used in many Japanese dishes. The type of miso and the type of ingredients used in the soup will change the way it tastes. Here is a recipe of miso soup made with tofu.

Ingredients

• 1 block tofu
• 2 green onions
• 3-4 tablespoons miso paste
• 3 cups dashi soup stock

Preparation

Chop the tofu into cubes and the green onions into small pieces. Take a heavy bottom pan, put in the dashi soup stock and heat it on medium flame. When it starts boiling, lower the flame and add the tofu pieces and let it cook for some time. Take some dashi soup stock in a small bowl and mix it with the miso till it dissolves well in the liquid. Pour this mixture back into the pan and stir it slowly. Put off the flame before it starts boiling and add in the chopped green onions.

Miso soup can be made with other vegetables like Chinese cabbage, Japanese pumpkin, mushrooms, natto, potatoes and daikon radish. Rolled omelet and miso soup are the main dishes served with rice in a traditional Japanese breakfast. Pickles form an important part of the breakfast menu and the Japanese prefer the very salty ones. They are made from cabbage, cucumber, etc. Also, salmon fish is popularly eaten for breakfast by the Japanese.

Tamagoyaki

 

Tamagoyaki is a rolled Japanese omelette and is sweet to taste. Here is the procedure to make this delicious omelette. A rectangular pan is the best to make rolled omelette; however, you can also use the normal non-stick pan.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons mirin (similar to sake, but contains less alcohol content)
• ½-1 teaspoon salt or as per taste
• 3 tablespoon dashi soup stock
• 1 teaspoon soy salt
• vegetable oil

Preparation

Take a large mixing bowl and beat the eggs in it. Add sugar, mirin, soy sauce, salt and dashi soup stock and mix till it blends well. Heat the pan with little oil and pour a part of the egg mixture into the pan. When it starts setting, roll it and shift it to one side of the pan. Again pour a part of the egg mixture in the remaining part of the pan and let it spread under the first roll. When this is half-cooked, roll it over the first one. Continue doing this until all the egg mixture is used. After the omelet is fully cooked, take it from the pan and cut it into pieces. If you are using a normal frying pan, place the rolled omelet onto a bamboo sheet and cut the edges that comes out.

Bon Appétit !

Full English Breakfast

For the traditional English Breakfast, you will need (for 2 serves) :

– 6 good qualitypork and leek sausages

– 4 field mushrooms, wiped

– 2 small tomatoes – scored on top

– 250g smoked dry cured back bacon

– 170g black pudding, sliced

– 1 x 420g can of baked beans

– 2 knobs of butter

– 6 eggs, preferably free-range or organic, cracked into a bowl and beaten

– sea salt and fresly ground black pepper

– 1/2 a loaf of thick-sliced bread, for toasting

Preparation :

Preheat the grill to high. Set the oven to its lowest heat and pop 2 plates in it to keep warm. Put the sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes, scored-side up, on to a large grill pan and place under the grill, about 5cm from the heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning the sausages once or twice.

Add the bacon and black pudding to the pan and grill for 5 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, until they are cooked and crispy. Put the baked beans in a saucepan and warm gently for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place a non-stick saucepan over a low heat. Melt 1 knob of butter in the pan, add the eggs, season to taste and stir gently until just scrambled. Remove from the heat. Put the bread in the toaster, and arrange the sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes with the bacon, black pudding and beans on the warm plates. When the toast pops up, butter it, then put a slice on each plate and top with scrambled egg. Serve with HP sauce or tomato ketchup on the side, and a pot of tea.