Being a melting pot of cultures, South Africa doesn’t quite have one traditional breakfast. To you, the makings of a delicious breakfast may be a classic fry up, a bowl of mielie pap or oats. But our idea of a typical breakfast may not be as universal as we imagine. From French croissants to Vietnamese pho, we explore traditional breakfasts from around the world.

SAVOURY TRADITIONAL BREAKFASTS

MEXICO – CHILAQUILES

We’re starting this breakfast tour off with a bang and taking it all the way to Mexico for a plate of chilaquiles. This is the ultimate breakfast dish because you get your ‘traditional’ breakfast, but with a delicious twist.

Chilaquiles is made using repurposed tortilla, tossing it in salsa and adding a sunny-side-up egg with guacamole on the side. This vibrant dish is served with a sauce of your choosing, salsa verde (green) or salsa roja (red). Whichever you pick, you’re in for a flavour explosion.

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ITALY – EGGS IN PURGATORY

The next stop on our breakfast world tour is Purgatory. Just kidding, but there is much speculation around the name of this dish. The most consistent theory is that it was inspired by Catholicism, where the eggs represent souls and the bubbling, spicy red sauce is symbolises fiery ‘hell’…

Another name for this dish is Italian Shakshouka, a beloved dish with many variations. This version is a traditional Italian breakfast, made using leftover pasta sauce and adding spices and chorizo, then poaching the eggs in the sauce. As implied, it’s sinfully delicious and one ‘helluva’ dish.

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VIETNAM – PHO

Having soup for breakfast might sound odd, but given the humidity in Vietnam it actually makes sense. If you’ve never tried pho, it’s basically a soup with a broth-like consistency. Pho contains several delicious ingredients like rice noodles, star anise, ginger, cilantro and Thai basil. It has incredible nutritional value and is packed with rich flavour.

So, next time you have a hangover and decide to have a greasy breakfast to feel human again, a bowl of pho may be just what you need!

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CHINA – CONGEE AND EGGS

Rice is a staple in many Asian countries, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s the main ingredient for the traditional breakfast dish known as, congee or rice porridge. This dish is consumed in many traditional Chinese households.

Using fragrant jasmine rice as its canvas, congee is incredibly versatile and can be served as a sweet, savoury dish or in its simplest form. Congee is usually layered with a fried or a hard-boiled egg. Depending on preference, it could be served with ham hock, scallion, dried shrimp, crispy onions or even goji berries. If you’re a fan of rice pudding or risotto, this dish is definitely worth trying.

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TURKEY – ÇILBIR

Çilbir (pronounced chl-br) or more commonly known as Turkish eggs by non-Turks, is probably one of the traditional breakfasts you’re familiar with. This delicious dish consists of poached eggs, served on a bed of luscious garlic yoghurt and is served with pide bread. If you’re not sure what pide bread is, imagine focaccia and pita had a love child – that love child would be pide bread.

What makes this dish undeniably delicious is that it’s topped with sizzling hot paprika-infused butter and chilli flakes to garnish. Before you cast any aversions, we’ll have you know that this dish is totally worth the morning garlic breath.

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BULGARIA – BANITSA

If you thought Bulgaria’s most consumed breakfast would be Bulgarian yoghurt, it’s not. It is however a component of this breakfast dish. Banitsa is a traditional breakfast phyllo pastry dish that’s filled with whisked egg, yoghurt, flour and Bulgarian white-brined cheese. It has a couple of variations, using different fillings like spinach and other tasty vegetable fillings.

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THE UNITED KINGDOM – FRY-UP

Who doesn’t love a good family fry-up? It’s quick, easy, hearty and you essentially get to build your breakfast plate. Most fry-ups traditional fry-ups contain eggs, bacon, sausage and baked beans on the side.

What makes a British fry-up unique is the addition of black pudding – a regional blood sausage, normally served in Great Britain and Ireland. While black pudding has always been a fry-up essential, more Brits are swapping their black pudding and traditional fry-ups for eggs, avo, cherry tomatoes and toast.

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SWEET TRADITIONAL BREAKFASTS

FRANCE – CROISSANT

After learning that croissants might not originate from France, we’ve questioned everything we know to be true. If you follow the trail of flakey croissant crumbs, it will lead you to Vienna, Austria, where the earliest crescent croissant-like pastries were discovered. Although the croissant’s origins are widely debated, the French term ‘viennoiseries’ is used to refer to leavened baked goods from Vienna. There are a couple of theories on its origins, all we know is that it’s universally delicious.

Apart from croissants, the French typically like to keep breakfasts simple, either with pastries or tartines served with cold meats. Coffee or fresh orange juice with the addition of ginger is also commonly served with a French traditional breakfast.

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SPAIN – CHURROS CON CHOCOLATE

If there’s one country that knows how to do dessert-for-breakfast, it’s Spain. Traditional breakfasts in Spain differ regionally, from potato omelettes to grilled croissants to empanadas, but churros con chocolate remains a national favourite!

If you’re not a ‘morning person’ we reckon this deep-fried, cinnamon-sprinkled sugar pastry is enough to change your ways and we can one hundred percent back this up with science. Churros con chocolate is served with a dark chocolate dip, and dark chocolate contains endorphins. So if you’re a grouch in the morning, pop a churros in your mouth!

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MOROCCO – BEGHIR OR SEMOLINA PANCAKES

Moroccan traditional breakfasts differ from house to house. Most prefer to have an assortment of olive oil, raw honey, cheese to accompany their bread. Another popular breakfast in Morocco is semolina pancakes (beghir), which are known for their distinctive holes, given by the yeast component. Beghir is normally served with raw honey – sounds like one delicious breakfast treat.

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CANADA – TRADITIONAL BREAKFAST

Canadians customarily eat a traditional breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, toast or pancakes; if not a humble bowl of oatmeal. Pancakes are served with maple syrup. In some parts of Canada like Quebec, they would have a traditional breakfast with a side of baked beans, similar to a full English breakfast.

The bacon used in Canadian traditional breakfasts is referred to as ‘peameal bacon’. This is owing to the age-old practice of rolling cured bacon in ground yellow peas to extend its shelf life. Peameal bacon is a delicious pork cut taken from pork belly.

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AMERICA – PANCAKES

Every country has its version of a pancake and what the Americans consider pancakes, South Africans and Brits call ‘flapjacks’. American-style pancakes are usually fluffy, thick, stacked ceiling-high and served fresh off the griddle. This all-American breakfast is traditionally served with a knob of butter, streaky bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh berries and excessive amounts of syrup. Yes, please!

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SOUTH AFRICA – MIELIE PAP

We forgot to mention that this breakfast world tour is a round-trip, so that leaves us on familiar soil, in South Africa. Being a culturally diverse nation, there is no one traditional breakfast in South Africa. Some might call a full-English, the breakfast of champions, but mielie pap has undoubtedly sustained us as a nation.

Mielie pap or maize meal could be served either sweet or savoury, depending on the meal. It’s normally served with sugar and sometimes a knob of butter and a dash of milk or maas – a thick, naturally soured milk. Mielie pap is incredibly diverse in terms of consistency and texture. It could be thick, runny, smooth or clumped (krummelpap). It’s entirely up to you!

If you’re belly is rumbling, check out our breakfast recipe round up.