Breakfast noodle dishes

[bhsimon]

As far as I understand, noodles are a common breakfast dish throughout south-east Asia. Curry laksa, for example, is a breakfast noodle dish in Penang, Malaysia; commonly called curry mee by the locals. This is just one example I know of first hand, but I'm certain there are many others.

 

Do you know of other breakfast noodle dishes? Or books on the subject?

 

Keep in mind that I'm interested in noodle dishes specifically, not just any type of breakfast. I'll keep that broader topic for a different thread.

[Beebs]

When we were growing up, my mom would sometimes cook chicken broth noodles with a poached egg in it.  The broth was usually the leftover liquid from a steamed or poached chicken.  Other times, we'd get noodles in leftover Chinese-style broth soups, or instant ramen. With a poached egg. The poached egg is the best part.

[andiesenji]

Several decades ago, in 1959 and '60, I lived with a family of Orthodox Jews and one breakfast dish was noodle kugel, delicious, filling and good hot or cold.

[liuzhou]

Noodles in various forms are commonly eaten for breakfast across China. It seems like every town has its own specialty. 

 

They aren't specifically 'breakfast' noodles. They can be and are eaten all day. At the end of the lane in which I live is a noodle shop. It is open from 6am until 4am, only closing for those two hours for cleaning. Early mornings there are queues to get in (thy only have a few tables), but there are people there all the time. (In the middle of the night it is mainly taxi drivers and cops who frequent it.

 

They only sell three dishes.

 

猪脚粉 zhū jiǎo fěn  - Pig's Foot Rice Noodles

 

 

Dry Dredged Rice Noodles

 

鲜肉粉 xiān ròu fěn - Fresh Pork Noodles

 

These dishes originated in the nearby town of Guilin, which is also famous for its Guilin Rice Noodles. The rice noodles are served in a soup containing slivers of pork, peanuts, chile, scallion and pickled vegetables.

 

桂林米粉 guì lín mǐ fěn - Guilin Rice Noodles

 

Another favourite is Old Friend's Noodles from the regional capital Nanning

 

老友粉 lǎo yǒu fěn - Old Friend Noodles

 

But, by far the most popular here in Liuzhou is the local dish, Liuzhou Luosifen. It is rice noodles in a very spicy stock stock made from pork bones and river snails, with added pickled vegetables, dried tofu skin, fresh green vegetables, peanuts and chilli.

 

柳州螺蛳粉 liǔ zhōu luó sī fěn - Liuzhou Snail Noodles

 

The deal with all these dishes is that you make your choice (which dish and what size of serving) and buy a ticket at the desk at the door. You take the ticket to the kitchen window at the back and they prepare your noodles, serving them on a tray. Nearby, there is a table containing bowls of extras for you to add to taste - chile, coriander (cilantro), pickled things, etc.

 

Extras

 

More extras - different restaurant

 

You will notice that all the dishes I list are rice noodles. These are the most common in southern China. North China does the wheat noodles. 

Edited August 12, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[annachan]

In Hong Kong, I always love a plate of soy sauce noodle (thin noodles, bean sprout, green onion and soy sauce mixture) with porridge. Macaroni in soup with various toppings (fried egg, satay beef, ham/spam, etc) is also popular. There are also rice noodle rolls, steamed or stirred fried.

[ChrisTaylor]

Pho has served as Sunday breakfast on multiple occasions. It's nothing if not a steadying start to the day.

[haresfur]

One of my father's go-to breakfasts was fried spaghetti.  Fry up left over spaghetti until it is starting to get a bit crispy and scramble eggs into it.  I often embellish with spices, spring onions, garlic, or what ever else is left over. 

[huiray]

I gather you are interested in noodle dishes that are eaten ONLY for breakfast and at no other time?

 

(NB: The "Curry Laksa" in Penang you cite, a.k.a. "curry mee" as called in Penang, yes (which would be of the lemak kind, and NOT assam laksa), is certainly eaten in one or another form - and there are many variants - in many places around SE Asia throughout the day.  I don't know where you ate in Penang but my recollection from an earlier time is that even in Penang "curry mee" would be available in some places into lunch and maybe even beyond as long as the vendor was not sold out, or if he/she did not need to vacate the stall to make way for another vendor towards the lunch hour.  In hotel restaurants the situation might be different too? "Curry mee" can be found even at night in at least some places, like this one, even nowadays in Penang...while other places (like this one) straddle the breakfast-into-lunch period, I believe.)  (See here for a discussion of "curry laksa"/"laksa" concentrating on Penang – K.L. – Malacca – Singapore)

Edited August 12, 2014 by huiray (log)

[liuzhou]

 

I gather you are interested in noodle dishes that are eaten ONLY for breakfast and at no other time?

 

Is there any dish anywhere, in any cuisine or culture, which is only eaten for breakfast?

 

My daughter, for example, loves a bowl of cornflakes and cold milk just before bedtime, so that can't be a breakfast dish any more. I tend to like a bacon sandwich in the late evenings. 

 

Also, in China and the parts of SE Asia that I know, there is very little, if any, difference between breakfast and lunch. The same dishes turn up at both. They may even be recycled in the evening.

 

In Asia noodles can be eaten at any time. I might go for a bowl soon. It's 7:30 pm.

Edited August 12, 2014 by liuzhou (log)

[huiray]

Is there any dish anywhere, in any cuisine or culture, which is only eaten for breakfast?

 

 

Which is why I asked the OP about it.  If he had replied in the affirmative, the short answer would be that there is no such thing. ;-)  And also why I mentioned that "curry laksa" is eaten throughout the day and into the night,** not just as breakfast as he understands it.

 

** which was also my personal experience, growing up in SE Asia.

Edited August 12, 2014 by huiray (log)

[liuzhou]

Which is why I asked the OP about it.  If he had replied in the affirmative, the short answer would be that there is no such thing. ;-)  And also why I mentioned that "curry laksa" is eaten throughout the day and into the night,** not just as breakfast as he understands it.

 

** which is also my personal experience, growing up in SE Asia.

 

I wasn't disputing what you said. I was supporting it.

In the meantime a friend has just called me and suggested a visit to a Hunan noodle place she has found. Tomorrow morning's breakfast sorted. I will get back.. 

[huiray]

OK, here's a listing off the top of my head of stuff that straddles breakfast-lunch and beyond...hopefully the OP might allow that "noodle dishes just for breakfast" may not be entirely found in practice.

 

------------------

 

Note:  Many of those below tend to straddle the mid/late-morning through lunch into late-afternoon periods, although they can also be had fairly early in the morning in some places.  Some (like “Char Kway Teow”, wonton meen, some forms of “kari mee”, etc) are found in the early a.m. more commonly than some others.  It depends on the locality.  There is also no requirement that these things be eaten ONLY for breakfast or ONLY for lunch, as has been pointed out already; they are eaten whenever, although perhaps less commonly for dinner.  The "Curry Laksa" you cite, for example, is eaten throughout the day, as has also been mentioned.  Kari Mee of some sort is also frequently found for dinner in various places - here's just one example. 

 

(I commonly ate chee cheong fun (w/ or w/o some YTF) or mee goreng or char kway teow (amongst other things) at the still-well-known kopitiam I and my brother almost always stopped at for breakfast at 7 a.m. in the morning on our way to secondary school on our scooter)

 

• “Wonton Meen” (wonton noodles), “wet” (in soup) or “dry” (kon lo)

• Noodles w/ Chinese BBQ pork, “kai see” (shredded braised chicken meat) w/ or w/o “tung koo” (Chinese mushrooms), either “in soup” or “dry”.

All types of noodles are used for the above but the common ones are egg-wheat noodles, of the “wonton” type; others include “lo shuee fun” (“rat droppings (rice) noodles” – from their shape), “hor fun” (smooth, broad(er), flat rice noodles w/ a slippery texture, etc.)  “Mei fun” (skinny rice noodles) and thicker versions of rice noodles are also eaten but the “wonton-type” wheat-egg noodles tend to be more common in these dishes.

• Beef ball noodles, “wet” or “dry”.  Noodles tend towards the rice-based ones.

• “Chee Cheong Fun” (literally, ‘pig intestine noodles’ from the supposed resemblance to those organs – but are flat sheets of rice noodles (slippery texture desired) either rolled or folded into those intestine-resembling shapes or folded then cut into wide-ish strips, drizzled with a sweet-savory brownish sauce (most common) plus chilli sauce if desired; other toppings include a wide array of stuff) (frequently eaten w/ “Yong Tau Foo” (YTF); or as part of the array of “dim sum” (and in that case frequently stuffed w/ beef or “char siu” or prawns) – so in this case since dim sum is a common breakfast meal the stuffed CCF dishes would qualify for your query as well.

• “Har Mee” (especially the Penang-type, which is a spicy very savory pork + prawn-stock-based soupy noodle dish with, what else, prawns and other stuff as the garnishes) (commonly as “Hokkien Hae Mee” in Penang, “Har Mee” or “Penang Har Mee” in K.L., ditto (or “Hae Mee”) in S’pore and so on.  (NOTE:  The term “Hokkien Mee” can mean one of THREE very different things (at least) depending on where you are.  For example, “KL Hokkien Mee” ^¶¶ is QUITE unlike “Hokkien Mee” in S’pore and is frequently eaten for lunch through dinner and even into the wee hours; it is almost never found for breakfast)

• Mee Siam.

• even Mee Rebus.

• Mee Goreng.

• “Char Kway Teow” (wide-ish flat rice noodles, similar to “Hor Fun”; “mei fun” is also used – fried & tossed with certain kinds of stuff, usually including dark/thick soy sauce, and especially with cockles (YUM!!!) at the end).

• All sorts of “Kari Mee” – including those you described in Penang as ‘curry mee’ which would be the lemak type (with coconut milk) (as one of the Nyonya-type variants, Penang Nyonya style); but Assam Laksa (the sour one, with tamarind & mackerel) is possibly eaten just as much or more for breakfast as well, I think.  The “Kari Mee” in Kuala Lumpur would be more likely the lemak type, in the “K.L. style”.  IIRC Mamak versions were also found.  In Singapore “Katong Laksa” (which would be a lemak type) would be more common.  See here for a discussion of various types of laksa, with concentration on Penang – K.L. – Malacca – Singapore, as mentioned in my post previously.

 

I know I’m leaving out a whole bunch of others – but these are the ones that come off the top of my head.

 

As for what I whip up for myself in the morning (as a carry-over from the cuisines I ate and grew up with) – look through the Breakfast threads on eG, from a few months back and backwards from there; there will be various instances of noodle dishes I posted about.

 

p.s. Min6 sin3 (Fookchow/Fuzhou type thin white WHEAT noodles) (福州麵線) would also be commonly used in soupy noodle dishes (and more) especially in Hokkien communities, whether for breakfast or at other times.  Other dialect groups would use it too although maybe not as frequently.  I myself (of Cantonese-Hakka extraction) use it freely and like it very much, FWIW.

 

^¶¶ This is a dish that I really, really miss.  The ones that were done professionally and to perfection, that is.  Chock-full of pork fat lardons and squid and prawns and etc etc etc, done in a huge wok over the most blazingly fierce charcoal flame.  YUM!!!!!!!!!

 

p.s.2.: I just had for breakfast/brunch some Shanghai Yangchun noodles w/ slow-simmered chicken broth and with added celery & lots of chopped scallions.  Some remaining chicken skin and carrot pieces from the stock pot also went in.  :-) 

Edited August 12, 2014 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Regarding min6 sin3 breakfast dishes:  Here's one simple google search for it.

 

Image set for KL Hokkien Mee.

Image set for Singapore Hokkien Mee.

Image set for Penang Hokkien Mee.

Edited August 12, 2014 by huiray (log)

[djyee100]

A cookbook you could check out.
http://www.amazon.com/Noodles-Every-Day-Corinne-Trang-ebook/dp/B0077B9G6Y/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407872013&sr=1-8&keywords=corinne+trang

[bhsimon]

Great info, liuzhou. Thank you.

 

Thank you for the link, djyee100.

 

To others:

It is not so much that the dishes I was interested in were only eaten at breakfast but, moreover, they are commonly eaten at breakfast. I should have worded my question better. I never meant to imply that curry laksa was only eaten at breakfast, but that we found it virtually impossible to find a vendor who was making it after 10:00am. Our local guide informed us it would be difficult to find after the first meal of the day was done for most of the locals and this was confirmed by driving around to every roadside food hut we could find in our area. (Though we did, indeed, find it in a food hall at lunch time.) As such, it is typically a breakfast noodle dish and I was interested in other such dishes. It is my fault for not being clear enough on the knowledge I was seeking. My apologies.

 

If I could ask the question again I would say, 'What noodle dishes do you know of which are typically eaten for breakfast.'

 

I think I will start a new post about iconic noodle dishes, ignoring the restriction of the word 'breakfast'. There's no real dependency on the time of the day here, just a desire to learn about some good noodle dishes that I might make for myself for breakfast. I'm on this thing where I want my biggest meal of the day to be breakfast, and tapering off my caloric intake as the day goes on.

[huiray]

Great info, liuzhou. Thank you.

 

Thank you for the link, djyee100.

 

To others:

It is not so much that the dishes I was interested in were only eaten at breakfast but, moreover, they are commonly eaten at breakfast. I should have worded my question better. I never meant to imply that curry laksa was only eaten at breakfast, but that we found it virtually impossible to find a vendor who was making it after 10:00am. Our local guide informed us it would be difficult to find after the first meal of the day was done for most of the locals and this was confirmed by driving around to every roadside food hut we could find in our area. (Though we did, indeed, find it in a food hall at lunch time.) As such, it is typically a breakfast noodle dish and I was interested in other such dishes. It is my fault for not being clear enough on the knowledge I was seeking. My apologies.

 

If I could ask the question again I would say, 'What noodle dishes do you know of which are typically eaten for breakfast.'

 

I think I will start a new post about iconic noodle dishes, ignoring the restriction of the word 'breakfast'. There's no real dependency on the time of the day here, just a desire to learn about some good noodle dishes that I might make for myself for breakfast. I'm on this thing where I want my biggest meal of the day to be breakfast, and tapering off my caloric intake as the day goes on.

 

Thank you for the clarification.

 

Yet the concept that curry laksa is not a "typically breakfast noodle dish" as I have explained and illustrated by the links I provided may yet elude you.  It may have been in the area of Penang you were in and to the knowledge of your guide where it was difficult to find after 10 a.m., but it is certainly not so in other parts of SE Asia, which was your area of enquiry, where it is consumed throughout the day (including for breakfast) and into the night. It might be a bit risky to extrapolate your experiences in Penang to all of SE Asia with regards to, e.g., "curry laksa".  Did you have a chance to look at the links I provided? 

 

(Here's the webpage for 328 Katong Laksa, as a further example, with their hours)

 

I gave some examples of noodle dishes which were commonly eaten for breakfast.  Perhaps that may also be a better way to describe what you are looking for, as you also explained in your OP and in the early part of your clarification.  ("Typically" still implies that it is infrequent or rare to find whatever one is talking about outside of the defined parameter(s), in this case "breakfast")

 

Of course, one need only look up dishes that interest one to see recipes for them.  Just search for the names of those dishes I mentioned, for example. :-) 

 

Yes, disregarding the limitation of "breakfast" and looking into "iconic noodle dishes" would be a good idea, go for it.

Edited August 13, 2014 by huiray (log)

[bhsimon]

huiray, I think you've got bogged down in my illustrative example, and I wish I'd never used it. I think it's time to get off this tangent.

 

I do appreciate your examples, though, thank you.

[huiray]

No, it was reflective of the notion that there were noodle dishes that were "typically" consumed for breakfast, with your citing its unavailabilty after 10 a.m. in your experience in Penang (i.e. not a tangent).  But I presume the matter is cleared up now.

[Katie Meadow]

I remember reading somewhere that it used to be common (in China? Other Asian countries?) to have mobile vendors that would ply the neighborhoods in the early morning with hot soup noodles. When they came by your house you grabbed your bowl and ran out to get it filled. Sounds perfect to me. I love noodle soup for breakfast in cold weather, but I sure don't want to make it for myself at that hour. Is this a dying tradition or is it still thriving in certain places?

[liuzhou]

I remember reading somewhere that it used to be common (in China? Other Asian countries?) to have mobile vendors that would ply the neighborhoods in the early morning with hot soup noodles. When they came by your house you grabbed your bowl and ran out to get it filled. Sounds perfect to me. I love noodle soup for breakfast in cold weather, but I sure don't want to make it for myself at that hour. Is this a dying tradition or is it still thriving in certain places?

 

I think it died out in China a long time ago. I won't swear it doesn't happen anywhere, but in twenty years in China, I've never come across it.

 

What we do get is carts or tricycles like this selling various noodly dishes, but they tend to appear more at lunch time and don't do soup noodles. They also tend to be found, not in residential areas, but in shopping or office areas, markets, outside schools etc. Early morning soup noodles are bought from one of the literally millions of tiny noodle shacks. They are often served in plastic bags for you to take home or to the office.

 

This one is selling Guilin style glutinous rice noodles outside the city's busy traditional Chinese medicine hospital.

 

Here is one selling cold, sauce dressed noodles in an equally busy shopping district.

 

 

And right opposite her, this one selling rolled noodles

 

 

The only mobile vendor to visit where I live sells 'mantou' - steamed bread.

[huiray]

I remember reading somewhere that it used to be common (in China? Other Asian countries?) to have mobile vendors that would ply the neighborhoods in the early morning with hot soup noodles. When they came by your house you grabbed your bowl and ran out to get it filled. Sounds perfect to me. I love noodle soup for breakfast in cold weather, but I sure don't want to make it for myself at that hour. Is this a dying tradition or is it still thriving in certain places?

 

When I was growing up in SE Asia more than a half-century ago, there used to be an INDIAN guy who came around my house (in a residential area) for a while pushing his soup noodles cart (it was a sort of Chinese-Indian combo of a noodle dish :-) IIRC).  He tended to appear around mid-morning tending towards lunch time but he really started at the beginning of the day - so it just depended on WHERE you were located on his chosen route for that day.  Alas, he stopped doing this after a while.

 

Here's a video of a Pok-Pok soup noodle cart (Kway Teo Pok Pok) in Thailand, plying the streets of residential homes - again, this is not specific to breakfast...it just depends on the time of day when the cart passes your house, and if she (or he, in other cases, presumably) hasn't sold out before he/she reaches you. :-) .  

p.s. This comes from a collection of videos on Thai street food; you might enjoy looking at them too.

Edited August 18, 2014 by huiray (log)

[Katie Meadow]

Liuzhou, Huiray, thanks so much! Sad, but not surprising, to learn this is pretty much a thing of the past in China.

 

But the Thai Pok Pok noodle soup looks fantastic. I would kill to have her pass my house once a day!