Beijing Breakfast: Have You Tried These Five Foods?

So you've had your fair share of youtiao (fried dough) at your KFC on the corner, but don't want to put down the extra cash for cereal? No problem: We've rounded up several quick traditional Chinese breakfast options for your morning commute.

1. Doufu nao (Brain Tofu)

The name of this soft version of tofu makes it sound like it belongs in a bio lab, but the dish actually has nothing to do with brains at all. Try it with soy sauce or sesame oil, chili sauce, boiled peanuts, mushrooms and bits of beef for a well-rounded start to the day.

2. The jianbing and its cousins (Chinese pancake variations)
Jianbing was something I uncovered many years ago while having lunch at art school. One of my friends was enamored by jianbing and would have one every day. Once I remarked to a friend that the delicious taste of jianbing was like a jianbing-gasm.

As Luxury Eats blogger puts it: the first bite reveals the crepe-like outer wrap, and if you dig deeper, you'll find the sweetness of the hoisin sauce and the green onions. Another few bites and the fried-dough center that gives jianbing its name is uncovered.

Jidan Guanbing
With 600 years of history, the jidan guanbing is an impressive addition to the jianbing family. This version hails from Luoyang in Henan Province and features sausages and large pieces of leaf lettuce inside a small, egg-based pancake.

Jianbing Guozi
Hailing from Tianjin with a hundred or so years of history is the jianbing guozi. "Guozi" refers to the youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks) inside the thick, doughy wrap.

3. Cha Jidan (tea eggs)
This salty, but protein-heavy snack is made by cracking the shell of a boiled egg and soaking it in black tea leaves for several hours. Another version incorporates Chinese five-spice powder into the broth.

4. Douzhi (mung bean soup)
Douzhi is like soy milk's evil step-sister. Greenish-white in color, lightly foul smelling and sour to taste, this soup is local to Beijing and said to have been popular more than a thousand years ago.

5. Zhou (porridge)
There's something for everyone when it comes to porridge. You can have it sweet by adding pumpkin or taro, or opt for salty with mushroom or pork variations. Try it in a bowl or opt for a blended zhou "smoothie" on the go.

Photos: luxuryeats.com, english.cri.cn, www.eccoo.cn