I feel like one of the largest tragedies of the West culinary folklore is the myth that soup is not a breakfast food. The hegemonic meal-time positionality of soup is relegated primarily to lunch and dinner. This is, and I’m not being hyperbolic, a human rights violation. Soup isn’t even considered a brunch food, which just goes to show how far mainstream society tries to distance soup from breakfast. Soup is the purest of all foods, and the fact that so many have neglected soup in the AM is a tragedy.
To set the scene - I had the day off and I took my bike down to Little Saigon to go to my fave Philly Grocery store. I was wondering if the pho places I frequent would be open - and alas, they open at 9! My white-US)mind has been programmed as such that salty soup is not a morning treat. Especially in a 99-degree summer day. But why? I decided it would be a soupy morning for me.
I was by the window and quickly gobbled up the rather massive bowl of pho. Pho in general has some real magic behind it - and has often been my comfort food. Simply put, the soup lifted me! I felt so ready to take on the day - content but not tooo full (as opposed to the hegemonic US ideal of bacon and eggs). This experience changed my whole worldview - I am convinced soup is a breakfast food.
Let’s just talk about the benefits of soup as an AM food:
Easy to make: Soup is perhaps the easiest food to make in the morning because it simply involves warming up already-made soup. If one were to prepare soup at another point then it’s literally the easiest breakfast treat besides maybe yogurt and fruit (I think it even beats out hard-boiled eggs, because those can be hard to peel sometimes). And for someone who is not normally a breakfast eater that makes things so easy for me.
Hydration - Soup being mostly liquid means that it will certainly count as a good chunk of water that you need to start the day. It’s always good to drink a lot of water in the am, so a soupy breakfast is simply killing two birds with one stone.
Salt - salt is also very important to start the day with. In fact without salt in the AM dehydration is ever more likely. So, again, the soup satisfies all the morning needs to the point it is puzzling that it is relegated as a breakfast food.
Nutritious and Filling - salt and water are the two basics of any soup, but soup is of course filled with many more nutrients! Between vegetables and proteins, the soup can satisfy any craving.
Temperature regulation - A warm soup is good in any temperature. In the winter it will warm you up and get you ready for the chilly day. But in the summer (like in my case) it will make your internal temperature higher causing you to sweat, which will ultimately cool you down.
All this to say - soup SHOULD be a breakfast food. And don’t get me wrong - pho is a breakfast food in Vietnam, and miso soup is a breakfast food in japan, and this is just to name two examples off the top of my head. The myth that soup is not for breakfast in the global north is something that needs to be dispelled and replaced with the truth that soup is the best way to start the day. And that is my mission.
Comments