David Chang's Breakfast Suggestion Has Instagram Talking

Everyone has a go-to breakfast item that they enjoy. For some, it could be pancakes, waffles, or perhaps a green smoothie bowl. Cold pizza, too, if you're really pushing the boundaries of what breakfast can be. Statistics suggest that the top breakfast food for 65% of Americans is eggs (via SWNS Digital). Meanwhile, for 58%, a simple cup of coffee is already a breakfast well done. That said, other popular breakfast items include cereal, avocado, and hummus toasts.

Not one to abide by the status quo, David Chang's breakfast looks entirely different. While the nitty-gritty of the exact preparation differs, the Momofuku founder has been vocal about the one ingredient that his breakfast almost always has: rice. Even back in 2017 when the rest of the world was hopping onto the avocado toast and overnight oats trend (via My Recipes), Chang's breakfast was a hearty bowl of rice porridge with eggs, tofu, and cauliflower (via Twitter). More recently, the chef and TV host has been sharing several breakfast ideas on Instagram, each with rice at its center — like his egg fried rice with Spam, leftover fried rice with egg and bacon, or rice roll stuffed with egg and pickles, for example.

In a recent post on Instagram, Chang shared a glimpse of his breakfast with fans, which unsurprisingly involved rice. But this time, the chef insisted that everyone eat rice in place of a breakfast classic — toast — and Instagram had mixed feelings about it.

Per the Instagram post, Chang's breakfast was a fried egg topped with avocado chunks, chopped scallions, and a generous drizzle of the Momofuku Chili Crunch oil. While this may seem like the ideal spicy dish to mop up with a slice of buttered toast, Chang vehemently disagrees: "don't eat with toast. Eat with [rice]," his caption says.

It turns out, some fans were very much in agreement with the chef. "Normalize rice for breakfast," wrote an eager fan. Another said, "[E]at it with rice should be a slogan for life." The pro chef might be onto something here. Eating rice for breakfast isn't just a brilliant way to put leftover rice to good use with the help of punchy toppings. Certain varieties such as brown rice, red rice, and wild rice are packed with fiber, protein, antioxidants, and essential nutrients (via Healthline).

However, some fans aren't too thrilled about rice replacing an item as classic as toast, especially considering how eggs are at the center of this particular breakfast. One comment suggested, "Eat with toast. Good buttered toasted rye," while another said that nothing could beat the combination of "Toast, butter, cream cheese, chili crunch." Whether you are a rice-for-breakfast person or prefer sticking to toast, one fan summed it up quite nicely: "You can just eat it with rice sometimes and toast other times. No need to be so final."