Umami makes breakfast

Savory flavors are gaining favor in morning meals, stoking an American appetite for such umami-rich dishes as jianbing. This traditional Chinese street-food breakfast crepe, featuring hoisin and chili sauce, egg, pickled vegetables and herbs, is on the menu at a handful of New York City restaurants. At Mr. Bing, customers may choose from a variety of jianbing options, including barbecue pork, drunken chicken, Peking duck and kimchi.

“While Americans are not going to order a whole 12-course fish plate like you might in Japan … they’re definitely starting to embrace a non-sweet start of the day,” Moskow said. “In the packaged food space, I can foresee different kinds of sauces in some of the packaged handheld sandwiches in the freezer. Think of a sausage sandwich that comes with not just sriracha but maybe some sort of Asian soy-based or miso-based sauce.”