Hoppers: The Bowl-Shaped Star of Sri Lankan Breakfast
Hoppers (appa) are one of Sri Lanka's most loved breakfasts and late-night snacks. Made from a fermented rice flour and coconut batter, they cook in a small round pan into a bowl with lacy, crisp edges and a soft base.
The types
Plain hoppers are the classic. An egg hopper cracks an egg into the centre as it cooks. String hoppers are a different thing entirely, steamed nests of rice noodles served with curry.
How to eat them
Tear off the crisp rim, scoop up the soft middle, and add lunu miris (a fiery onion and chilli sambol) or a mild curry. Sweet milk hoppers make a lovely treat.
Where to find them
Small local eateries and street stalls fire up hopper pans in the early morning and again in the evening. Follow the queue and eat them hot off the pan.
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