Everything about Street Food totally explained
Street food is food obtainable from a
streetside vendor, often from a makeshift or portable
stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. The food and green groceries sold in
farmer's market may also fall into this category, including the food exhibited and sold in various gatherig
fairs, such as
agricultural show and
state fair. Most street food is both
finger and
fast food. Food and green groceries are available on the street for a fraction of the cost of a restaurant meal and a supermarket. According to the
Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.
Concerns of
cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street food. Lack of
refrigeration is often construed as a lack of cleanliness or hygiene; on the other hand, street food often uses particularly fresh ingredients for this very reason.
Street food is intimately connected with
take-out,
junk food,
snacks, and
fast food; it's distinguished by its local flavor and by being purchased on the sidewalk, without entering any building. Both take-out and fast food are often sold from counters inside buildings. Increasingly the line is blurred, as restaurants such as
McDonald's begin to offer window counters.
With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food become one of the major concerns of
public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awarenesses
, , , .
FSA hence provides comprehensive guidances of
food safety for the vendors, traders and retailors of the street food sector . Other effective ways of curbing the safety of street foods are through
mystery shopping programs, through training and rewarding programs to market stallers, through regulatory governing and membership management programs, or through technical testing programs
, , , , .
Africa
South Africa
In
South Africa,
boerewors and other
braai food are available in the street. In
townships, ethnic foods are available.
In
Cape Town, a popular street food is the
Gatsby, a
baguette filled with
meat (often
bologna sausage),
salad,
cheese and
chips. It is said to have originated from a single
restaurant, and has become popular throughout Cape Town.
Another popular food is
bunny chow. It is a scooped out loaf with
curry or
atchar inside and with the scooped out bread placed on top. A legend states that
Indian golf caddies invented it during
apartheid, as they were not allowed to use
cutlery.
Ethiopia
Injera bread is the method of eating several types of street foods. Tibs Wat, a spicy stew is placed on a plate with a folded piece of injera and fried Neeka stalks
Ghana
Street food in
Ghana is mainly based upon local cuisine. Street food is available from travelling pedestrian vendors, street stalls, and ubiquitous "chop bars". Street
breakfasts across the country usually consist of omelettes and bread served with
tea. Traditional African dishes, such as
fufu,
kenkey,
banku, fried
yams, and
bushmeat are popular across the country; regional varieties use local foods, such as
tilapia in
Ashanti Region and fresh seafood along the coastline. African-style Chinese food is very common, consisting of
fried rice served with noodles, segments of fried
chicken, and often
baked beans.
Coconuts are a popular street food served from barrows, as are
bananas.
Kebabs made from
beef and
pepper are also widely available from travelling vendors.
In the evenings, many street food vendors offer
omelettes instead of usual daytime fare.
Beverages are rarely sold by food vendors except at breakfast, and the most common street beverages, purchased from separate drinks vendors, are small plastic bags filled with purified water (fizzy drinks in West Africa are only available from permanent shops and not temporary vendors, as the drinks are sold in glass bottles which must be returned to the shop for recycling and refilling). As is the case in many members of the
Commonwealth of Nations, Ghanaian law prohibits the sale of
alcoholic beverages except within licensed establishments, and as such alcoholic drinks are not sold by street vendors.
Morocco
Typical street food includes: grilled [cornon the cob], [merguez], and [snails]
Tunisia
Sweet pastries are the most common street food, as well as the ubiquitos tuna baguette
Asia
Street eaters in those parts also enjoy various
jicama salads.
In
Malaysia,
Singapore, and
India,
putu mayam, a cold
coconut/rice-noodle concoction, is eaten for breakfast or a snack.
China
China's
cuisine is extremely diverse. In
Sichuan street
cooking, a variety of
xiǎochī (
Chinese: 小吃) such as grilled
rice balls and pan-fried noodles are sold, but restaurants are quickly replacing street vending. Beijing's
Wangfujing district has a
Snack Street. Islamic food, stemming either from the western
Uyghurs or the
Hui minority, is another form of street food in China, especially thinly cut
kebabs cooked over a
barbecue pit. Sweets are also sold as street foods in China.
One of the most popular street food sold in Northern China is
chuanr a form of kebab
Hong Kong
In
Hong Kong notable foods include skewered beef, curry fish balls, stuffed peppers and mushrooms, and dim sum. Street side food vendors are called
gaai bin dong (
Chinese: 街邊檔, literally 'street side stalls'). Street food in Hong Kong can grow into a substantial business with the stalls only barely 'mobile' in the traditional street food sense (see
dai pai dong).
India
The quintessential
North Indian street food is
Chaat -- a generic name for a tangy and spicy mix, whose ingredients can be quite varied. The tangy flavor is usually imparted by the use of
lemon,
pomegranate seeds,
Black salt,
tamarind, and various
chutneys. Chaat can be prepared with fruit, with popular ones including
guava,
banana,
apple,
melon, etc. It could instead be made using small crisp pancakes made from fried flour, called "paapri", along with yogurt. Potatoes
sauteed with black
cumin powder constitute another variant.
Other items are
Pani Puri (also known as
gol gappas) and
Bhelpuri. Panipuri are hollow crisp balls made from dough, and filled as-you-eat with a spicy concoction of water and
potatoes, topped by a choice of sweet or spicy
chutney.
Aaloo Tikki These are patties made up of mashed potatoes and masala deep fried in oil. They are served typically with a curry called Chholey (chick peas). They are popular in winter in North India.
Chaap is a version of potato patties dipped in flour batter and deep fried. They are served along with onion and beet slices. They are referred to by this name in the Eastern part of the country. One can obtain "chaap" on local trains travelling to and fro Kolkatta. The word "chaap" is probably a corruption of "chop".
Poori-Subzie(or Bhaajee)
This is available mostly in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh. The curry (subzie) consists usually of potatoes in gravy. Sometimes, especially in the southern part of the country the potatoes don't have gravy and the poories are exclusively made up of refined flour (maida).
Chai-faen
This term refers to tea with a roasted biscuit called "faen", possibly a corruption of "fan" which the shape of the biscuit resembles. The biscuit is also called "khaaree biscuit" in other parts of the country. This is available in North India, especially in Uttar Pradesh in cities like Agra and Mathura.
Vada pav is an example of
West Indian street food.
Masala chai,: a spiced tea, is also for sale. A
syrup-covered
deep-fried sweet is sold in the North as
jalebi and the South as jangiri. It is generally very cheap and easily available throughout India.
Mumbai,
Maharashtra, is the place where
Vada pav originated.
Pav bhaji, is another such concoction. It acquired the status of restaurant food but had humble beginnings as street food. It has retained its original roadside availability despite this. Another peculiar concoction is pav-sample which is found at several places in Maharashtra. The 'sample' refers usually to Sambar and the dish is simply pav (white bread) to be had with the curry called Sambar which is well known in India. Sambar being widely used for several other dishes as well, it was perhaps used in experimentation with pav. An extra dish of sambar is referred to as 'sample'. Although widely used in Maharashtra in roadside eateries, sambar isn't native to the local culture. 'Sample' could also mean a plate of curry called 'Usual', which is a water based preparation of cooked sprouted lentils. Occasionally the term 'sample' could mean anything that goes conveniently with pav (usually implying a liquid nature)
Kerala, situated in the South, has "thattukada"s: a covered cart or van with stoves and utensils. They offer "thattu dosa" — a light rice-flour crepe fried in coconut oil and served with
coconut chutney. The menu at a thattukada includes
omelettes, spicy pork fry, and
parottas (like
naan, but beaten and mixed with oil).
Tamilnadu has its "thalluvandi"s similar to Kerala's "thattukada"s popularly called "Kaiyendhi Bhavans", a subtle irony to the famous bhavan hotels like
Saravana Bhavan etc.
Karnataka has its own food items such as idli, masala dosa, vada, chakkuli, ragi rotti, jolada rotti etc.
In Indian cities, street vendors also sell drinks including
Lassi (yogurt drink sold plain/salty, sweet, or fruit flavored), Sherbet and Jaljeera. Additionally, hole-in-the-wall
kebab shops can be found in major cities.
Indonesia
Street foods are common in
Indonesia. They are commonly sold by hawkers peddling their goods on bicycles or carts, known as
pedagang kaki lima. The art of food being sold varies from
mixed rice,
fried rice,
soups,
satay,
cakes or even Indonesian beverages, such as
Es Kacang Hijau.
Japan
In
Japan,
udon,
soba, and
ramen noodles are ubiquitous, as highlighted in the film
Tampopo.
Takoyaki (octopus dumplings),
nikuman and
Castella (a kind of
sponge cake) are also famous as street food in Japan. Sweet cakes, such as
taiyaki and
imagawayaki are also popular.
Korea (South)
Gun-mandu (dumpling), fried
squid, fried
shrimp and fried
wonton are among the street foods found in villages outside of
Seoul in
South Korea. Vendors will fire up their
woks or large pots of frying oil in the evenings in anticipation of the pedestrian traffic going to and from local clubs. These Korean street foods, as well as others such as
Tteokbokki,
Odeng, and
Korean toast sandwiches are still popular in Seoul and larger cities.
Sometimes original street food concepts become full-fledged franchises as seen in the cases of Sukbong Toast, Isaac Toast and Toastoa, large Korean toast sandwich franchise chains based in Seoul.
Pakistan
There some common items which are available all over
Pakistan such as Bun Kebab (Local version of hamburger) served with halal
shami kebab and usual condiments, also Gunnay ka Rus (Sugar cane juice). Other foods are Pahata roll which is either beef or chicken stuffed in a fried oil bread - onions, tomato, and raita (yogurt) are also added.
Jalebi is a popular sweet dish served throughout Pakistan.
Chaat is a staple, usually extremely loaded with spices.
Karachi Corn or maize along with chick peas are sold all over the city by moving vendors. They are mixed with sand on a hot plate and then sifted through. Chicken corn soup with or without eggs, pathan soup (more traditional chicken soup) are the regular delicacies.In Karachi
Peshawar Chiras are the local delicacy, which are quails cooked on charcoal fire and eaten whole.
Philippines
The most common
Philippines street foods include fried
squidballs,
fishballs,
kikiam — a type of processed chicken, which are served on a stick, with a variety of dipping sauces.
Roadside stands also serve
barbecued
pork,
chicken and
offal, such as pig's blood (colloquially,
Betamax after its rectangular shape), chicken heads (
helmet), chicken feet (
adidas) pig's ears and chicken intestines (
isaw). Among more esoteric foods are
balut and
penoy (duck eggs; with fetus and without, respectively),
tokneneng and
quek-quek (battered, deep-fried
chicken and
quail eggs) and deep-fried day-old-chick.
Taho, a type of soft
beancurd served with syrup and tapioca balls is another snack, as are more Western offerings, such as
burgers,
hotdogs and
cotton candy.
Palamig (literally, coolers) are sold, such as traditional offerings like
halo-halo to
fruit juices.
Sorbetes (or, colloquially, "dirty
ice cream") and locally-produced
ice cream in exotic flavors such as
mango,
cheese and
yam.
Taiwan
Taiwan's is perhaps the most famous street food in Chinese culture, especially that from the area of
Tainan.
Influences include the (
Min Nan) flavor brought by the emigrants during the
Ming loyalist rule era and Japanese tastes in the
Japanese colonial period, to
1949, when the
Nationalist retreated to the island with people from every other province of the mainland.
Bubble/Boba Milk Tea originated on the streets of Taiwan.
Popular Taiwanese street food includes fried stinky tofu, oyster pancakes, rice cakes made with pork blood, and various other rice and noodle dishes.
See
List of night markets in Taiwan for further information
Thailand
Street food in
Thailand includes noodle dishes, among them are
Pad Thai, Rad Naa, flat noodles with beef, pork, or chicken and vegetables, topped with a light gravy, and Rad Naa's twin, Pad See Iw, the same flat noodles dry-fried(no gravy) with a dark soy sauce, vegetables, meat, and chili. Other dishes include
Tom Yum Kung (a
soup), Khao Pad (fried rice), various kinds of
satay, various
curries. Japanese
chikuwa and German sausages have also appeared in
Bangkok. Canal food has been sold from boats on Thailand's rivers and canals for over two centuries, but since the early 20th century
King Rama V's modernizations have caused a shift towards land-based stalls. In modern
Bangkok parlance, a housewife who feeds her family with street food vendor is known as a "plastic-bag housewife."
Many Thai people will eat 4 or 5 meals a day, and often these will be taken with friends or family at streetside dining carts. In some areas of Thailand, an inconspicuous car-park or roadside area may be empty by day, but turn into a bustling food district as the sun goes down, when local street vendors arrive with their carts. This is the case in virtually every provincial capital.
Middle East
Falafel is the king of street food in the
Middle East. Shawarma is popular as well, and is usually made of
chicken or
lamb.
Ful, a dish made from
fava beans, is common in many
Arab countries. In
Syria and
Lebanon, pastries made with a soft dough are sold, either open like a mini-pizza or filled, and are termed
fatayir,
man'oushe, or
basbouse depending on the type. Toppings or fillings include
zaatar, chili, spinach, meat, sausage meat, cheese, and olives. Fruit juice counters in Syria and
Egypt provide fresh juice from all seasonal fruit as well as sugar-cane.
Sweets such as
knafeh, made from cheese and pastry, and
madlu'e, made from sweet cheese curds on a rich biscuit dough, are also sold from counters, drenched in syrup, and eaten on the street in Syria and
Palestine. "Cheese sweets" are a specialty of
Hama in central Syria.
Israel
In
Israel, street eaters enjoy
sabikh, a
pita stuffed with hard-boiled egg,
eggplant,
tahini, and a
mango paste similar in taste to
chutney or
atchar. It was introduced by
Iraqi
Jews.
Bourekas are common, being sold out of
carts in front of
bakeries. The most common street food is
Falafel.
Syria
In springtime in
Syria, whole green
almonds are sold from carts on the street. In summer,
prickly pears and whole fresh
pistachios are sold. Pavement vendors, as well as drink sellers in traditional costume with their goods in a pot strapped to their back, sell
mulberry and
liquorice juice.
Australia
The most common street food in
Australia is the
sausage sizzle, usually consisting of a thin sausage or sandwich steak cooked on a
barbecue and served on a slice of bread with optional fried onions and tomato or barbecue sauce. The stalls are usually run by local sporting or charity groups as fundraisers.
A
pie floater is a meal served at pie carts in
Adelaide and elsewhere in
South Australia. It was once more widely available in other parts of Australia, but its popularity waned. It consists of an
Australian meat pie covered with
tomato sauce, sitting in a plate of
green pea soup.
People can buy
soft serve and other
ice creams from vans which drive around the streets. The vans alert potential customers with a tinkling tune, for example
Greensleeves or
The Entertainer.
See
List of markets in Sydney for further information
Caribbean
Barbados
In
Barbados, fishcakes are a common
street food. Fishcakes are made with bits of saltfish, seasoned and mixed with flour and then deep fried. Fishcakes are sold at most community events such as school fairs and concerts and can also be found at fish fries such as those in Baxter's Road in the capital city of Bridgetown or the Friday evening event in the southern fishing town of Oistins. Fishcakes are commonly eaten with saltbread, a thick, round bread- the sandwich is called a 'bread-and-two' and can be found at most village shops throughout the island.
Dominican Republic
Fried foods are common in the
Dominican Republic.
Empanadas are a very typical snack, made of fried flour, though empanadas made out of
cassava flour, called
catibias, are also common. Fillings include cheese, chicken, beef, and vegetables, or a combination of these.
Yaniqueques are sold at many empanada stands.
Yaniqueques (from Johnny Cakes) are essentially round flour shaped cakes which are fried and usually eaten with salt and/or ketchup. Other vendors sell
plantain fritters and fried or boiled
salami.
Hamburgers are sold at stands called
chimis, which also offer sandwiches called
chimichurris, though these bear little to no resemblance to the South American sauce of the same name.
Chimis occasionally also offer hot dogs and other sandwich varieties.
Corn on the cob can be bought on the street, usually sold by traveling vendors who move around on a tricycle. Sweets vendors who sell treats such as candied coconut and
dulce de leche sell their goods at major intersections in cities and sometimes have their own stands.
Jamaica
The most common
Jamaican street food is
jerk chicken or pork and can be found everywhere on the island. Jerk is marinade that's a blended primarily from a combination of scotch bonnet peppers, onions, scallions, thyme and allspice (there are numerous combinations which a jerk can be composed of). Once marinated, it's often barbecued on converted
steel drum or whatever else locals can construct as a grill/smoker. It is often accompanied with
breadfruit and/or festival, a sweetened fried dough.
The popular beef patties in a sweet bread called "coco bread" is the most popular street food. Bun and cheese is also eaten regularly.
Trinidad and Tobago
In
Trinidad and Tobago there are many
roti and
shark & bake stands that provide quick foods like roti,
dahl puri,
fried bake, and the most popular,
Doubles.
Roti is a thin flat bread originating from India that's fluffy on the inside and crispy and flaky on the outside. It is cooked on a flat iron plate called a tawah (<
Hindi tawa)or
plateen and served with
curried chicken,
pork or
beef.
Dahl puri is similar to the roti but is softer and pliable and has crushed dahl
lentils cooked with
saffron and placed in the centre of the
dough before it's rolled out and cooked. This is also served with either curried chicken, pork or beef.
Fried bake is made by frying flattened balls of dough that becomes fluffy and increases in height as it's fried. It can be served with fried ripe
plantains, any meat or
gravy. At the shark & bake stands fried bakes filled with well-seasoned
shark fillets and dressed with many different
condiments including
pepper,
garlic and
chadon beni can also be found.
Doubles is made with two flat breads called
baras (from Hindi bara, "big") that are filled with
channa (from Hindi "
chick peas") and topped with pepper,
cucumber chutney,
mango chutney,
coconut chutney or
bandania/chadon beni. It can be eaten either wrapped up as an easy to eat sandwich, or open it up and eat each bara separately.
Haiti
In
Haiti street vendors sell various local dishes such as legume (vegetable stew famous for the lone crab leg protruding from the center) as well as Conge.
Europe
There are many national street foods in
Europe, but some foods have transcended borders. A good example of this is
shawarma, brought to Europe by
Arab and
Turkish immigrants. The
Quartier Latin in
Paris is packed with shawarma vendors.
Balkans
Street food in the Balkans, like the rest of
Balkan cuisine, is heavily influenced by the cuisine of the
Ottoman Empire. Different variations of the
burek, a filled flaky pastry, is common throughout the
Turkey and the
Balkans.
Cevapi, a sort of
kebab, is popular throughout the region comprised by the former
Yugoslavia, and
Romania where it's called
Mititei.
Benelux
In the
Netherlands and
Belgium,
French fries are popular and are frequently served with sauces such as
mayonnaise or
ketchup.
The combination
mayonnaise,
ketchup and
onions is called "speciaal" (special) and
mayonnaise plus peanutbuttersauce is called "oorlog" (war).
French fries
In Belgium, a thicker variety of fries is used, called "friet" or "frieten". In the Netherlands, they're thinner and generally referred to as "patat" (potato) or sometimes "friet" (fried) or "patat friet" (fried potato). Some shops also sell "Vlaamse friet", but this is less common than "patat". The Dutch version is more similar to the version known in most of the world than the Belgian version is.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, street foods are usually sold by a small store which is a mix of a cafe/bar and a fast-food restaurant, known as a snackbar or cafetaria. In these stores, while "patat" forms the main portion of the food sold, many other things are also sold, including all types of fried meat and cheese snacks. Often, the assortment includes things such as hamburgers, ice cream, sandwiches, and occasionally even pizza, falafel and shoarma.
There are also street vendors selling salted herring served with raw onion, bread rolls come optionally.
At festivals and especially on the eve of 31 December around the country, a kind of donut called oliebollen, "oily balls", is eaten throughout the country. Oliebollen are particularly popular for old and new year's night.
Belgium
In Belgium, "friet" or "frieten" are mainly sold by street vendors (see picture), known as a frietkot.
In Belgium, Liège-style waffles (Dutch: "Wafel" or French: "Gaufre") are served warm as a street snack, similar to what is known in other countries as "Belgian Waffles". The pancake is also popular here, being sold fluffier than the French crêpe or the Russian blin.
France
In
France, sandwiches are a common street food. Most of them are
baguette bread sandwiches with different kinds of fillings such as "Jambon/Beurre" (ham / butter), "Jambon/Fromage" (Ham with cheese) or "Poulet/Crudités" (Chicken with vegetables).
In
France, crêpes are another street food. They are sold on the street cheaply and are filling portions: a
crêpe complète containing
ham, shredded
cheese, and an
egg provides a filling lunch.
Sweet crêpe, containing
Nutella and
banana or
Grand Marnier and
sugar is also a snack.
Other street foods include slices of
pizza,
kebab type sandwiches and
panini, a
grilled and pressed
sandwich.
During the winter,
roasted chestnuts can be bought.
Germany
Germany, with its high Turkish population, has a number of Turkish street foods beyond the pan-European shawarma.
Döner is similar to shawarma and extremely common in
Berlin, particularly in the
Kreuzberg district. More traditionally, there's
Fleischkäse and various types of
sausage, as well as the recent hybrid curry-sausage,
Currywurst.
French fries ("Pommes" in
German, derived from
French but pronounced according to German orthographic rules) are very popular, served with
ketchup and/or
mayonnaise, and sometimes with
sausage.
Beer is sold at all sidewalk snack stands, which usually feature a wide selection of beers and often small bottles of
whiskey and
vodka as well.
There is an increasing number of North African stalls that sell shawarma, falafel and halumi.
Hungary
Street food isn't particularly common in Hungary, although
gyros shops are becoming more common.
Rétes (strudel) is fairly common, and
lángos (a deep fried bread) is usually available at markets and during celebrations. In general, Hungarians looking for quick food will stop to sit down and eat, even if only at a Chinese
buffet or a
főzelékfaló (vegetable
purée bar).
Italy
The most notable
Italian street food is
pizza, sold in take-aways. Take-away pizza (or "pizza a taglio") is quite different from
pizzeria pizza. Unlike the round pizza normally found in restaurants - which originated in Naples as a street food itself, it's generally made on large square trays, and square or rectangular portions are sold. It usually has quite a thick base, again unlike the traditional Italian restaurant pizza.
Toppings include margherite, mushrooms, Italian sausage, ham, and vegetables. In
Siena, the local form of takeaway pizza is quite different from elsewhere: it generally has an extremely fine dough, and often this is folded over the topping.
Other street foods are the
Genoese Focaccia di Recco, a double layer of thin dough filled with quark cheese and baked, Farinata, a thin, baked chickpea-flour batter, topped with salt, pepper and olive oil, often served with Focaccia (a thin bread, also with salt and olive oil),
Florentine Trippa and Lampredotto, ox stomach cooked in a seasoned broth and served in a bread roll,
Roman "Supplì", rice balls filled with cheese and/or various fillings, covered in egg and breadcrumbs and deep fried, similar to
Sicilian Arancini, where the usual filling is a meat sauce with green peas.
In
Naples, fried food stalls, known as
friggitorie, sell filled, deep-fried pastries and other foods. In
Palermo, a street food would be "Pani ca meusa" (bread rolls with sliced, cooked pork spleen), and "Panelle", deep-fried chickpea flour batter. In central Italy "porchetta" is common, a spicy roasted pork meat (from the whole, boned animal), usually served in a bread roll.
Vendors sell watermelons during the summer months, as well as roasted chestnuts ("caldarroste") stalls during the winter, and especially before Christmas.
Rosticcerie, while most often selling food to be eaten at home, also sometimes have a counter for immediate consumption of their goods, the most common of which are roast chicken, roast potatoes, fried
polenta and other accompaniments.
Substantial immigration from Turkey and the Middle East has also gained
Shawarma, as well as other middle-eastern traditional dishes, an increasing popularity.
Gelato (icecream) is of a very high standard.
Malta
Pastizzi are small, ricotta cheese or pea-paste filled puff-pastry squares that can be bought from vendors in practically every village in
Malta. "Pastizzi", or its singular form "pastizz" is also a derogatory term in colloquial Maltese which refers to female genitalia, probably due to the similarity in shape of these local delicacies to the notorious body part. Ricotta pastizzi (Pastizzi tal-irkotta) are diamond shaped with a hole in the middle where the ricotta stuffing can be seen whilst pea pastizzi (Pastizzi tal-pizelli) are of the same shape but are more like an envelope of puff pastry with no discernible holes.
The shops selling these pastries are called "Pastizzeriji" and they occasionally sell items such as pies, pizza slices, sausage rolls, baked rice, baked maccaroni (timpana) and sometimes arancini.
Another local street food found in such pastizzerias is the "Qassatat". This is a ball-shaped pie crust with an open top, filled with the same two basic fillings of ricotta or peas, and sometimes a tuna and spinach mixture.
Imqaret are deep fried pastries filled with a mashed date mixture.
Hamburgers, hot dogs and other such products being sold from vans, replace perennial Maltese favorites such as
Ħobż biż-żejt,
bigilla and
timpana.
However
Ħobż biż-żejt is another popular street food, usually bought from the inside of shops rather than stalls. This is the local sandwich, a local flat-bun called a "ftira" or a rounder one called "hbejza" are filled with various ingredients available at the counter displays. The basic
Ħobż biż-żejt recipe consists of filling the bread with oil and kunserva (tomato paste), tuna-fish, pickles and other delicacies which vary from shop to shop. These shops usually serve tea with milk in small glasses to their regulars.
Occasionally one might meet a street vendor who sells "sinizza", this is a rarity nowadays. Sinizza is deep fried ball of fish, batter and other ingredients.
Russia
In
Russia, street food mostly reflects the cultures brought together in the
Soviet Union. Traditional Eastern European items such as
blini,
pirozhki and
sausages are widely available.
The cuisine of Russia's
Turkic minority is popular, with dishes like
shawerma,
rotisserie chicken,
shashlik,
chebureki and
plov.
Kvas, a
small beer made (usually) from
bread, with
honey being a frequent additive (
myodniy kvass), is sold out of tanks or barrels on the street.
In areas with large
Chinese immigrant populations, various
Chinese dishes are also available.
More universal foods are also popular.
Ice cream is enjoyed even on the coldest of
Moscow days.
Pizza is also available.
In addition to prepared food, a great deal of products are sold on the street. Many
kiosks sell
candy,
snacks,
produce,
beer and other
beverages, in addition to
cigarettes and various household products.
Slovakia
In
Slovakia street offerings include
steamed sweetcorn cobs, fried flat bread loaves with garlic and salt or other condiments (
langos), fried buns with
poppy seed, jam or cream cheese filling (
pirozky); seasonally, ice-cream is eaten in summer and roasted chestnuts in autumn.
Ciganska pecienka (gypsy-style
roasted pork), roasted sausage and more are sold at Saturday markets. Crepes and fresh sandwiches are available.
Spain
The concept of eating in the street isn't very rooted in the Spanish culture, some Spaniards prefer to eat inside a bar with friends (
tapeo). However, in winter roasted
chestnuts can be bought in the street, especially in the northern half of the country, and during
fiestas,
churros are also sold.
Turkey
In the European side of Turkey (especially around
Istanbul region), the main street food is
döner kebap. Both versions of döner (cooked with gas or grilled with coal fire) can be found nearly on every street in Istanbul, usually from noon to around 03:00 am in the morning.
Taksim area offers 24 hours street-döner service, 365 days a year, excluding some holidays. Another common street food is rice with freshly cooked chickpeas (referred as
pilav) which usually can be found after 22:00-23:00 on Istanbul streets until around 05:00 in the morning.
A
simit is a circular bread with sesame seeds, in the city of
İzmir, simit is known as "gevrek," (literally, 'crisp') although it's very similar to the Istanbul variety. Simit are often sold by street vendors who either have a simit trolley or carry the simit on their head.
Tea vendors carry pots of hot, sweet tea through the
bazaars; many bazaar vendors have their own pot brewing for potential customers.
United Kingdom
Converted vans selling
kebabs,
hamburgers and
chips are a common sight, especially at night. At fairs, stalls selling
candy floss or
doughnuts are increasingly popular. In Lancashire, one can buy hot parched peas (
black peas) from stalls, especially in the colder months.
Portable
ice-cream vans are considered a common sign of summer, and usually play either
Greensleeves or
Teddy Bears' Picnic.
See
List of markets in London and
List of farmers' markets in the United Kingdom for further information
North America
Canada
While most major cities in Canada offer a variety of street food, regional "specialties" are notable. While
poutine (
french fries with
gravy and
cheese curds) is available in most of the country, it's far more common in
Quebec. Similarly,
hot dog stands can be found across Canada, but are far more common in
Ontario (often sold from mobile canteen trucks, usually referred to as "chip wagons") than in
Vancouver or
Victoria (where the "Mr. Tube Steak" franchise is notable).
Montreal offers a number of specialties including
Shish taouk, the
Montreal hot dog, and Dollar
falafels. Although falafel is widespread in Vancouver, 99 cent
pizza slices are much more popular.
Shawarma is quite prevalent
Ottawa, while
Halifax offers its own unique version of the
Döner kebab called the
Donair, which features a distinctive sauce, made from condensed milk, sugar, and vinegar.
Ice cream trucks can be seen (and often heard) nationwide during the summer months.
United States
In the
United States,
hot dogs and their many variations (
corn dogs, chili dogs) are perhaps the most common street food, particularly in major metropolitan areas such as
New York City.
Roasted and
salted
nuts are also often sold.
Pretzels and
cheesesteak are common in
Philadelphia. Throughout America,
ice cream is sold out of
trucks.
Chinese cuisine is sold in many large cities and
Chinese neighborhoods; Mexican foods such as
tacos and
tortas are sold in neighborhoods with
Mexican population.
Pizza is often available from window counters.
Some vendors operate out of
food trucks on college campuses, particularly in the Northeast, where American, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, and other cuisines are available. Like restaurants, they're regulated and subject to inspections by the local municipal or county health departments.
Ethnic
diversity and the lack of a strictly defined national
cuisine (such as those enjoyed by
France or
Italy) has given new meaning to the term "
melting pot." In most urban areas in America and Canada, it isn't uncommon to find vendors selling
falafel,
gyros,
kebobs and rice,
panini,
crepes,
french fries,
chicken tikka masala,
eggrolls, or other popular international dishes. The more exotic offerings of African street vendors may not be found, but the fast-food equivalents of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia are all represented.
On the West Coast, in cities such as
Los Angeles, California, the variations of street food tend towards food with a Latin American flair. Moving further north along the coast, the Latin American immigrant influences mix with Polish, Bosnian, and Mediterranean offerings, such as in
Portland, Oregon.
Mexico
In
Mexico,
tacos,
tortas (traditional Mexican sandwiches),
tamales and
aguas frescas are sold.
South America
Brazil
Pão de queijo, which can be translated as "cheese bread", is a street snack in the southeast of
Brazil and, increasingly, the rest of the country.
Hot dogs are often sold with grated cheese, grilled onions, mayonnaise, green peas or mashed potatoes (
São Paulo only) as choice of toppings.
Hamburgers are also offered with a wide assortment of toppings, such as mozzarella cheese, bacon, eggs, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard, the popular "X-Tudo" (or
cheese-all, a souped up cheeseburger).
Calabresa (
Pepperoni) sausage sandwiches are also popular.
Rio de Janeiro beach vendors are famous for their
Mate Gelado (
yerba mate iced-tea),
biscoitos de polvilho (sour
manioc flour puffs), roasted peanuts and
queijo coalho (grilled cheese on sticks, barbecued on the spot) as well as popsicles, cold beer and home-made sandwiches (
sanduiche natural). In the northeastern state of
Bahia, the region's African heritage is reflected in the iconic
acarajé (deep fried black eyed pea bun filled with
caruru, made from salted dried shrimp, and
vatapá, a creamy combination of
coconut milk,
palm oil and
cashew nuts) or sweets like
cocada (candied coconut) and
pé-de-moleque (
peanut brittle). All over the country,
popcorn is always offered in push carts both salty or sweet (with sugar and cocoa powder).
Churros push carts (sausage shaped deep fried dough filled with a choice of
doce-de-leite caramel or chocolate sauce) are also found on any major city street.
Colombia
in
Colombia, the
empanada, a deep-fried meat-filled patty, is sold.
Peru
In
Peru,
anticuchos, a type of
kebab, are often sold by street vendors called
anticucheras. Also,
cuy, a species of
Guinea Pig is served as a delicacy on religious holidays.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Street Food'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://street_food.totallyexplained.com">Street food Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
