Street Food: Walk & Talk. Sit & Sip. With Street Foods, You Have Options!
Source: Pexels
Hey there, friends!
We conclude our trilogy with this final installation in our Street Food Series. If you haven’t had a chance yet, be sure to read the food truck and street food blogs and then share your favorite food experiences just like our community member, Ausenda Silva did!
I was scrolling through social media the other day and I saw a reel about someone going to New York City for the first time. I was surprised that the one thing she was most excited about wasn’t shopping, going up to the top of the Empire State Building, or catching a Broadway show. It was buying a hot dog on the street from a street vendor! So, it got me thinking more deeply about this street food journey we’ve been on: what is the big deal about Street Food? What motivates people to travel great distances to try street food? And would you, dear reader, cross the globe for a tasty street meal?
A TOUCH OF HISTORY
As a refresher, we know that “street food” refers to food or drinks sold by a vendor on a street or at other public places like parks, markets, and fairs. The foods are sold from a portable structure like a small truck or food cart. And of course, the food is meant to be eaten right away. We know from our previous blogs that many cultures have street food traditions and that some of those traditions have spread to other regions and even countries.
Even the ancient Romans had street foods! As historians tell it, one of the interesting facts is that people started selling food on the street to help feed the poor. For example, in ancient Rome, poor people bought street food because, in the city, most didn’t have kitchens in their homes. The food bought in the streets was of good quality and inexpensive. This is why many of the rich would send their servants out to purchase street food to bring back home to serve their families.
But guess what, the street foods of ancient Rome were so delicious that they became accessible to anyone of any class. Vendors were happy to sell their delicious sausages, pancakes, and other tasty treats to any hungry passer-by.
STREET FOOD TOUR
Now, that we’ve looked more closely and taken a peek into a bit of history, let’s round up our last installment of street foods by highlighting a few more cuisines from the Anglophone diaspora.
Check out these four English-speaking countries and their most popular street foods!
Malta
Source: Pexels
⁃ Pastizzi are stuffed mini pastry parcels. The classic flavors are ricotta or peas, but you can find other variants such as chicken or Nutella if you’re craving something sweet.
- Bigilla is a dip comprised of broad beans. How is this bigilla considered a street food? Well, Malta actually has bigilla trucks that pass through small towns and villages to sell to people.
⁃ Imqaret are deep-fried dates.
⁃ Fresh fruits also make the list of street foods! Vendors give access to more exotic fruits of the area like loquats, plums, figs, or prickly pears.
Now that you know a bit about Maltese street food, why not ask our friend, Kurt (the Maltese Community Manager), about some of his favorite street foods?
Jamaica
Source: Public domain.
⁃ Patty is a thin crust made of flour that is filled with various stuffing. For example, it can include cheese, beef, vegetables, chicken, shrimp, lobster, curried goat, and soy.
⁃ Peppered Shrimp are spicy shrimp with tons of flavor. They are usually cooked in a skillet with garlic, hot pepper, butter, and thyme.
- Sky Juice (aka snow cone) consists of shaved ice covered with flavored syrup.
⁃ Jerk Chicken - Jerking is a traditional Jamaican spicing technique and slow-cooking meat. This preserves the juices and creates that typical jerked flavor. Seasoning is normally scotch bonnet peppers, onions, allspice, garlic, thyme, ginger, and cinnamon. If you’re not used to spices, you better take it slow with this one!
Philippines
Source: Public domain
- Lumpiang Shanghai is the most popular variety of lumpia, the crispy deep-fried Filipino snack that evolved from Chinese spring rolls. Even though lumpia appears in numerous variations, the Shanghai version is characterized by a savory filling which combines ground pork or beef with carrots, onions, various seasonings, and (occasionally) shrimps.
- Filipino Barbecue is skewered pork barbecue and is found on most street corners.
- Kwek-kwek are battered and deep-fried quail eggs. This street food is often served on skewers or in plastic cups. You can dip them in vinegar sauce with chopped garlic, onion, chilies, and cucumber.
Australia
Source: Public domain
- Barbecued Snags are sausages made from beef, pork, garlic and onions.
- Meat Pie - Australian (and New Zealander) meat pie is made with flaky pastry and filled with minced meat and gravy. Many varities exist besides the minced meat and gravy. You might find onions, chicken and asparagus, mushrooms, cheese, crocodile meat, vegetables, or seafood as fillings as well.
- Chiko Rolls are an Australian cultural food similar to Asian spring rolls. They consist of cabbage, beef, and a variety of vegetables.
OVER TO YOU!
Are you hungry yet???
After reading about some of these incredible street foods, I want to know about your experiences with street foods.
Task 1: In a few sentences, tell us where you’re from and share your country’s street food tradition.
Task 2: If you haven’t tried street food, tell us where you would want to go in the world to try it. What you would want to eat and why would you choose that place?
Bonus Task: If you could travel back in time to any ancient culture, where would you go to try their street food? :D
Click Reply below and get started!
Have fun, friends!
Iya, OLS Community Manager - English
