In many corners of the world, street food has become a symbol of the country
USA: burgers and hot dogs
Whether you like it or not, American fast food will always haunt you. For a quick bite, you just need to step outside your front door: there will definitely be a diner with burgers and fries or a hot dog cart nearby.
As Gazeta.Ru notes, in the US itself, besides the international bun with a patty, there are local specialties. For example, the famous Chicago pizza. Deeper than usual, resembling a pie, it is also baked with tomato sauce and various types of cheese and is considered a dish that every tourist in Chicago should try.
Hot dogs are the second most beloved dish of Americans. Even the most avid vegetarians are crazy about them, because you can put not only meat but also any "healthy" ingredients into a soft bun. There are tens of thousands of hot dog carts in America, so vendors resort to any means to attract customers. Iowa, for example, is famous for hot dogs wrapped in potatoes. Crowds of tourists come to watch how a chef virtuously twists a potato spiral onto a long sausage.
Those with a sweet tooth can go in search of churros stalls and sundae ice cream trucks. Fried dough sticks coated with cinnamon and sugar are served for breakfast, and hot chocolate is offered as a topping for sweet lovers.
The famous American dessert sundae is ordinary ice cream with fruit syrup, berries, and nuts. Its origin is unknown: New York, Ohio, and Louisiana are still vying for the title of the dessert's birthplace. The most expensive sundae in the world was created at the New York restaurant Serendipity 3. The dessert costing $1,000 was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 2007.
In New York, so-called pretzels are widely popular – rich pastries that were invented in Germany. Americans modernized this sweet and created various variations of German pretzels: today they are served with ice cream, syrups, and other toppings. Annually, 136 million kg of this dessert are produced in the USA.
Vietnam: Pho soup and bun cha
The easiest way to eat in Vietnam is to go to an open market. Here, stalls are mostly run by women, and the business is passed from mother to daughter through generations. In Vietnam, you cannot walk a block without stumbling upon a crowd of hungry people at stalls selling Pho soup – a fragrant clear broth made from chicken or beef with fresh herbs and noodles.
If you need a quick snack, your option is a dish called "bun cha." It consists of fried pork loin patties served with rice noodles and fish sauce. This is what Barack Obama ate in 2016 during the filming of a show with American chef Anthony Bourdain.
Completing our selection of street food is the national Vietnamese sandwich "banh mi." It is a traditional French baguette filled with cold cuts, pâté, and carrots. In southern Vietnam, chefs add cheese, sausages, pickled vegetables, fried egg, and chili sauce to their "banh mi."
Taiwan: glazed tomatoes and tofu
To get acquainted with Taiwanese street food, tourists head to Taiwan's largest night market, Shilin. The sizzling oil, abundance of smoke, and smell of Asian food can evoke mixed feelings in Europeans. At the same time, visitors note an extraordinary cleanliness and tidiness of the trading areas for Asia. On brightly decorated counters, strawberries and glazed tomatoes are crowded. Notably, tomatoes in Taiwan are considered fruits. According to tourists, the taste of tomato combined with sugar is almost imperceptible: it seems you are eating a pear in batter.
At the market, you can buy freshly squeezed juices and fruits, which, by the way, cost pennies in Taiwan. A persistent smell of seafood hangs over the night market: it is fried, dried, smoked, stewed, added to noodles and other national dishes.
A typical Taiwanese street food dish is crispy tofu drizzled with soy sauce; served with cold pickled cabbage.
But the birthplace of "bubble tea," which today can be bought in any shopping center in the capital, is considered the Taiwanese city of Taichung. The recipe for the unusual tea was quickly adopted by businessmen around the world, and they began opening bubble tea bars in their cities. Most recipes today include a tea base mixed with fruit juice or milk. However, if you want to try the original drink consisting of black tea, condensed milk, and tapioca pearls with fruit fillings, head to a Taiwanese market.
Turkey: simit bagels and döner
In Turkey, you don't have to go to expensive restaurants: all the tastiest things are sold right on the street. The most common Turkish street food dish is giant "simit" bagels. They are often served in cafes and restaurants for breakfast with jam. However, you can also try simit on the street: any alley is teeming with carts selling Turkish bagels, and some even carry the sweets on a tray on their heads. But it's better to buy simits where they are baked, not where they slowly dry out.
On the Istanbul waterfront, you can try the traditional Turkish sandwich "balık ekmek." It is as pleasant to watch the process of its preparation as it is to eat it. On a giant rocking boat with huge stoves, dozens of chefs bustle about, every second placing fried fish, lettuce leaves, and onions into bread and handing the sandwich to visitors.
If you have ever been to Turkey, you have certainly witnessed the following act: a virtuoso seller with a long iron rod, at the end of which ice cream is attached, teases customers for several minutes. Tourists cannot grab the treat from the ice cream man's hands: this magician knows how to attract a crowd. This famous ice cream is called dondurma. Every year, the average Turk eats almost 3 kg of this dessert.
The shawarma we are used to is called döner in Istanbul: locals strongly recommend taking döner with lamb – in their words, it is unusually good in Turkey.
Turkish pizza lahmacun is a thin crispy flatbread topped with minced meat, tomato sauce, and herbs. This dish is popular among tourists. In any hotel near the pool, there will definitely be a tent where a Turkish woman will cook lahmacun on a huge round stove.
China: baozi and jiaozi dumplings
On the streets of Chinese cities, there are stalls selling seafood on skewers – fried octopus and squid. According to tourists, locals are crazy about these skewers. Traditionally, Chinese noodles can be bought on every corner. The most common and favorite dish of the Chinese is baozi and jiaozi dumplings. In addition to specific seafood, in Beijing, any stall sells breaded chicken.
All ingredients in Chinese dishes are cut into small pieces: this makes them easier to fry and then eat with chopsticks. Tourists believe that the portion size in Chinese street food is incomparable to other countries. For a couple of dollars in China, you can eat enough for the whole day.
Italy: pizza, olives, and gelato
Italians undoubtedly master the art of cooking anywhere and anytime. The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning this country is, of course, pizza. All ideas about this dish collapse after trying real Italian pizza "Al Taglio." This is baked in large rectangular trays and sold on the streets of Rome.
Fried rice balls arancini, stuffed with meat, mozzarella, and tomato sauce, are an ideal snack. They were invented in Sicily and are now sold in stalls in all Italian cities.
Green olives in Italy are the basis for a dish called "Olive Ascolane." The olives are stuffed with meat, breaded, and fried until crispy golden.
Soft Italian ice cream gelato is loved by everyone: in every Italian city, this dessert has its own unique flavor. The National Ice Cream Institute Carpigiano Gelato University offers advanced training courses where gelato sellers improve their skills. The dessert will especially appeal to those who watch their calories, because the fat content in the treat is minimal: it is made from milk and eggs.
Another "classic" of Italian street food is the simple-to-make bruschetta. Although it cannot be a full dinner, it will definitely satisfy hunger. A small toast with tomatoes, basil, and cheese is grilled and served in culinary shops on paper plates.
Mexico: tacos, tortas, and tortilla
Street food culture in Mexico is one of the most developed in the world. Forbes magazine named this country the most advanced in street food. In Mexico, all street vendors do without pre-prepared ingredients: it is important for them to cut ingredients and fry meat right in front of the customer.
Almost all street dishes are made from corn flour. Some tourists believe that this gives them a specific taste. However, it is impossible to come to Mexico and not try the famous tacos, tortas, and tortilla.
Tacos are a corn tortilla with meat and vegetables. Tortas are an analogue of the shawarma we are used to: a flatbread filled with minced meat, onions, beans, and other vegetables. Tortilla is baked on open round clay pans. The dough for it is made from corn or wheat flour.
For sweets, we suggest trying churros – choux pastry. And don't forget to dip them in hot chocolate.
South Korea: kimbap and bibimbap
Gastronomic life in Seoul begins closer to evening, when all the streets fill with carts and stalls with national dishes. In addition to traditional skewers, fried potatoes, and seafood on sticks, Korean street food is famous for its sweets – pies and pastries with custard. Cocktail bars offer a wide selection of frozen yogurt and milkshakes with fruit toppings.
The Korean national dish kimbap is well-known rolls filled with rice and a filling of vegetables, fish, seafood, ham, or omelet. The dish was borrowed during the Japanese occupation, hence such a clear similarity. Kimbap differs from Japanese rolls in the absence of vinegar in the rice, as well as raw fish. Koreans eat kimbap at picnics or as a snack on the street.
Another Seoul street food dish is bibimbap, the only dish originally from Korea that made it into the top 50 most delicious dishes in the world compiled by CNN. This is a combination of rice, beef, seafood with zucchini, spinach, fern root, shiitake mushrooms, and soybean sprouts. At the center of the composition is an egg and Korean gochujang paste. Local chefs will assemble a box of bibimbap with ingredients of your choice in a few minutes.