Street Foods Around The World

Simple but delicious, inexpensive, and convenient, there’s amazing street food in every country around the world. No matter where you travel, some friendly people want you to taste the authentic food that represents their homeland.

If you’re dreaming about your next adventure but aren’t sure where to go, check out the street food from these countries and then decide where your next foodie destination should be.

Brazil

On every street corner in Brazil you’ll find vendors grilling meat on make-shift charcoal grills, so be sure to try the salsipӓo – a slow-grilled, smoky sausage sandwich on a toasted bun with cheese, green salad, and hot chili sauce.

The Bauru, named after a region in Brazil, is another famous sandwich. It’s made with slices of roast beef, loads of melted mozzarella, tomato, and pickles, all stuffed into a soft bun.

Acarajé might be Brazil’s most popular street food. They’re made from a mixture of black-eyed peas or beans, onions, spices, and herbs – formed into balls and deep-fried. The balls are split open and stuffed with a tasty paté made from shrimp and cashews and topped with fresh tomatoes and hot pepper sauce.

Turkey

In Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, people are constantly bustling around, and they love eating street food.

One of the local favorites is Kumpir – a humble baked potato loaded with extras. You can get whatever you want on it, like cheese, corn, chicken, onions, peppers, ketchup, mayonnaise, or pickled vegetables.

Simit are rings of toasty bread covered in sesame seeds and sold on every street corner. They are hard on the outside and soft inside. Before they’re baked they’re dipped in pomegranate molasses and sprinkled with sesame seeds, so they have a slightly sweet flavor. Split open a warm simit and spread cream cheese on it any time of the day, yum.

Lahmacun is thin dough smeared with a mixture of finely chopped lamb, onions, peppers, and parsley and baked in a super-hot pizza oven. It comes out crispy and luscious, served with extra parsley and a spritz of lemon juice.

China

China is a foodie’s paradise with thousands of outstanding street food options, but here are a few of our favorite must-eats.

Cong you Bing – scallion pancakes – are made by combining unleavened flatbread dough with lots of fragrant, chopped-up scallions, and pan-frying them in sizzling oil. They have crispy edges, a soft interior, and are full of sweet onion flavor.

Xianbing are big dumplings stuffed with different kinds of meat and vegetables. They are cooked in a covered skillet, so the bottoms are crispy, and the tops are soft. You can dip your dumpling into soy sauce mixed with hot chili oil for extra flavor.

Jianbing is a thin crêpe made out of mung bean flour. While it’s cooking, it’s topped with egg, a savory bean paste, chopped scallions, crunchy vegetables, and hoisin sauce, then rolled up. Some like to add chicken or sausage.

Vietnam

Vietnam is another street food paradise and it’s hard to choose the best dishes out of so many. You should definitely try bun cha which is a dish made of charcoal-grilled, sliced pork, or pork meatballs (sometimes both). The pork is served with rice noodles and a broth made with lots of fish sauce and sprinkled with fresh herbs.

Nem cua be is a spring roll made from a combination of pork, crab, shrimp, and mushrooms (or other vegetables). The mixture is wrapped in rice paper and deep-fried. It’s served with fish sauce and sometimes noodles.

Bot Chien is made by cutting up thick slabs of rice cake, frying them in oil, cracking an egg on top, and letting it cook until it gets golden brown. They are served with papaya, shallot, and scallion salad, pickled chili sauce, and rice vinegar dressing.

Mexico

When you go to Mexico, go there hungry because you won’t be able to stop eating, all the street food is outstanding.

Practically everywhere you go you’ll see tamales, which are corn dough dumplings served in the corn husk they’re steamed in. They are filled with all sorts of ingredients like chicken, pork, beef, chilis, mole, salsa verde, and more.

Elotes are grilled corn on the cob served on sticks. They are slathered with mayonnaise and covered in queso fresco (Mexican farmer’s cheese), ground chilis, and lime juice.

Gorditas are thick tortillas, split open and filled with your choice of fillings like beans, cheese, crunchy chicharron (deep-fried pork skin), pulled chicken, or pork, salsa, and guacamole. Then the gordita (which means fatty, by the way) is grilled, so the filling heats up and melds together while the outer bread gets nice and crispy.

Japan

While you’re wandering around the busy streets of Japanese cities like Tokyo, tempting street food is abundant. Probably the most familiar are the yakitori skewers of meat or chicken that are cooked over charcoal. But don’t stop there…

Takoyaki are perfectly round balls of fried batter stuffed with octopus, scallions, and pickled ginger.

Dango, Japanese dumplings made out of rice flour, uruchi rice flour, and glutinous rice flour. The rice mixture is soft and rolled into balls, then placed on skewers that are grilled over charcoal. As they cook, the chef bastes them with sweet soy sauce to create a yummy umami bomb.

Okonomiyaki is made out of a thick pancake-like batter and cooked on a griddle. While it’s cooking, it’s topped with your choice of things like egg, meat, seafood, vegetables, and cheese. To finish, it’s topped with mayonnaise, seaweed or bonito flakes, and pickled ginger.

United States

What street food you get depends on what state you’re in, there’s no end to the variety.

Philly cheesesteak sandwiches were made famous by a hot dog vendor in Philadelphia in 1930. The iconic sandwich is full of thinly sliced steak and topped with lots of melted cheese and caramelized onions on a hoagie roll.

Every city in the U.S. boasts its own special hot dog, but the Chicago-style dog might be the best. It’s a grilled, all-beef hot dog on a steamed bun, topped with relish, mustard, onions, tomato slices, pickles, pickled peppers, and a dash of celery salt.

If you’re on the west coast try the California burrito – a flour tortilla stuffed to the max with grilled meat, cheese, and French fries. It’s topped off with sour cream and guacamole.

South Africa

After a night out in Durban, join the crowd for Johnny’s roti (or the similar bunny chow). They take a big roti and stuff it with French fries, cheese, and a meaty curry. Bunny chow

 is served on a bread roll instead of a roti.

Boerewors are spicy sausages made of beef and pork. You can get it with fried onions and ketchup on a soft white bun.

Bobotie is the national dish of South Africa. It’s a little like moussaka, made with ground meat – either lamb or beef – simmered with lots of spices, herbs, and dried fruit like raisins. When the meat is ready, it’s topped with an egg and milk combination and baked in the oven until set and golden brown on top.

India

In this diverse country, every region has street food that represents the local culture. But no matter where you go, you can find momos. These are dumplings stuffed with chicken or vegetables and served with a spicy red sauce.

Pav Bhaji – pav are small white rolls that are toasted until crispy. Pav help soak up the bhaji which is a mixture of mashed potatoes, tomatoes, onions, green peas, peppers, and lots of butter. Don’t forget the napkins.

Kachori is made by filling pastry dough with lentils, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables. The dough is rolled into balls and fried until golden brown. These are served with a chutney made from tamarind.

Germany

If you love sausage, you won’t have trouble finding a huge variety of delicious sausage dishes in Germany. If you don’t fill up on sausages, try some of the other fantastic street food.

Bratkartoffeln is a dish made of potato wedges that are fried with onions and pieces of thick bacon (called spek). The golden potatoes are served with ketchup or a special garlic sauce called quark.

Spӓtzle is a soft noodle dough that the cook pushes through the holes of a spätzle maker into salted, boiling water. This technique makes little balls of chewy dough that are like pasta. They top off the cooked noodles with cooked onions and cheese.

Pretzels are sold everywhere. They are hot, crispy on the outside, and soft, but chewy, on the inside. You can eat them with ham and cheese, butter and jam, with grilled sausages, or just plain with a big stein of frosty German beer.

No matter where you travel in the world, you are sure to make exciting and scrumptious street food discoveries. Take every opportunity you can to learn about the culture and people of the countries you visit while eating their wonderful food.