Regional street food is street food that has commonalities within a region or culture.
Description Street foods—ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall— have variations within both regions and cultures. For example, Dorling Kindersley describes the street food of Vietnam as being "fresh and lighter than many of the cuisines in the area" and "draw[ing] heavily on herbs, chile peppers and lime," while street food of Thailand is "fiery" and "pungent with shrimp paste... and fish sauce" with New York City's signature street food being the hot dog, although the offerings in New York also range from "spicy Middle Eastern falafel or Jamaican jerk chicken to Belgian waffles." In Hawaii, the local street food tradition of the "plate lunch" (rice, macaroni salad and a portion of meat) was inspired by the bento of the Japanese who had been brought to Hawaii as plantation workers.
Regional trends
Africa
Madagascar
A variety of cakes and fritters collectively known as mofo are available from kiosks in towns and cities across Madagascar.Boissard (1997), p. 80 The most common is mofo gasy, "Malagasy bread", made from a batter of sweetened rice flour poured into greased circular molds and cooked over charcoal. Mofo gasy is a breakfast food and is often eaten with coffee, also sold at kiosks.Bradt (2011), pp. 101–102 In coastal areas this mofo is made with coconut milk and is known as mokary.Donenfeld (2007), p. 7 Other sweet mofo include a deep-fried doughnut called menakelyChan Tat Chuen (2010), pp. 97–98 and a fried dough ball called mofo baolina,Savoir Cuisiner (2004), pp. 18–19 as well as a variety of fruit fritters, with pineapple and bananas among the most common fruits used.Espagne-Ravo (1997), pp. 131–132 Savory mofo include ramanonaka, a mofo gasy salted and fried in lard, and a fritter flavored with chopped greens, onions, tomatoes, and chilies called mofo sakay, "spicy bread."
In marketplaces and gas stations one may find vendors selling koba akondro, a sweet made by wrapping a batter of ground peanuts, mashed bananas, honey, and corn flour in banana leaves and steaming or boiling the small cakes until the batter has set. Peanut brittle, dried bananas, balls of tamarind paste rolled in colored sugar, deep-fried wonton-type dough strings called kaka pizon, meaning "pigeon droppings," are also eaten in neighboring Reunion Island, and home-made yogurts, are all commonly sold on the street. In rural areas, steamed cassava or sweet potatoes are eaten, occasionally with fresh or sweetened condensed milk.
Morocco Typical street food includes bessara, crumbed liver, spicy sardines, and brochettes, Fricassé de saucisses, Boubouch (Hot spicy snail soup), Salty Chips Cornet, Jaban (Candy), Soffa (coton candy), Kefta Sandwich, Corn, Hommos Kamún, And a wide range of soups according to the region.
In the northern side of the country, Ze3za3 (a typical juice) and calenté (Or karane, calentica) are very famous.
In the cities of the Atlantic Coast (Casablanca, Safi, Essaouira, Agadir) fish and seafood are often found.
Nigeria Chin chin is a meal served in Nigeria and west Africa. Other Nigerian street foods include suya (barbecued meat), boli (roasted plantain), fried yam and fish, roasted corn, and akara and moi-Moi (fried or steamed bean cakes, respectively). Pure water or sachet water is also sold, frequently by children.
South Africa
In South Africa, boerewors and other braai foods are available in the street. In townships, ethnic foods are available.
In Cape Town, the Gatsby, a baguette filled with meat (often bologna sausage), salad, cheese, and chips is sold as street food. It is said to have originated from a single restaurant.The Gatsby Sandwich | Fast Food, Sandwiches, South African Culture & Takeaway Outlets Cape Town
Bunny chow is a scooped out loaf with Curry or atchar inside and with the scooped out bread placed on top.
Uganda In Uganda, a popular street food item is the rolex, where chapati, a tortilla-like flatbread, is wrapped around eggs and a selection of vegetables.
Asia
Bangladesh Dhaka street food vendors sell pitha, chotpoti, puchka, jhalmuri, badam, and various fried items. There are also other unique street foods at the Dhaka new market such as burnt corn on the cob covered in a special sauce, and egg burgers. Some of the most popular street foods in Bangladesh are full chickens that are marinated in over 40 spices then fried in oil, egg sandwiches that are full of eggs and then battered and fried, and rasmalai, labang, and patishapta which look like crepes.
China
Street vendors of snack foods (xiaochi) are becoming less common as local governments cut down on the practice, citing safety and traffic congestion as problems. Many vendors have also moved towards opening small restaurants and shops, and "street food" is now commonly eaten indoors at established locations.
Bing, a flatbread made of flour and fried in oil, was once a Northeastern street food that can also be found in many areas around the country. They can be served plain or stuffed with meat or eggs, or seasoned with scallions, sauces, or other flavours. One variety originating in Shandong and now found throughout China, jianbing guozi (煎饼果子), is made with the batter poured directly onto an iron skillet and evened out into a thin pancake. An egg is cracked on top, then various seasonings are added. It is rolled for portability.
South Korea
In the culture of South Korea, popular street food consists of spicy rice cakes (Tteokbokki), fish cakes, live octopus, mung bean pancake (Bindaetteok), blood sausage, Korean roll (Kimbap), and many more. The spicy rice cakes are a stable, traditional food. They are made with a spicy sauce and chewy rice cakes; many vendors add fish cakes and scallion in the soup. Street vendors reside within the residential areas and near schools. The ready-to-go food attracts business at each street corner.
North Korea Street food vendors in North Korea are illegal, and they are named as the "grasshopper market" due to their speed to move around. The ones that are legal must pay a fee to the state to sell their products. The majority of street foods are low in nutrients. These include man-made meat (injogogibab), textured vegetable protein (injogogi), dried sausage, tofu rice, and bread snacks. They are often sold in a package form. For those who could not afford rice, corn is used to replace it in the recipes.
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 (). 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
Each region of India has street food specialties.
In the areas of Maharashtra, such as Mumbai, street food culture includes vada paav, panipuri, Kheema pav, kacchi daabeli, sevpuri, dahipuri, pav bhaji, egg bhurji, chanachur, buddhi ke baal, and gola.Hamsini Ravi A Day in the Life of a Daabeliwala 25 June 2009Nazar Mumbai, Maharashtra, is where vada pav originated. In Punjab, golgappe, kulcha, chole bhature, naan, and are common.
New Delhi's cuisine is highly influenced by its neighbours Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab, as well as Mughalai cuisine. Vegetarian dishes include sabzi kachauri (sabzi is usually spicy potato curry; kachauri can be plain as well as stuffed), dahi bhalla, and various other varieties of chaat. Certain parts of Old Delhi which include Chandani Chowk and Chawri Bazar have numerous street food vendors who have been selling street food for three or more generations.Street food in Delhi Indian Street Food in India
Indonesia
Street foods are sold by hawkers peddling their goods on carts, bicycles, motorbikes, by five foot way (kaki lima) trader, or by road-side stalls with easy access from the street. The food being sold may include Indonesian food like nasi campur, nasi goreng, gado-gado, soups (such as soto ayam), satay, desserts and beverages like bubur kacang hijau, es cendol, and es cincau.
In most cities, it is common to see Chinese dishes such as (steamed buns with sweet and savoury fillings), (noodles), and (meatballs) sold by street vendors and restaurants, often adapted to become Indonesian-Chinese cuisine. One common adaptation is that pork is rarely used since the majority of Indonesians are Muslims.
Japan The most popular and well-known street food in Japan is takoyaki, consisting of fried batter filled with octopus, onions, ginger, and tempura pieces. Traditionally, it is cooked in an iron pan with round holes to create the shape of a takoyaki and it comes in a shape of a ball with fish shaving and sauce. This dish originated from Osaka. The custom of street food is not to eat in the streets because of tradition. It is more acceptable to eat sitting under a roof, at home, or designated eating area.
Nepal Nepalese street foods mainly includes momo (dumpling), cephali, fried potato, fish, chicken drumstick (poultry), alu-paratha (chapati with boiled and crushed potato inside), pakoda, sausage, panipuri, chatpate, different types of chat, paan, and various other Nepali dishes.
Pakistan Some of the common items in Pakistan include bun kabab sandwiches, samosas, kulfi ice cream, popcorn, fried or grilled fish, sugar cane juice, chickpea juice (), lemonade (limno paani), sliced coconut, dried fruits and nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, figs, pine nuts, etc.), haleem, biryani, pakoras, falsa fruit (Grewia asiatica), grilled chicken (chicken charga), french fries (often called 'finger chips'), paan, , spiced chickpeas (chana masala) and papri chaat.
Philippines
The most common Philippine street foods include binatog, beef pares, Turon, Mami. Popular fried snacks are the squidball, fishball, and kikiam, a type of processed chicken and pork product similar to surimi, that are served hot with a variety of dipping sauces.
Roadside stands also serve barbecued pork, chicken, and offal, such as pig's blood or dried chicken blood (colloquially Betamax, after its rectangular shape resembling the Betamax tape), chicken heads (helmet), chicken feet (adidas), pig's ears (tenga) and chicken intestines (isaw). Among more esoteric foods are balut and penoy (duck eggs with fetus and without, respectively), tokneneng and kwek-kwek (battered, deep-fried chicken and quail eggs similar to tempura) and deep-fried day-old-chick.
Singapore
Singapore street food prepares food from various countries due to its diversity and history. The most common dishes include chicken rice (prepared with chicken broth), chili crab (spicy chili-tomato gravy), laksa (fish soup with vermicelli noodles), char kway teow (stir-fried noodles), chai tow kuay (savory cake), barbecue, and fish ball soup. There are around 78 hawker centers all over Singapore where food vendors surrounds the outside of the market. Each vendor sells their speciality dishes differentiating from each other to provide a variety of experiences.
Taiwan
Taiwan's street food sold at night markets is well known in Asia, especially that from the city of Tainan. The Dadong night market in Tainan has a large unique variety of foods such as oyster omelets, corn on the cob, fried squid, fried eel noodles, fish balls and pork blood, Taiwanese hot dogs, and ice cream on a stick.
Thailand
Noodle dishes include pad Thai; rat na, flat noodles with beef, pork, or chicken and vegetables, topped with a light gravy; and rad naa's twin, phat si-io, the same flat noodles dry-fried (no gravy) with a dark soy sauce, vegetables, meat, and chili.