Food bought at a kiosk or stall is often a quicker and tastier way to get to know a country than dinner at the best restaurant. Besides, how many times back home have you wished you could replicate that experience without being forced to jump on the first plane?
Armenia, the smell of food © Photograph by Alessia Uslenghi
All this inspires Street Food, our new photography book dedicated to the world's best street food. Written by established food writers guided by an expert such as Tom Parker Bowles, the book contains descriptions of 100 street foods, with an indication of the best places and ways to enjoy them and, above all, with the ingredients and processes to get to the magic of flavour yourself.
In this article, we have had fun making your mouth water by imagining you walking, at the same time or almost at the same time, through the streets of Salvador de Bahia, Istanbul or Marrakech, under the all-blue sky and clouds of Mexico or in a decidedly unconventional place like Taipei.
1. Acarajé, Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
What it is: acarajé is prepared from soaked, peeled and pureed eye beans. The mixture is then fried by the spoonful in dendê oil - a very aromatic palm oil with the typical reddish hue that characterises so many Bahian dishes - and then garnished with different kinds of tasty and spicy condiments.
How to enjoy it: acarajé is sold in kiosks throughout the state of Bahia, but especially in the capital, Salvador. The best ones are still run by the baianas de acarajé, women with white crinoline skirts, blouses and scarves wrapped around their heads, the attire of Candomblé priestesses.
The ingredients: 400 g dried eye beans; 1 coarsely chopped onion; 1 teaspoon salt dendê oil for frying dried shrimps, hot sauce and green tomatoes for stuffing.
2. Balık Ekmek, Turkey
What it is: balık ekmek is a fish sandwich that combines the best ingredients of Turkish cuisine: fresh fish, ripe tomatoes, olive oil, the aroma of lemon and, above all, the complicity between cook and customer.
How to enjoy it: be careful with the first bite - the fish is hot, and full of oil - and take care not to bite into the wrapper. Then face the white bread, soft, spongy, soaked in lemon juice, fish sauce, oil. Sublime!
The ingredients: Turkish pita bread; filleted mackerel (or a similar fish); olive oil; coarsely chopped lettuce; chopped parsley; chopped white onion; sliced tomatoes; lemon wedges; sumac; chilli powder; sweet paprika and salt.
3. Bamboo Rice, Taiwan
What is it: your motto is 'think global, act local'? Well, you won't find anything more local than this delicious, succulent, nutritious pie made entirely from Taiwanese ingredients. The globality will come from the richness of the food and its flavours.
How to taste: outside Taipei, in the small village of Wulai, the best bamboo rice awaits you. Walk along the river and look for your little corner of paradise, then split the cane and peel off the outer layer, like peeling a banana. Then eat the rice - tasty, aromatic, held together by the inner membrane of the log - in the calm, slow way that the person who invented it consumes it.
The ingredients: 800 g glutinous rice; 8-10 dried shiitake mushrooms; ½ tablespoon dried shrimps; oil; 230 g minced pork; 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce; 2-3 chopped shallots; boiling water; for garnish: chilli sauce, coriander leaves.
Subscribe to our newsletter! For you weekly travel tips, special offers, stories from around the world and 30% discount on your first order.
4. Gordita, Mexico
What is it: gordita means 'chubby', and it's a term used with affection: exactly the feeling you'll get when you sink your teeth into this kind of warm masa (cornmeal dough) tortilla filled with all kinds of delicacies.
How to taste: eating a gordita is also a test of dexterity. The temptation is to pounce on the food like wolves, but there is a risk of spilling all the filling on yourself or burning your tongue. The gorditas must be plentiful; be wary of those who serve them very thin and with little filling. The toppings, which are almost endless, can be found in earthenware bowls near the grill or fryer. And here the fun begins. Do you prefer chilli con queso (poblano chillies dipped in a tomato and cheese sauce), pollo deshebrado (shredded chicken) or flor de calabraza (pumpkin flower)? The wide choice will allow you to create a true symphony of taste.
The ingredients: 600 g of boneless neck or shoulder of beef, in 4 pieces; 3 small, diced white onions; 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped; 1 tablespoon of seed oil, plus the amount needed for frying; 2 cups of diced ripe tomatoes; 1-2 jalapeños (seedless) chillies, chopped; 1 level teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste; 200 g masa harina mixed with 235 ml lukewarm water (plus two tablespoons); 45 g white flour; 1 level teaspoon baking powder; 40 g grated cheese (if you can't find queso anejo, substitute it with pecorino romano or parmesan); 1 bunch of chopped fresh coriander leaves.
5. Sfenj, Morocco
What is it: Sfenj are to Moroccans what croissants are to the French. Eaten hot and sometimes sprinkled with sugar, they are essentially doughnuts fried to the nth degree.
How to enjoy them: in the labyrinthine medinas of Morocco, one sees lively haggling, crowded streets and stalls crammed with food and various objects every day. In this colourful and exhausting hustle and bustle, a sfenj is ideal for recovering energy. Always ask for it to be freshly cooked: it will taste better, and then you can watch it being prepared. Certainly not difficult to make, sfenj is difficult, however, to make well. Tasting, on the other hand, is very easy: flavoured with sweet toppings, sfenj are so tasty that you rarely stop at just one.
The ingredients: 1 ½ teaspoons dry brewer's yeast; 115 ml lukewarm water; 330 g flour; 1 teaspoon salt; seed oil; toppings of your choice - e.g. sugar and honey.