Remember – all those years ago – when the Fab Food Blog took you on virtual expeditions to dozens of countries around the world to explore their unique national foods? It’s time to update our look at amazing, often overlooked street foods from exotic locales…
Thai Pla Pao: “A grilled fish that is coated in salt, stuffed
with lemongrass, and then cooked over hot coals.”
I was – and still am – amazed at how heavily some of the older and more-established cultures and cuisines value and rely on street food for their daily sustenance. And I therefore will express no sur-prise that we may have missed a few special dishes on our first globe-girdling pass through exotic food bazaars and marketplaces…
If anything, a growing concern…
Some folks express dismay that increasing ‘development’ and a growing community focus on health and social services is making it harder for local street food purveyors to survive. But if anything, reports from even the remotest corners of the culinary universe show that the world’s ancient and essential street food cultures remain strong and, if anything, growing.
In celebration of that happy news, we are pleased to present a selection of special street foods that somehow escaped our attention previously…
Obscure but outstanding…
And in some cases, I suspect, delicacies locals have kept secret, for themselves, from visitors over the millennia….
Tteokbokki – South Korea
“It’s really simple and no-frills: just rice cakes simmered in gochujang sauce, found on practically every street corner,” says Soo Ahn, Top Chef Season 21 contestant and Executive Chef of Adalina in Chicago. “I love that every vendor has their own spin on it, whether it’s super spicy or topped with something totally random. It’s a major comfort food, and is especially delicious when you’ve been drinking.”
Takoyaki – Japan
Delish contributor Gabby Romerao describes these ubiquitous treats as, “[…] circular fritters […] filled with octopus, ginger, and tempura scraps and then fried until they’re golden and crispy on the out-side and creamy in the center. […] They’re traditionally topped with Kewpie mayonnaise, takoyaki sauce, bonito flakes, seaweed flakes, and pickled ginger. […] One of the best savory snacks you can find anywhere in the world.”
Pla Pao – Thailand
Whole grilled fish is an exotic dish you can find in almost every Asian cuisine – often a highlight of special occasion and holiday menus. In Thailand, Pla Pao is a particularly-loved, anytime street food.
Catherine Heald, CEO and founder of Remote Lands, describes it as, “[…] a grilled fish that is coated in salt, stuffed with lemongrass, and then cooked over hot coals. [You] then peel back the skin, pul-ling out chunks of soft, fragrant flesh, wrapping them in a lettuce leaf, and dipping the whole thing in a spicy lime & chili sauce.”
I’ll admit, I’m a great admirer of Asian Street Food. But not all of the special dishes we’re spotlighting today come from the ancient and mysterious East…
Arayes – Lebanon
It’s fascinating how eerily similar food forms and formats pop up in widely separated and – you’d think – unconnected geographical locations. So it is the Lebanese Arayes, “pitas that are stuffed with seasoned ground [raw]meat and either grilled or baked until the meat is cooked.”
Dip in, “tahini or yogurt sauce […], and you have the handheld street food of your dreams,” Romero enthuses…
Coxinha – Brazil
Looking something like a kissing cousin to the pan-Asian Samosa, these luxe, savoury Brazillian fa-vourites are rumoured to have been invented to placate a picky-eater young prince. (See photo, top of page.)
“A rich filling of shredded chicken, cheese, and aromatics is stuffed inside a piece of dough, breaded, and fried,” Romero explains. “We guarantee you won’t be able to stop at just one.”
My take
The source story for this mouth-watering post makes it clear that the foregoing carefully-curated dishes are among the ‘lost masterpieces’ tourists will only discover under the guiding hand of a knowledgeable ‘local hand’.
Grab ’em when you can get ’em!
~ Maggie J.