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September 12, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 9

In Tunisia there are several street foods that often only exist there and that one can even eat on the go:

Street food Tunisia

Ojja/Chakchouka: Ojja is prepared with tomatoes and tomatoes to paste, a bit of olive oil and eggs. Chakchouka is the same recipe but with more vegetables (pumpkin, peppers…) and both recipe can also include some Merguez (spicy lamb or beef sausages).

Maqloub: A sandwich with meat (usually poultry but sometimes also lamb) and Harissa – Wikipedia filling (other fillings or vegetables are also possible)

Kafteji: A preparation of fried vegetables (usually pumpkin, peppers and tomatoes) and eggs, that can be eaten as a side or used in a sandwich.

Lablebi: A hot soup of steamed chickpeas, a lot of spices (cumin, harissa) and some lemon, sometimes also with tuna and an egg. (This one is a winter favourite by many Tunisians)

Pizza: Since Italy and Napoli is at 30 minutes by plane, Tunisians very soon adopted the dish as their own before it even made it to the US. Now the most iconic pizza in Tunisia is the “Neptune”, made just with a tomato-mozzarella base plus shredded tuna (delicious from the Mediterranean Sea) and olives.

Fricassé: Those little-fried dough sandwiches are filled with tuna, eggs, olives and (of course) some harissa paste.

Brik: A very thin pastry fried to become crispy while usually filled with an egg, some parsley and tuna (some other recipes exist with octopus, poultry or potatoes instead)

Gelat: From the Italian “Gelato”, artisanal ice-cream adopted from Italy. More so, you can find in Tunisia original flavours such as Zgougou (Aleppo pine seed), Bsisa (flour & roasted barley with anis) or rose/orange flower essence. Or even some traditional gelat sandwiches in the region of Sfax.

Tunisian tea with pine nuts Image credit-sky#walker

Mint tea and Coffee: Tunisians fascination with those drinks made them available pretty much in every street and terraces.

Bambalouni, street food in Tunisia — Bambalouni Image credit-wikivisually.com/

Bambalouni: honeyed fried dough that is far more aired and malleable than a doughnut and thus easy to eat.

Zlabia: special honeyed fried dough with spices (cardamom and sometimes also Curcuma) that is very demanded during Ramadan in street shops. It’s a bit crispy on the exterior but rather gooey and sweet on the inside.

There are probably many more that I missed, I also wanted to show those who are more or less specific to Tunisia, we also have less commonly Shawarma or Shish Taouk from Lebanese and Turkish cuisine but those were already shown in an earlier blog post. Even then, Tunisian cuisine is pretty rich, (3000 years old rich as they like to say) but in my opinion, the best dishes are to found in people’s home and are better than street foods.

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September 10, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 8

Street food Indonesia

Gorengan (frites)

Martabak: There are 2 types of Martabak, sweet and savoury. For the sweet one, you can choose so many different kinds of toppings like peanuts, cheese, chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, etc. So basically it is like a pancake but in a bigger size.

Martabak, Indonesia street food — Martabak Sriwedari | by is-goose

For a savoury one, it is more like an omelette with bits of vegetables and minced meat.

Sate Padang: This food is originally from Padang, West Sumatra. It is grilled meat (kebab) with spicy sauce. If you love spicy food, you should try this.

Mie Ayam (Chicken Noodles)

Mie Ayam, street food Indonesia — Mie Ayam
Image credit- Orangescale Studio

Bakso (Meatball)

Bakso, street food Indonesia — Image credit- Wikipedia

Soto: traditional Indonesian yellow soup mainly composed of broth, meat and vegetables with various spices. You can eat it with rice, or glass noodle (bihun).

oto Ayam, street food Indonesia — My mother’s homemade Soto Ayam (chicken Soto). Popular chicken soup and comfort food in Indonesia. Jakarta, Indonesia. Boiled chicken in clear yellow turmeric and chicken broth soup, served with rice vermicelli, bean sprouts, celery, boiled egg, potato, leek, tomato, and fried shallot. Image credit- Gunawan Kartapranata

Siomay: Steamed fish dumpling with vegetables served in peanut sauce.

Siomay Udang Glodok-(shrimp dumpling) in a restaurant in Glodok area, Jakarta Chinatown. This dish is similar to Chinese dim sum, it is Chinese Indonesian delicacy.
Image credit-Gunawan Kartapranata

Es Cendol: a dark-green pulpy dish of rice (or sago) flour worms with coconut milk and syrup of areca sugar. It used to be served without ice.

Cendol is a traditional dessert popular in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Vietnam, Thailand and Burma.as a sweet snack/beverages made from rice flour and other ingredients that are formed by filters, then mixed with palm sugar and coconut milk (for beverage).

Satay

Satay or most people would call sate is by far the most popular street food. It is basically marinated chicken meat with spices, barbecued and mixed with sauces and lontong which is similar to rice cakes. You could find lots of variations and personally, the best would be sate Padang.

Pisang Goreng

Goreng Pisang- street food Indonesia — Fried banana fritters. Also known as “goring pisang” in the Malay language- ProjectManhattan

This is probably the simplest street food, but it has one of the best pleasing taste compared to the rest. These are thinly sliced unripe bananas dipped in a batter and deep fried. It is then topped off with the chocolate chip/cheese + condensed milk. It’s crisp on the outside with sweet mushy bananas on the inside, the sweet toppings compliments and goes well with it.

Risol

Personally, this is my favourite street food, what makes it more interesting is that the filling could vary from crisp bihun (thin noodles) to ham, cheese, eggs and mayo. It is wrapped in a thin pastry-like wrapping and is deep fried. It’s very crisp on the outside and the savoury filling just oozes to your tongue with juicy ham slices.

Bakwan

This street-food doesn’t pale in terms of taste compared to others, but it’s quite unhealthy. It’s basically flour batter mixed with veggies (mostly corn, cabbage, carrot and onion) and is deep fried. Flavor-wise, it’s chewy and gets crispy when chewing on the crisp veggies. It has a common taste with Korean pancake, except that it has a tint of Indonesian savoury spices, although can be quite oily at times.

Tapai

Tapai is also a popular street food/ snack. It is steamed fermented cassava topped with shredded cheese or chocolate chips at times. It is easily chewed and flavour-wise is a mixture of sweet and alcohol-ish. It has that semi alcohol taste as a result of fermentation and it it’s great with the sweet toppings that compliment it.

I can’t mention all because there are too many street foods here. These are foods which you can find in most cities in Indonesia. So if you visit Indonesia, don’t forget to try all these foods.

September 7, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food?- Part 7

Inihaw na Paa ng Manok( Grilled Chicken Feet) street food Phillipines

Street food in the Philippines

The Philippines or Filipinos have many street foods that can be found anywhere in this country.

The following are some #streetfood that I’m sure you didn’t probably know.

FISHBALL

Fish balls are a popular street food in the Philippines and are often sold by street vendors in mobile wooden carts at almost every street corner. The balls, primarily made from fish meat ground to a paste, are deep-fried until golden and then skewered in wooden sticks and dipped in a variety of sauces ranging from spicy, sweet sweet and sour.

KIKIAM

These are made of ground pork and vegetables wrapped in bean curd sheets. They are then deep-fried and dipped in a sauce similar to fish balls.

KWEK-KWEK

Deep-fried eggs covered with orange-coloured batter. These are usually dipped in a sauce made of vinegar, onions and chilli. It is usually partnered with chopped cucumber and can be bought almost anywhere.

You may also like to read What is your favourite street food? Part 6

ISAW

Charcoal-grilled chicken intestines on a stick. Although this might sound unappetizing for some, this is one of the most popular street foods among Filipinos. It is also dipped in a sauce that is made of vinegar and soy sauce or a special brown sauce similar to fish balls and kikiam sauces.*

GRILLED CHICKEN FEET (ADIDAS)

Another exotic snack popular on the streets. The sumptuous skin surrounding the feet is dipped in brown sweet and/or spicy sauce. The bits of meat and ligaments also deliciously add to this distinct and quirky snack experience.*

BETAMAX

Named after its shape resembling the old movie tapes of the 80s, Betamax is made of dried pig or pork blood skewered and grilled. This is a testament that nothing gets wasted in any part of livestock in the Philippines. It has a bittersweet taste when combined with vinegar or the same sauce used in fish balls.

ISKRAMBOL

Another popular summer treat loved by Filipinos, especially kids. It is available even during the rainy season and can usually be found in parks and street corners near schools. It is made of crushed ice with food colouring, milk powder, and chocolate syrup and is sometimes topped with colourful sprinkles and marshmallows.*

TAHO

It is made of soft tofu, arnibal (made of sweetener and flavouring) and sago (tapioca) pearls. It is a popular breakfast alternative for Filipinos as it is light in the stomach and provides a good excuse to eat something sweet in the morning. Delightful and hearty, it is a good source of protein perfect to jumpstart your day.*

MARUYA

Maruya is a type of fritter from the Philippines. It is usually made from saba bananas. The most common variant is prepared by coating thinly sliced and “fanned” bananas in batter and deep frying them. They are then sprinkled with sugar.

Turon– Turon or Banana Fritter is a Filipino delicacy which is probably cooked in other Asian countries too. It is a popular snack in the Philippines sold in the streets, schools and restaurants.

So, what is your favourite #Filipino #street #food”?

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August 31, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 6

Street food LEBANON

Food in Lebanon is the essence of each gathering. Most of the Lebanese food is done with olive oil, garlic, onions, mint. Lebanese dishes are known to be very healthy and don’t contain many fatty ingredients. Nowadays, it is very popular in Lebanon to do the Food markets. This is how important food is in the country.

I’ve heard many times as well many Lebanese friends nagging about how they hardly they find food places opened when they are in a foreign country. In Lebanon, there are 24/7 opened restos, and mainly they are close to the pubs and nightclubs. And most of these places are Lebanese food and not the junk and fast food type.

The most popular street food is as follows, the majority is done with Lebanese bread:

Shawarma sandwich chicken and meat.

shawarma sandwich, street food Lebanon — shawarma sandwich-Taste of Beirut

Mankoushe or Sajj (a thinner type of mankoushe) with Thyme, Cheese, Labneh, Meat, etc… with vegetables are the most wanted breakfast street food.

Labneh with vegetables.

Cheese

Lahm Baajine can be eaten with pepper and lemon and with laban aside.

Zaatar, with vegetables

Saj mankoushe

Falafel can be eaten with or without bread. It is made from crushed chickpeas that are deep fried and served in Lebanese bread with vegetables and tahini sauce.

falafel middle eastern food chickpeas health food, street food Lebanon — falafel middle eastern food chickpeas health food

Knefeh mostly eaten in the morning but before it used to be only in the early mornings or after midnight, but nowadays can be found in a few places all day long. We can serve it as a dessert as well.

Knafah, Knafeh | by watashiwani, street food Lebanon — Knafah, Knafeh | by watashiwani

Shish taouk & Kafta.

chicken shish taouk, beef kabobs and Kafta, street food Lebanon — chicken shish taouk, beef kebabs and Kafta
Image credit- Pinterest

Ice cream, the standard flavours or the Ashta ice-cream.

The Lebanese Bakery: Daily baked "kaak", street food Lebanon — The Lebanese Bakery: Daily baked “kaak”
Image credit- TripAdvisor

Kaak, filled with Picon, Cheese, Thyme.

And many other delicious creations. Lebanese are known for mixing food together to get something extremely delicious at the end.

You may also like to read What is your favourite street food? Part 5

Street food Syria

There is not much to say about falafel, it has its own fame. Chickpeas dough, fried in hot oil, it can be eaten alone or in a sandwich with tomatoes, pickles and tartar sauce. It is cheap and tasty, can be found everywhere in Syrian cities.

Shawarma is a very, very popular meal in the middle east. It’s usually chicken meat, but you can find also beef or lamb meat. It is Very delicious, an average price for an amazing meal.

Aljetaily Meat Fatayer | by Samiha.Aljetaily, street food Syria — Meat Fatayer | by Samiha.Aljetaily

Manakish/Fatayer. A dough cooked on round pan and topped with thyme(Zaatar), halloumi cheese or red pepper sauce. Originally from Damascus, it spread all around Syria and Lebanon. Perfect for a park promenade!

Pinterest Mshabak with honey, street food Syria — Pinterest
Mshabak with honey.

Last but not least for the dessert, we have Mshabak/Loqmat al-Qadi. They are pretty much the same but the shape is different. A fried wheat dough, dipped fast while hot in sugar syrup, with a pinch of cinnamon and it’s ready to be served! This sweet is perfect for the cold days of winter.

Arabic Ice cream/Bekdash Ice cream.

This is a very special kind of sweet, it’s originally from Al Hamidiah Souk, Damascus. It’s made from cold sweet cream, rolled in a plenty of pistachios. Many tourists visit Al Hamidiah to eat this delicious ice cream

Saha w Hanaa, Bon appétit!

So, what is your favourite #streetfood”?

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