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Europe

Netherlands

Made with yeast and buckwheat flour, poffertjes are small, round, puffy Dutch pancakes. The Dutch use a special pan called poffertjespan to bake them. When prepared for an outdoor event, they’re served warm on a piece of cardboard. These are usually eaten as a snack and topped with melted butter and powdered sugar. During Christmastime poffertjes can be bought at many street carts.

Belgium

Gaufres are well-known and delicious waffles. They’re made with thick dough or thin batter and baked in a specially designed waffle iron. There are two kinds – the light Brussels waffle and the denser Liege waffle. The Liege is prepared with a thick brioche-like dough.

Germany

Kartoffelpuffers are potato pancakes and popular street food. They are made with a thick batter that combines grated raw potatoes, flour, and eggs. Then shaped into flat round discs and pan-fried golden and crispy. When prepared at home, they’re served as a side with grilled meat, stews, and sausages. Eaten by themselves, they are accompanied by applesauce, fruit preserves, or sour cream.

Poland

Placki ziemniaczane are well-known Polish potato pancakes. They are made with grated potatoes, onions, eggs, and flour. The pancakes can be flavored with crushed garlic and spices like marjoram, parsley, and chives. They are small and fried in shallow oil They have dark, crispy skin and a soft, spongy inside.

Zapiekanka is one of Poland’s favorite fast foods. This is an open-faced sandwich made with a plain white baguette cut lengthwise and topped with ingredients like meat, bacon, sausages, or feta cheese, olives, and pineapple. Once prepared, the ingredients are topped with grated semi-hard cheese and grilled under a broiler.

Hungary

Langos is a Hungarian specialty prepared with dough made of water, flour, yeast, sugar, and salt, then deep-fried to a golden brown. In place of water to make the dough, sour cream, milk, or yogurt can be used. These are eaten as warm snacks, plain or topped with ingredients like sour cream, grated cheese, and garlic sauce.

Serbia

Pljeskavica is a Serbian national dish also called the Serbian hamburger. This dish is made from minced beef, pork, veal or a combination of all three. It is flavored with paprika, salt, and pepper and sometimes finely minced onions and garlic. These are made in round, flat patties and grilled on both sides.

Georgia

Khachapuri is a famous dish. This is a simple cheese bread that is topped with melted cheese, eggs, and butter. The most common cheese used is traditional Georgian sulguni or imeretian cheeses. The bread is shaped in a circular form or prepared open-faced and topped with butter and egg.

Turkey

Iahmacum is also called Turkish pizza. It is prepared by rolling a ball of semolina dough into a thin disc and topped with lamb or beef mince together with chili, onions, and other seasonings. It can be found at many street stalls.

Kumru is a toasted sandwich made with artisanal bread enriched with chickpea flour. The sandwich is filled with kasar cheese, spicy sujuk sausage, and tomatoes. It can include pickles, red pepper flakes, other types of cured meat, or mayonnaise or ketchup.

Tantuni is traditional street food from southern Turkey. It is prepared with thinly sliced beef seasoned with Turkish spices and herbs and cooked with onions and tomatoes in specially designed tantuni pans. Tantuni is served rolled in a durum wheat wrap with ground sumac and a lemon wedge on the side.

Cyprus

Seftalt is a traditional sausage prepared from mince pork and lamb with chopped red onions and parsley wrapped in caul fat, a membrane lining the stomach of cows, sheep, and pigs. The meat is seasoned with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. The sausages are small and skewered and grilled, giving a crispy outside and juicy, tender inside.

Italy

Porchetta is a boneless pork roast made from a piglet or fully grown pig. It is flavored with salt, rosemary, and fennel seeds. The stuffing included liver, fat, or pieces of skin and meat. The meat is rolled up, spitted, and slowly roasted over a wood fire. When done, it is sliced thinly and served warm or cold with bread.

Panzerottis are crescent-shaped turnovers traditionally made for the Carnival season. The classic filling is made with tomatoes and mozzarella but can have other combinations like pepperoni-provolone, spinach-ricotta, and others. When stuffed, the panzerottis are deep-fried.

Asia

Indonesia

Siomay consists of cone-shaped fish dumplings, eggs, potatoes, cabbage, tofu, and bitter melon. The ingredients are steamed and placed on a plate, cut into bite-sized pieces, and drizzled with spicy peanut sauce.

Vietnam

Cha gio in south Vietnam, and nem ran in northern Vietnam. These are spring rolls prepared with a pork and shrimp filling and wrapped in rice paper. Spring rolls can include carrots, cabbage, or mushrooms. The rolls are fried to a golden color.

Jakarta

Gado-gado is an Indonesian mixed salad. It consists of different vegetables, eggs, tempeh, and tofu. The vegetables are slightly boiled and tossed with a nutty sauce. Crispy prawn crackers are added. The sauce is traditionally prepared with cashews, but peanuts can be used.

Thailand

Pad Thai is the national dish of Thailand. This is a stir-fry prepared with rice noodles, tofu, dried shrimp, bean sprouts, and eggs. When meat is used, the popular choices are pork or chicken.

China

Shengjian mantou are pan-fried Chinese dumplings. They are prepared with minced pork, vegetable, or shrimp as the base with cabbage and chives. For flavor, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic are added. The filling is wrapped in soft leavened dough and pan-fried in shallow oil

Japan

Takoyakis are small, round snacks. They are made with a simple egg batter enriched with octopus pieces. Made in tiny balls, they are grilled in a traditional iron pan. The pan is filled with small round molds into which the batter is poured. The egg mixture consists of wheat flour, soy sauce, and dashi stock. Once it is poured into the molds, tender octopus pieces are placed on top. For flavor, sliced scallions, pickled ginger, crispy fried tenkasu pieces, and dried fish flakes are added.

Gyudon is one of the most popular and inexpensive fast food dishes in Japan. Its name translates to beef bowl. It is made with beef and onions cooked with mirin, sugar, sake, and soy sauce and served over a bowl of rice.

India

Vada Pav is one of the favorite sandwiches in Mumbai. The main ingredient is vada, or spicy mashed potatoes deep-fried in chickpea batter and pave white bread rolls.

Samosas are deep-fried triangular pastries filled with different ingredients like meat, vegetables, onions, lentils, spice potatoes, peas, and ground meat. The triangles are served hot and accompanied by chopped onions, yogurt, or Indian chutneys.

Amritsari kulcha is a flatbread that is stuffed with potatoes, onions, cottage cheese, and spices. It is garnished with coriander seeds, cilantro, and red chili powder. These are baked in large tandoor ovens.

South Korea

Tteokbokki is a spicy stir-fried dish that is made with cylinder-shaped rice cakes, sweet red chili sauce, and fish cakes. This is one of the top street food items in Korea.

Australia

Australian meat pie is prepared with flaky pastry that is filled with gravy and minced meat. Other ingredients can include onions, chicken and asparagus, mushrooms, cheese, crocodile meat, vegetables, or seafood.

Mexico

Tacos de pescado or fish tacos originated in the Mexican region of Baja California. These are corn flour tacos filled with fried or grilled fish and vegetables like lettuce or cabbage and topped with sour cream or mayonnaise.

Elote is the Spanish word for corn. This is a popular Mexican street food that consists of corn on the cob coated with lime and mayonnaise, then rolled in crumbled cotija cheese and chile powder.

Mexican tortas are traditional sandwiches prepared with rolls sliced horizontally, buttered, and stuffed with ingredients like beans, avocados, ham, queso, and jalapenos.

Tacos de camaron is a kind of taco filled with shrimp, tomatoes, onions, coriander, mayonnaise, and pico de gallo. These are served with lime or lemon wedges on the side.

Gorditas are thick tortillas made with masa corn flour. They’re stuffed with ingredients like meat, cheese, beans, nopal cactus, and salsa or guacamole.

Caribbean

Jamaica

Peppered shrimp is popular street food with shrimp that have a spicy flavor. They are cooked in a skillet with garlic, hot pepper, butter, and thyme.