STREET FOOD

Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold:

a hawker, or vendor, in a street or other public place, such as at a market or fair. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and meant for immediate consumption. Some street foods are regional, but many have spread beyond their region of origin. Most street foods are classed as both finger food and fast food, and are cheaper on average than restaurant meals. According to a 2007 study from the Food and Agriculture Organization, 2.5 billion people eat street food every day.
Today, people may purchase street food for a number of reasons, such as convenience, to get flavorful food for a reasonable price in a sociable setting, to try ethnic cuisines, or for nostalgia.

Small fried fish were a street food in ancient Greece; however, Theophrastus held the custom of street food in low regard. Evidence of a large number of street food vendors was discovered during the excavation of Pompeii. Street food was widely consumed by poor urban residents of ancient Rome whose tenement homes did not have ovens or hearths. Here, chickpea soup with bread and grain paste was common meals. In ancient China, street food generally catered to the poor, however, wealthy residents would send servants to buy street food and bring it back for them to eat in their homes.

A traveling Florentine reported in the late 14th century that in Cairo, people brought picnic cloths made of rawhide to spread on the streets and sit on while they ate their meals of lamb kebabs, rice, and fritters that they had purchased from street vendors. In Renaissance Turkey, many crossroads had vendors selling "fragrant bites of hot meat", including chicken and lamb that had been spit-roasted. In 1502, Ottoman Turkey became the first country to legislate and standardize street food.
Aztec marketplaces had vendors who sold beverages such as atoll ("a gruel made from maize dough"), almost 50 types of tamales (with ingredients that ranged from the meat of turkey, rabbit, gopher, frog and fish to fruits, eggs and maize flowers), as well as insects and stews.


During the American Colonial period, "street vendors sold oysters, roasted corn ears, fruit, and sweets at low prices to all classes." Oysters, in particular, were a cheap and popular street food until around 1910 when overfishing and pollution caused prices to rise. Street vendors in New York City faced a lot of opposition. After previous restrictions had limited their operating hours, street food vendors were completely banned in New York City by 1707. Many women of African descent made their living selling street foods in America in the 18th and 19th centuries, with products ranging from fruit, cakes, and nuts in Savannah, to coffee, biscuits, pralines, and other sweets in New Orleans. Cracker Jack started as one of many street food exhibits at the Columbian Exposition.
In the 19th century, street food vendors in Transylvania sold gingerbread-nuts, cream mixed with corn, as well as bacon and other meat fried on top of ceramic vessels with hot coals inside. French fries, consisting of fried strips of potato, probably originated as a street food in Paris in the 1840s. Street foods in Victorian London included tripe, pea soup, pea pods in butter, whelk, prawns, and jellied eels.
Ramen, originally brought to Japan by Chinese immigrants about 100 years ago, began as a street food for laborers and students. However, it soon became a "national dish" and even acquired regional variations. The street food culture of Southeast Asia today was heavily influenced by coolie workers imported from China during the late 19th century.
In Thailand, although street food did not become popular among native Thai people until the early 1960s, because of rapid urban population growth, by the 1970s it had "displaced home-cooking."The rise of the country's tourism industry is also contributed to the popularity of Thai street food.
In Indonesia — especially Java, travelling food and drink vendor has a long history, as they were described in temples bas reliefs dated from 9th century, as well as mentioned in 14th century inscription as a line of work. During colonial Dutch East Indies period circa 19th century, several street foods were developed and documented, including satay and dawet (cendol) street vendors.

Street food vending is found all around the world, but varies greatly between 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 heavily on herbs, Chile peppers and lime", while street food of Thailand is "fiery" and "pungent with shrimp paste ... and fish sauce." New York City's signature street food is the hot dog, however, New York street food also includes everything from "spicy Middle Eastern falafel or Jamaican jerk chicken to Belgian waffles"

Street food in Thailand offers various selections of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks sold by hawkers or vendors at food stalls or food carts on the street side. Bangkok is often mentioned as one of the best place for street food. Popular street offerings includes pad Thai (stir fried rice noodle), som tam (green papaya salad), sour tom yum soup, various selection of Thai curries, to sticky rice mango

Indonesian street food is a diverse mix of local Indonesian, Chinese and Dutch influences. Indonesian street food often tastes rather strong and spicy. A lot of street food in Indonesia is fried, such as local gorengan (fritters), also nasi goreng and ayam goreng, while bakso meatball soup, skewered chicken satay and gado-gado vegetable salad served in peanut sauce are also popular.
Indian street food is as diverse as Indian cuisine. Every region has its own specialties to offer. Some of the more popular street food dishes are VadaPav, Cholle Bhature, Parathas, Rolls, Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Gol Gappa, Aloo tikki, Kebabs, Tandoori chicken, Samosa, Bread omelette, Pav bhaji and Pakora. In India, street food is popularly known as nukkadwala food. There are several restaurants and QSRs in India that have also taken their inspiration from the vibrant street food of India.
In Hawaii, the local street food tradition of "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. In Denmark, sausage wagons allow passersby to purchase sausages and hot dogs.

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