When you are feeling you are on the run, nothing beats street food to fill in the gap. Many food vendors worldwide make their living every day by preparing food in a street-side stall, sometimes just consisting of a wok, some utensils, and their ingredients
These people are really good at making some fantastic food. Indeed, their livelihoods depend on it. They want their customers to return. A lot of the food they make is pungent, with Chillies being used in abundance. It just seems that the two go together with numerous recipes, having a spicy theme selection purely on what a single food vendor can offer. They can choose from various stalls, all competing
In some markets, like the hawkers markets in Singapore, you can sit at tables and can have your food fetched for you by " runners " . These are on commission waiters that will give you advice on what the best food is, provide menus and once you have placed your order, they will fetch your food for you. This of course is done on the understanding that they will receive a tip for providing the service
Here are some great examples of some of the best street food that can be found at these types of markets around the world.
Ugandan Rolex
It's not hard to figure out how the Rolex gets its name. Everyone virtually eats these spicy rolled up omelettes in Uganda. Cabbage, chillies, tomatoes, onions, and spices are cooked in an omelette, wrapped in a chappati
Israeli salad
Israeli salad is probably the best known Israeli street food besides Scharmas and Felafel. It may be served along with these or with Pita bread as a stand-alone dish. This great-tasting dish is made with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, olive, lemon juice, peppers and Chillies
Nasi Manado
A fiery dish from the Indonesian city of Manado. This is a part of Indonesia where virtually everything gets eaten with Chillies – even bananas. Nasi Manado gets made with rice and typically skipjack tuna. It contains more than 50 percent of Chillies and is really hot.
Pad See Ew
From Thailand, this dish is made with Chilies, Flat noodles, Chinese broccoli, chicken and eggs in a sauce made with soya, fish and oyster sauces. Pad see ew is a stir-fry
Chicken Pho
Chicken Pho is a Vietnamese soup made with Chillies, Chicken, Spices, Ginger and garnished with spring onions, mung beans, cilantro and mint (plus some more Chillies if wanted)
Jjampong
Korean dish made with seafood and vegetables in a hot soup made with Gochagaru ( Korean Chilli Flakes). It can also be made with pork, squid and mussels
Chole Bhature
This Indian street food combines Chana Masala (chickpea curry) and hot Bhature ( a fried bread made with wheat flour). It is virtually found throughout India. It's super cheap and great tasting
A final note
Other examples of spicy street foods include Tacos and Nachos from Mexico, Banh Mi from Vietnam, Satays from Indonesia, Spicy chicken feet from China, Chicken wings from Australia, and Samosas and Tikki Chat from India. Whatever the meal type, there is always something made with Chillies
This list does not even begin to cover how many street foods are available, but certainly illustrates how widespread they are. Once again, a common theme in many of these is the use of Chillies