street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall.[1] While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street foods are also 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.[2]
Today, people may purchase street food for a number of reasons, such as to obtain reasonably priced and flavorful food in a sociable setting, to experience ethnic cuisines and also for nostalgia.[3] Historically, in places such as ancient Rome, street food was purchased because the urban poor did not have kitchens in their homes.
Street food vending is found around the world, but has variations within both regions and cultures.[27] 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[ing] heavily on herbs, chile peppers and lime", while street food of Thailand is "fiery" and "pungent with shrimp paste ... and fish sauce" with New York City's signature street food being the hot dog, although the offerings in New York also range from "spicy Middle Eastern falafel or Jamaican jerk chicken to Belgian waffles"[28] 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.[29]
Differences in culture, social stratification and history have resulted in different patterns how family street vendor enterprises are traditionally created and run in different areas of the world.[30] For example, few women are street vendors in Bangladesh, but women predominate in the trade in Nigeria and Thailand.[31] Doreen Fernandez says that Filipino cultural
Today, people may purchase street food for a number of reasons, such as to obtain reasonably priced and flavorful food in a sociable setting, to experience ethnic cuisines and also for nostalgia.[3] Historically, in places such as ancient Rome, street food was purchased because the urban poor did not have kitchens in their homes.
Street food vending is found around the world, but has variations within both regions and cultures.[27] 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[ing] heavily on herbs, chile peppers and lime", while street food of Thailand is "fiery" and "pungent with shrimp paste ... and fish sauce" with New York City's signature street food being the hot dog, although the offerings in New York also range from "spicy Middle Eastern falafel or Jamaican jerk chicken to Belgian waffles"[28] 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.[29]
Differences in culture, social stratification and history have resulted in different patterns how family street vendor enterprises are traditionally created and run in different areas of the world.[30] For example, few women are street vendors in Bangladesh, but women predominate in the trade in Nigeria and Thailand.[31] Doreen Fernandez says that Filipino cultural