Servin' Up Street Food

If you’ve traveled anywhere in Southeast Asia, you’ve probably stopped by a food stall on the side of the road or at an open air market to grab a quick bite to eat. Or if you’re like us, you go exclusively for the food and indulge until your belly is full (maybe too full?) and your heart's content. And even if you’ve never been, it’s more than likely you’ve had Southeast Asian street food here in the U.S. From the ever so popular pad thai to sate/satay to banh mi, many of these dishes have become popular and increasingly available in the states. 

This April we’re celebrating street food, a cultural staple across Southeast Asia. While regions may have different flavor profiles and star ingredients, all Southeast Asian street food share the same key characteristics - it’s affordable, convenient, tasty, and fresh (as it’s often cooked on the spot). 

A little history…

Selling food on the “street” in Thailand dates back as early as the 14th century to floating markets, in which waterways connected many regions and communities. Street food in Southeast Asia as we know it today can be closely associated with the rapid growth of cities, especially during the late 20th century. As new industries arose (and many people had less time to cook at home), so did the need for accessible prepared food. To this day, it’s typically cheaper to eat outside of the home than to prepare a meal for yourself.

Street food can be found in a variety of different places and forms. From open air stalls, booths, and rolling carts on the side of the road, to bicycles with cases attached to the back, and even carried on people’s shoulders. Many vendors (or hawkers) tend to aggregate, so it’s easy to find a complete meal, from appetizer to main course to dessert, within walking distance. There’s also often an entertainment aspect, with the way that some of the food is made-to-order and cooked over an open flame. Ingredients are combined and handled in intricate ways so that you can appreciate the skills of the chef. We’re constantly in awe of the vendors' wok skills, and love feeling the heat of the open flame and blistering chilies. 

Why locals depend on it

While street food is a significant part of the tourism industry, it’s also important to note that many locals depend on street food in ways you might not expect. Vendors from the working class rely on their street food businesses to make a living, while many working class individuals rely on the affordability and availability of street food. In fact, the Thai Development Research Institute found that 60% of people who buy street food in Bangkok make under 9,000 baht per month, which equates to $275 (and is the equivalent of the minimum wage in Thailand). Many of the locals who own and run street food businesses come from lower-income backgrounds and cannot afford the costs associated with having a brick and mortar. There’s a relatively low cost threshold to purchase cooking equipment and set up a stand on the street. 

Opportunities for women

Operating this type of food business offers more opportunities to the working class who are not afforded education, particularly women. In the Philippines surveys have found that women are a part of 90% of street food ventures. In Bangkok, 70% of the street food vendors are women, and more than two-thirds are over the age of 40 and have limited education. Ever heard of the famous street chef Jay Fai from Thailand? Life changing circumstance prompted her to start cooking on the street so that she could financially provide for her family. Over the years, she’s perfected her techniques, in particular her crab omelette, which draws in diners from all over the world. Her namesake restaurant, Raan Jay Fai, has a waiting list of often months on end; however, that didn’t prevent the street food star from being awarded a Michelin star and appearing as a featured chef in Netflix’s top series Street Food: Asia.

Regional Flavors

Regions in Southeast Asia each have characteristic flavors that make their street food unique. A common theme across countries in Southeast Asia is that the food is influenced by the flavors of neighboring countries like China and India, as well as European colonization. Think: French colonization in Vietnam and the baguettes used to make bánh mì or migration of people from India to Malaysia and the adaptation of Indian flat bread to roti canai. Here we break down some of the differences in ingredients and tastes between regions, and highlight some of the most popular dishes. You may notice some of the dishes mentioned (and there are so many others not listed) exist in multiple countries. Oftentimes dishes have different variations within regions of a country and across multiple geographic lines.

Brunei

Brunei is located on the island of Borneo and is nestled among the islands of Indonesia. Many nations influence the cuisine, including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China, and India. One of their most famous night markets (known by the term pasar malam) is located right near Gadong, the capital of Brunei. 

Popular dishes include:

• Nasi Katok - Fried chicken served with rice and sambal. There are several different versions across Brunei depending on the vendor making it. Fun tidbit: Katok means ‘to knock’ and there’s a story that says people had to knock on the seller’s door to order the dish!
• Satay/Sate - Skewered meat including lamb, chicken, and even fish balls. Often served with sambal sauce.

Cambodia

Cambodian street food is closely tied to the cuisine and culture of the Khmer people, and shares flavor characteristics with its neighboring countries of Thailand and Vietnam, along with influences from Chinese and French cuisine. You’ll be sure to find delicious street food while walking the bustling streets of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. 

Popular dishes include:

• Amok Trey - A spicy coconut and fish curry steamed in banana leaves.
• Grilled Fish - Many vendors sell a variety of freshly caught fish (and other seafood like prawns and squid) that is grilled on skewers. Usually served with rice and accompanying sauces. 
• Num Pang - A sandwich made with luncheon meat like pate, veggies like pickled carrots and cucumbers, and sauces that vary from vendor to vendor - all served on a French baguette. 

Indonesia

Spicy, and often fried. Street food is known as kaki lima, which translates to “five feet”and refers to the width of the sidewalks where vendors sell. Local Indonesian flavors are influenced by Chinese and Dutch cuisine, the latter who colonized Indonesia from the early 1800s until 1949.

Popular dishes include: 

• Sate/Satay - Skewered meat, seafood, tofu, or tempeh that is seasoned and served with a sauce (often peanut)
• Gado-Gado - A salad made with a variety of vegetables, eggs, tempeh, and tofu, and a peanut sauce, topped with shrimp chips. 
• Nasi Goreng - Indonesian fried rice. It’s often made with ingredients like kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shrimp paste, and fish sauce but there is not necessarily a correct way to make it. Common toppings include eggs, sambal, and fried shallots. Fun fact: “goreng” means fried.
• Bakso - Indonesian meatballs made with ground meat and often served with broth, noodles, veggies, and topped with fried wontons, fried shallots, and sambal.
• Mie Goreng -  Spicy fried noodles often made with shrimp or chicken, topped with fried shallots, eggs, and veggies like cabbage and tomatoes. You might have tried the famous Indomie Mi Goreng Instant Noodles in one of our Southeast Snack Boxes, but this version served on the streets of Jakarta is far superior!
• Jajan Pasar - Colorful sweet cakes/snacks you can find on the street in Java.

Laos

Bursting with vibrant flavor from fresh herbs (like mint, cilantro, galangal, garlic, lemongrass) and chilies. The cuisine is also influenced by its neighboring countries of Vietnam and Thailand. A popular location for delicious street food is the Luang Prabang morning and night market in Northern Laos.  

Popular dishes include: 

• Laap - A minced meat salad made with fish sauce, lime juice, fresh herbs, and toasted sticky rice powder.
• Sai Ua - Flavorful grilled pork sausage that is PACKED with herbs and chilis. This is one of our founder Christy’s favorites! Her mom homemakes her family’s and in true old-school fashion, encases the sausage using a Coke bottle. In Christy’s humble opinion, her mom’s sai ua is the best there is!
• Thum Mak Hung - The Lao version of papaya salad, made with shredded green papaya, birds eye chilis, crab paste, padaek (fermented fish sauce), tomatoes, and lime juice. In Thailand there is a similar but different version - The use of crab paste and padaek makes the Lao version unique.

Malaysia

Influences come from a variety of Chinese and Indian flavors. It’s also worth noting that Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia are close in proximity geographically, and this is often reflected in the similarities of their foods.

• Nasi Lemak - One of the most popular dishes in Malaysia, this rice dish is cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves, often topped with sambal, peanuts, and boiled eggs!
• Mee Goreng Mamak - These stir fried noodles are both sweet and spicy, featuring chilis and kecap manis, and often including bean sprouts and potatoes. In Malaysia, people with Tamil Musilm ancestry are sometimes known as ‘Mamak’. The word ‘mamak’ actually means maternal uncle in Tamil.
• Laksa - A dish of noodles made with starches like potato, tapioca, and rice. Sometimes there’s broth and sometimes they are served dry. There are distinct types throughout regions of Malaysia, with the most common being laksa lemak, which feature a creamy coconut based broth. The origins of laksa can be traced back to interactions between Chinese traders and women in port cities including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. 

Myanmar/Burma

• Mohinga - Rice noodles in a fish based broth that includes ingredients like garlic, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, and banana stems. It’s usually eaten for breakfast.

• Lahpet Thohk (Tea Leaf Salad) - This fermented tea leaf salad includes tomatoes, garlic, chili, cabbage, fish sauce, sesame oil, and lime juice. It’s usually eaten at the end of a meal.
• Mont Let Saung - A sweet dessert-like beverage that contains green rice flour jelly or sago (a starch made from palm stems), coconut milk, palm sugar syrup, and ice.  

Philippines

Meat makes appearances very often, and usually foods are fried. Influences on the cuisine come from China, India, and Spanish and American colonization (ICYDK, the Spanish colonized the Philippines for over 300 years). 

Popular dishes include:

• Chicken Feet (known as ‘Adidas’) - If you’re walking the streets of Manila, you might come across vendors selling grilled marinated chicken feet called Adidas (yes, in reference to the footwear brand). 
• Kwek-Kwek - These boiled quail eggs are covered with an orange colored batter and then deep fried, and served with a vinegar dipping sauce. 
• Betamax - Hear us out. This is coagulated pig’s blood that is then cut into squares and grilled on skewers. The name is pretty clever, as the shape looks like a Betamax cassette tape (circa 1970s; similar to the VHS tape that became more popular).
• Isaw - One of the most popular Filipino street foods, this is pig or chicken intestines that are skewered and then either grilled or deep fried. 

Singapore

Singapore street food and cuisine in general has multiple cultural influences tied to its diverse history of immigration and colonization. Strong influences include Chinese, Malay, and Indian cuisines.

Popular dishes include:

• Laksa - One of the Singaporean variants is known as Katong laksa, with a spicy broth made with dried shrimp and coconut milk, and topped with shrimp and noodles. 
• Hainanese Chicken Rice - The chicken is blanched in boiling water and the rice is cooked in chicken fat, chicken broth, pandan leaf, and garlic and ginger. Don’t forget chili sauce!
• Kaya Toast - Kaya is a jam made with coconut milk, sugar, eggs, and infused with pandan. Spread it on a slice of toast for breakfast or a snack. 

Thailand

Bangkok is considered the epicenter of street food in Thailand, and a lot of the dishes are influenced by Chinese cuisine.

Popular dishes include: 

• Moo Ping - Marinated juicy fatty pork that is grilled on skewers. Often served with sticky rice and a spicy dipping sauce, or nam jim.
• Som Tum - Green papaya salad, but the Thai version. Distinctive ingredients used include fish sauce, and roasted peanuts.
• Tom Yum - A hot and sour soup that usually includes shrimp and is flavored with aromatics including lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, and galangal.

Timor-Leste/East Timor

The cuisine is influenced by other Southeast Asian countries (like Indonesia) and by Portuguese colonization (from 1769-1975). 

Popular dishes include:

• Ikan Sabuko - Spanish mackerel is marinated with tamarind juice, and then grilled with basil and chilies. 
• Feijoada - A stew made with pork, cannellini beans, and chorizo.

Vietnam

Characterized by use of fresh herbs like mint, cilantro, green onions, and sawtooth herb. Many foods are dipped in nước chấm, made of fish sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, lime juice and chilis. Influences on the food come from China, Malaysia, Cambodia, Champa, and France (via colonization).

Popular dishes include: 

• Bánh mì - More than likely, you’ve either had the pleasure of eating or at least heard of this famous Vietnamese sandwich that’s served on a baguette. It’s filled with various meats (like pate), cilantro, pickled carrots and daikon, and fresh cucumber. 
• Phở - A soup with a beef broth base that is seasoned with spices like star anise, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and coriander - just to name a few. It usually contains rice noodles and various cuts of beef, and is garnished with herbs like green onions, chilis, bean sprouts, cilantro, and lime. Note: There’s differences between phở served in Hanoi (northern region of Vietnam) vs Saigon (Southern region).
• Bánh Khọt - Think of these as mini savory pancakes - Made with rice flour and coconut, and often topped with shrimp and green onions. Typically these little bites are eaten with fresh herbs and leafy green vegetables. 
• Bún Chả - Grilled fatty pork served over white rice noodles with herbs and usually a dipping sauce. Fun fact: You can only find bún chả served in Hanoi. In other regions, there’s similar but different versions with a separate name. 

This list isn’t comprehensive in any means, but we hope it gives you some insight and newfound appreciation into the diversity of flavors across Southeast Asian street food.

We can only convey the flavors, sights, sounds, and smells of street food so much through words. If you’re eager for more, we highly recommend watching some of the many captivating street food vlogs by our friend Mark Wiens. 

Needless to say, our Tuk Tuk Box team is in love with street food culture and are counting down the days until we can roam the streets of the motherland and enjoy all of our favorite dishes!