The Burlington Free Press asked five chefs about their favorite street food. Some pretty interesting responses were given.
In no particular order, they were:
Roti chanai from Malaysia – bread made from dough stretched very thin, folded into itself to create these crisp membrane-thin layers of bread. The sauce usually a chicken-based curry made with coconut water and galangal (sometimes called lesser ginger) and chilies and you get a little metal bowl of chanai and you dip your bread into it. (Lauren Gammon, chef-owner and cooking teacher, The Nomadic Chef, Starksboro)
Khanom krup from Thailand – It’s made in special cast iron pans with little golf ball-size divots. They have a pitcher of coconut and rice flour batter they pour into the divots and then they take coconut cream and spoon it in the middle. There’s a really hot fire underneath, and it makes the bottom crispy and the inside turns into something like coconut custard. Sometimes they add fillings like cilantro and corn kernels — it’s a savory thing, not sweet really. You get like a little bag of six of them for 5 cents. (also from Lauren Gammon, chef-owner and cooking teacher, The Nomadic Chef, Starksboro)
Tripe sandwiches from Ankara, Turkey – Cow or lamb stomach boiled for a long time and then they take the tripe out and add vegetables — tomatoes, onions, scallions — and cook that for another couple hours. Once everything is cooled they take it all out and chop it up and put it between pieces of crusty Italian-style bread that are soft on the inside. Then they add spices like fennel seed, ground cumin and freshly ground pepper. It’s not the best cut of the animal, but it has fantastic flavor. (Ozzy Giral, co-owner, Blue Cat Cafe and Wine Bar, Burlington)
Roasted chestnuts in Italy – The smell is amazing. They roast them in this perforated circular pan that sits on top of an open fire, and the nuts are scored with an X, and you have to peel the skin back to eat them. (Aaron Millon, chef and co-owner, Restaurant Phoebe, Montpelier)
And of course:
Dirty water dogs (Sabretts) in New York – Hot dogs that sit in kettles of water all day. It’s like hot dog stock. You can eat them in 10 seconds, and they’re everywhere in New York. They’re so good because they’re full of nitrates, and they serve them on a bleached white flour roll that is so soft you could squeeze it into a tiny pellet. (also from Aaron Millon, chef and co-owner, Restaurant Phoebe, Montpelier) [Burlington Free Press]
We knew that already – but don’t forget the onions and sauerkraut. There are a few other responses that we didn’t mention in the link, too.
