Street Food Around the World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bunny chow

Nobody is quite sure how the bunny chow got its name, though it's nothing to do with rabbits. It is thought to be named in reference to members of the Bania caste, who served the meal in restaurants, or for 'bun' and 'achar', a type of pickle. Rotis were originally used, but swapped for a hollowed-out loaf of bread because roti fillings had a tendency to fall out; the chunk of bread carved out was used to cover the hollow with the filling. The bunny chow's portable nature also made it a handy meal for Indians and black South Africans who were banned from white restaurants. The curry in the bunny chow is usually made with mutton, though chicken and vegetarian versions exist.

Other typical South African street foods: Gatsby sandwich (a chip sandwich served in a baguette), boerewors (a type of sausage), vetkoek (a fried bread, sometimes stuffed with curried mince).

Answer: Scotch bonnets

Scotch bonnets are a feature of both West African and Jamaican cooking, so called because they resemble the stereotypical tam-o'-shanter worn by Scottish people according to stereotypes. They are very potent (I speak from experience here!), measuring between 100,000 and 350,000 on the Scoville scale. Jamaican jerk spice typically also includes allspice, though other spices such as cloves, ginger or nutmeg may also feature. Jerk cooking (the term is thought to originate from the Spanish term 'charqui', for dried meat), which originated among the Taino people, involves scoring the meat, either marinading or dry rubbing it with the jerk spice, and slowly smoking the meat in a pit (though nowadays cooks use oil barrels or 'jerk pans' covered with metal sheets to keep the smoke in).

Other typical Jamaican street foods: goat curry, breadfruit, patties (spicy flaky pastries with a meat or vegetable filling).

Answer: Acarajes

Acarajés, also known as akaras, are originally from West Africa and are made from mashed cowpeas which are fried in palm oil. Typical fillings include fried beef mutton, vatapá, an Afro-Brazilian fish and coconut milk stew, and caruru, a condiment containing okra, shrimp and toasted nuts. They are traditionally sold by women vendors. Popular in the Afro-Brazilian community of Bahia, acarajés feature in the Candomblé faith, where they are offered to various gods or orixás; larger ones are offered to specific orixás (a specific one for the thunder orixá Xangô is elongated rather than round), while smaller ones are offered to child spirits.

Other typical Brazilian street foods: pão de queijo (cheese bread), bolinhos de chuva (fried dough balls sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon), coxinhas (chicken croquettes).

Answer: Thailand

Some people might be a little squicked at the idea of eating insects, or entomophagy, but they're a popular snack in many countries (and high in protein!), including Thailand. Popular insects sold at street stalls include crickets, water beetles, grasshoppers, silk worms and bamboo worms (which are said to taste like corn). Some markets even sell scorpions! They are deep fried in a wok and typically served with soy sauce and white pepper. The practice of eating insects originated among farmers in Thailand's poor northeast, as a cheap alternative to meat, but later spread across the country.

Som tam is green papaya salad, tom yum is a hot and sour soup made with shrimp or pork, and khanom khrok are coconut and rice flour pancakes.

Answer: Raw meat

The original Roman placenta cake consisted of several layers of dough sandwiched with cheese and honey, flavoured with bay leaves, then baked and covered with honey (and the human placenta is named after the shape of the cake). Today's placinta, its descendent, is usually filled with apples, soft cheese such as urda (a whey cheese), telemea (a sheep's milk cheese) or ricotta, potatoes or even chocolate. Placinta are usually round or square.

Other typical Romanian street foods: covrigi (pretzels with poppy seeds), kürtos kalács (spit cakes), mititei (small spicy grilled sausages).

Answer: Chin chin

Chin chin dough usually contains flour, butter, sugar and milk, and sometimes eggs or cowpeas as well. The dough is cut into little pieces (one recipe I found while researching it suggests using a pizza cutter) and deep fried in oil. The amount of water/milk to use depends on how soft or crunchy the cook wants it to be. Some recipes use flavourings such as chocolate or coconut. A more savoury version of the snack is popular in Ghana.

Other typical Nigerian street foods: moin moin (bean pudding with peppers), puff puff (fried dough balls similar to French beignets), kuli kuli (a crispy peanut snack).

Answer: Sausage sizzle

A sausage sizzle is both a street food with a sausage (or snag) in it and an event where said sausages are served. As with hot dogs, the sausage is accompanied by fried onions and a sauce such as ketchup, though it is served on a slice of bread, not in a bun. During Australian elections, it is not uncommon to find sausage sizzles at polling booths; sausages bought at these sausage sizzles are known as 'democracy sausages'. Sausage sizzles are also held as fundraising events. Bunnings Warehouse, an Australian DIY store chain, regularly hosts sausage sizzles (although they had to stop temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic) to raise money for local communities.

Other typical Australian street foods: pie floaters (meat pies in pea sauce, popular in Adelaide), Dagwood dogs (similar to the American corn dog), crab sticks.

Answer: Completo

The completo is a sausage in a bun, but that's where the similarity with its American cousin ends. The one in the picture contains mayonnaise, diced tomatoes and avocado, and other typical completo fillings include salsa Americana and sauerkraut (which was introduced to Chile by German immigrants in the 19th century). The pictured completo is actually a completo Italiano, so called because of its red, green and white colour scheme. Other types of completo include the tomate-mayo, which only contains mayonnaise and tomatoes, and the completo a lo pobre, which features chips, fried onion and is topped with a fried egg.

Other typical Chilean street foods: sopapillas (sweet fried pastries, sometimes made with pumpkin), anticuchos (skewered meat, usually beef), pinpo empanadas (fried pastries filled with olives, onions, boiled eggs, minced beef and raisins).

Answer: Takoyaki

Takoyaki means 'fried octopus' and these little balls are made of a wheat batter filled with minced octopus, green onions, pickled ginger and tenkasu (little bits of tempura batter). They can be served with takoyaki sauce or mayonnaise, like these ones here. They originate from Osaka and were created by Tomekichi Endo, a street vendor, who was inspired by akashiyaki (aka tamagoyaki), dumplings made with octopus and an eggy batter. In some anime, such as 'Ojamajo Doremi' or 'Daybreak Illusion', if there is a character from the Kansai region or Osaka, chances are they'll like takoyaki.

Other typical Japanese street foods: yakitori (skewered meat), ikayaki (grilled squid with soy sauce), dango (rice flour dumplings in various flavours). (Sukiyaki is a meat hotpot.)

Answer: Lamb

As the kebab originated in Muslim countries, and is mainly served in halal establishments in the UK, it wouldn't contain pork as Muslims are forbidden to eat it. It was introduced to both Germany and the UK by Turkish immigrants. The big chunk of doner meat is cooked while skewered on a vertical rotisserie, and the cook will shave slices off the outer layer as it turns. Kebab meat can be served with pitta bread - as pictured here - or naan bread in some places, accompanied by salad and/or chips, and a sauce such as yogurt or mayonnaise. Regional variations include the Greek gyros and the Middle Eastern shawarma.

Other typical British street foods: baked potatoes, burgers, fish and chips.