THE WORLD OF STREET FOOD

"See that tree over there?’ said Mohamed, pointing at a straggly specimen across the busy road in Penang’s George Town. That was where my grandfather used to sell his nasi kandar. He had two baskets at either end of a pole that he carried on his shoulders to this spot. Then he’d unwrap one and set up his little fire. The second basket carried rice and other ingredients. "In time, he did well enough to buy a hawker cart. My father took that on and the business grew, so that he was able to rent a stand in a coffee shop. And from that, here I am with nasi kandar stalls of my own." Mohamed’s grandfather had come from Tamil Nadu, in India, along with many others. Many Tamils came as indentured laborers for the British, to work on Malaysia’s rubber plantations. Others became hawkers, eking out a living in the towns, selling food and other goods.
Malaysia has a rich tradition in street food, not least because of its immigrant workers. The largest immigrant group in Malaysia is the Chinese, many of whom came to work on the country’s tin mines. But an earlier wave of migrants – known as Nonya or Straits Chinese – had reached Malaysia in the early and middle part of the 19th century. Many married Malays, and fused their cooking ideas along with their genes to create some distinctive tastes and flavours. ‘Malaysia is the street-food capital of the world,’ said Anwar Fazal, when I explained the purpose of my visit. Anwar worked for years with consumer organizations – not testing fridges or driving the latest car, but setting up campaigning groups such as Pesticides Action Network, Health Action International and the International Babyfood Action Network, and working with the Consumers’ Association of Penang, one of the foremost  non-governmental groups.

These bodies turn the concept of a Western ‘consumer’ on its head, for they examine shopping and products in a different way, looking for example at what damage to workers and the environment is caused by agro-chemicals. They also focus on the well-documented scandal of babymilk being sold to people who can neither afford it nor prepare it safely because they lack clean water. I’d worked with these organizations briefly in the 1980s and was pleased to be back again and see familiar faces. The excellent street food was of course another draw.
Anwar had a treat in store: in my room was a copy of Penang Food Odyssey, a fascinating and detailed tour of the street food vendors and their specialities... you could almost hear the sizzle and smell the aromas. The first thing to do is to visit each stall and see who is cooking what at this time of day. For some of the dishes are strictly breakfast fare, like nasi lemak, a Malay cuisine speciality. This is coconut rice and curry, with side dishes of fried anchovies, peanuts, hard-boiled eggs and cucumber. If you think that is an unusual combo to start the day with, then think how a plate full of fried egg, bacon, sausage and baked beans might seem to the uninitiated. Nasi lemak has a kick to get you going, supplied by chili.
From Accra to Bangkok and Mumbai to Mexico City, informal street trading is a way for many people to make a living. According to Britain’s Natural Resources Institute ‘street-vended food can contribute significantly to the food security of those involved in its production, particularly suppliers of raw produce, food processors and vendors.’ The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes that ‘selling snacks and meals on the streets is an important way to obtain income.’ In Calcutta, selling street food is estimated to bring in almost $100 million per year for the 130,000 or so vendors, while in Latin America the monthly sales per vendor were around $150-500.
Most vendors are people who would otherwise be unemployed. Many women work in this sector – in some African countries over 80 per cent of those selling food on the street are women. This is a vital part of the economy, as women nearly always spend the cash on their families rather than on alcohol, sex or other diversion. As well as making a living, the food hawkers and vendors provide cheap meals to thousands of people who may not be able to afford much else. Those queuing up for today’s tasty dish may be schoolchildren, and some school canteens in Thailand and the Philippines buy in food from the hawkers.
Is there anything bad to say about this thriving and important industry? Well, there are health and hygiene concerns. Organizations such as the FAO are promoting clean water facilities and health checks for vendors. Malaysia, like some other countries, licenses vendors to ensure acceptable standards – and of course to keep an eye on who is doing what, where. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, hawkers are illegal but in times of economic hardship, people (both vendors and their customers) have few other survival options. Local people and tourists alike can enjoy the colorful sights, delicious smells and bustle that surrounds the food hawkers – such as those busy at their stands in Penang’s Gurney Drive, one of the city’s most popular spots to eat.
Here, the way to find your favorite food is to go round the stalls and see for yourself what is being cooked. Most people speak enough English to understand what you are asking and will be pleased that you are showing interest in their cuisine. You order what you want and the various stallholders will bring the dish to you – go on, try several! The food is cheap and so good that quite often you will find Mercedes cars pulled up nearby, their occupants as keen on the wonderfully named wanton mee as the less well-wheeled foodies.

My favorite is roti canai, a Malaysian speciality. The stallholder who makes this is a star attraction as he whirls the dough, making it thinner and thinner, and slapping it down to cook on a hot griddle. It puffs up; you break off bits and dip them into the curry sauce. Totally delicious and highly addictive – an exquisite blend of the known and the exotic, just like Malaysia itself. The recipes in this book have been adapted to make them easy to cook at home, and you can find most ingredients in the shops or specialty stores – or, now, on the web. And of course you can help support fair trade and organic producers by purchasing their goods – it really does make a difference.

By Troth Wells in "The World of Street Food", published in the UK in 2005 by New Internationalist Publications Ltd, excerpts 7-9. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

Share this post