Five best street foods from around the world

Known locally as ‘Tteok-kkochi’, this is one of South Korea’s most famous street foods. Rice cake-based recipes – both sweet and savoury – used to be the preserve of Korea's royal family, but nowadays everyone from shoppers to partygoers enjoys stopping for these moreish street treats.

In this particular recipe, skewers of sticky rice cakes and smoked sausages come drenched in a rich, spicy sauce. For an indulgent finish, try washing the dish down with a shot of soju, which is similar to sake but deceptively stronger.

As the clock ticks past midnight and infectious samba rhythms pulse through the hot night air, Rio locals and tourists take a break from singing and dancing to snack on skewers of barbecued meat (chicken, beef, sausages), which are best dipped in a toasted salty flour called farofa.

You might hear the local vendors referred to as “cat grillers” (churrascaria de gato) because of an urban legend that says they used to cook cat meat. Put this to the back of your mind by washing down the snack with a caipirinha, made from lime, sugar and rum.

Turkey is famous for its wide variety of street foods, but no visit to Istanbul is complete without a kebab. Considered Turkey’s original kebab recipe, the Cag comes from the Anatolian province of Erzurum and is an unmissable treat for meat lovers.

Ansel Mullins writes in The Guardian: “Unlike with döner, where the meat often ends up lying in a puddle of grease, the cağ man carefully selects each morsel with a knife and a thin skewer. When he's done, he'll present you the skewer, threaded with a collection of tender yet crispy bites.”