Street Foods That Toronto Needs But Doesn’t Have, And If They Do Exist, They’re Not Great
Half of Toronto’s population was born outside of Canada, as a positive result ethnic influences are spread throughout the city birthing vibrant neighbourhoods and diverse communities–Little India, Little Portugal, Little Italy, Greektown, Koreatown, Chinatown and so on. One of the best things about Toronto is the food scene. Toronto’s culinary landscape can take you on a trip around the world, all in one day.
However, there are some dishes I salivate over just thinking about that Toronto doesn’t have. And eateries that do have it are serving up five out of tens. I’m looking for that real-deal-Holyfield version of these dishes that I have been fortunate enough to indulge in during my travels. Nothing fancy, just delicious street food from around the globe.
I am well aware that the GTA serves up some great ethnic food, but let’s be honest, I am a Torontonian, without a car, so my travel radius is bound by the Toronto streetcar and subway system. And we all know that the TTC (The Toronto Transit Commission) has issues on the daily, which also stalls how far I’ll go for food, when I’m not travelling abroad.
Here’s the rundown of street foods missing from Toronto’s food scene:
1) Laksa
Laksa is a common noodle soup dish found in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The best I’ve had was in a dirty hawker bar in Singapore. Laska comes in many varieties, made with either a coconut or tamarind soup base. I’m crazy in love with a local classic–Katong laksa, best described as “a spicy soup stock the colour of a flaming sunset, flavoured with coconut milk and dried shrimp, and topped with ingredients like cockles, prawns and fishcake. Its defining characteristic is the noodles: thick vermicelli cut into shorter pieces that can be easily slurped up with a spoon.” In a world full of comfort noodle soups–pho, ramen, classic chicken noodle–laksa offers something equally tasty but distinctly different with it’s Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesia ingredients and spices. To me this is comfort food that works all year round, I don’t discriminate against seasons.
2) Chole Bhature
A dish close to my heart because it’s a dish of my people–Punjabi food. Chole (pronounced cho-lay) are chickpeas and its best buddy is the bhature (pronounced bhu-toor-eh), fried bread. The chickpeas are cooked with a bevy of earthy spices to create a tangy and spicy taste explosion. The bread comes piping hot and puffy, once the bread deflates, it’s used to scoop up, or dip into, the curried chickpeas. Just as Korean food serves up many sides that compliment the main dish, chole bhature comes with pickled carrots and onions known as achaar, green chillies and chutney, maybe a wedge of lime, adding even more bold flavours to the dish.
One gentleman described it so eloquently as “having a serving of chole-bhature is like having sex with more than one person, at the same time. You never know what to expect, there’s always a lot happening at any given moment, all your senses are in motion and yet, satisfaction is guaranteed!” Chole bhature is a staple street food in Delhi that will have your taste buds doing a bhangra dance in your mouth. It’s one of the few Indian dishes I crave. What I wouldn’t give to have Sita Ram in Paharganj FedEx me a plate.
3) Chuan’r
Many countries have their own version of meat-on-a-stick–satay from Indonesia, yakaori from Japan, souvlaki from Greece, Churrasco from Latin countries, however I crave chuan’r (pronounced chwan-r) from China. What makes it different from the others is that chuan’r has this perfect ratio of meat to fat. It’s basically a skewer of grilled meat, usually lamb, cooked over an open flame with a dry rub spice blend of cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and both sesame seeds and oil. It’s the perfect after-the-bar street food in China.
4) Chilli Crab
Another dirty hawker bar favourite is the Singaporean style chilli crab, a stir-fried crab dish covered in a savoury sauce that hits all five tastes–sweet, spicy, sour, salty and umami. Despite the name, I don’t recall chilli crab being overly spicy. To enjoy the full experience, this dish requires digging right in with both hands and sporadic finger licking throughout. It’s messy and worth it.
5) Stuffed Tandoori Naan
A naan is a pillowy Indian bread used for dipping or scooping. Now imagine one that’s stuffed with anything from spiced meats, mixed veggies, potatoes or paneer. The secret weapon to an amazing stuffed naan (or a regular nann) is the vessel in which it’s cooked–the almighty tandoor. The tandoor (an ancient smoker, griddle, convection oven and barbecue all-in-one) is an oven made out of clay, shaped like a cylindrical drum that runs on charcoal. The magic of the tandoor is that it can heat up to temperatures ranging from 450–900 degrees. Anything cooked in a tandoor not only gets that smokey, charred, clay flavour, but also grabs all the flavours of the juices and fats from the food cooked in it previously. Once a stuffed naan is assembled, it’s slapped onto the side of the clay wall, until its gets that perfect smokey char. It absolutely fulfills that carb fix, comfort food fix and most importantly that mood boosting fix.
Any Toronto cooks out there reading this, hollar when you add these dishes to your menu. I will be your cheerleader and force my friends to do the same–this I solemnly swear.
