ETHNIC SNACKING INSPIRATIONS

Snacking is a mainstay in street food and the bar and restaurant culture in various countries, making these little meals an opportunity to make cultural connections between people. Although a snack is sometimes a personal treat, in the case of a tradition like tapas, it’s often a ritualistic sharing of a few calories to bind trust and camaraderie among friends and family.

During my travels, snacking becomes critical to the success of my days. Out of professional (and personal) curiosity, I have an inherent desire to hunt for snacks and other foods throughout my host country, particularly since meal times on the road tend to be haphazard compared to my regimented schedule back home. I oftentimes find myself waning between meals, only to discover that dinner doesn’t start until 9 P.M.

Snacking through Latin America

Spain’s fertile landscape provides countless natural resources that all score high on the ethnic snacking scale. Consider the venerable mini sandwich known as the bocadillo, literally translated as “something small for the mouth," a small, snack-sized sandwich generally made with barra de pan (like a baguette). They are filled with everything from fruit marmalades to cheeses and thin-sliced meats, or even a small omelet. Various merchants, from high-end retailers to small, local markets and grocers, have little stands where the sandwiches are available. They are not nearly as large as our American sub sandwich, but rather intended as a true “tide me over" until dinner or the next impending meal.

Close cousins to bocadillos are Spanish pinchos or pintxos, originating in Spain’s Basque region and similar to tapas. These are generally small pieces of bread with olive spread, dry-cured meats, cheese, fish or roasted vegetables, presented on platters in a marketplace or bar. They are almost always served skewered with a toothpick so that the ingredients stay together. Pinxtos are considered more akin to finger foods than tapas, which tend to lean more toward knives and forks.

Snacking on tapas has already begun to take hold in the United States. These small, two- to four-bite plates are intended to be combined to create a larger, sharable meal, while single servings make a quick, flavorful snack. They are categorized as hot or cold, with types differing due to key ingredient influences in different regions. Spain’s coast is known for seafood tapas (like gambas al ajillo, garlic shrimp with pepper, chiles and/or paprika) and central regions for jamón ibérico (dry-cured ham, served simply on bread or by itself). Other areas might show some signs of French influence, such as the Basque region, where pinxtos, like bites of various cheeses, might be more common, or perhaps gildas, pickled, mild, green chiles skewered with anchovies.

My maternal heritage is deeply rooted in Chile, and—like Spain—Chilean culture has a propensity for snacking and socializing. In Chile, breakfast might be something light at home. Then, shared snacking enters the picture with something called las onces (“the elevens," referring to the time, although this break can sometimes come after lunch, around traditional “tea time"). Before and/or after lunch, there is a little time, usually a half hour, when areas like the town square fill with people seeking a little pastry and coffee, some freshly roasted nuts, fresh-picked berries, and small sandwiches.

Seasonality often plays a role in snack offerings, especially in Chile. Winter brings warm items, such as empanadas and roasted nuts (chestnuts, peanuts and almonds), to street-food snacking. Summer brings little bags of red murtilla berries (sometimes called Chilean guava), a tart-sweet, indigenous, high-antioxidant berry eaten fresh and often made into jam.

Empanadas de pino are often made with ground beef (seasoned with various mixes of cumin, oregano, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper), onions, raisins, black olives and hard-boiled eggs, all wrapped within slightly sweet dough and baked. The German immigration to Chile weighs in with the completo (“completed one"), which looks a bit like a Chicago-style hot dog, but often made with pickled vegetables (sauerkraut is common), chopped tomatoes, avocado and mayonnaise.

Let’s not forget the small bites and snacks of Mexico, which display various flavor influences from Spain, including the prolific use of corn and pork. Some notables are tacos al pastor, with rich flavors of dried and roasted chiles, slow-roasted pork, and corn. Sopes have a creamier version of a thick taco shell, hand-formed into a little pie shape and grilled, often served topped with roasted meats and cotija cheese, and perhaps some salsa. Crunchy, salty chicharones are pieces of pork skin that fry up completely devoid of moisture so the fat layers and solids in the skin puff up like crisped rice and deliver an amazing crunch, as well as rich, meaty—and sometimes spicy—flavor.

The streets of Asia

Asia is another snacking Mecca—from some of the very curious street foods of Vietnam, where juicy beetles are skewered and fried into crisp delicacies, to the sweet, salty Japanese combination of dried fish and toasted almonds.