In big cities around the United States, trucks and carts are dispensing quick, delicious dishes—and their number is increasing.

In other countries, street food is a long-standing tradition, from meals-in-a-bowl to sandwiches to ingredients presented on sticks and skewers.

Savvy chefs have been looking to mobile units to bring new momentum to their menus. With bright flavors, a sense of fun and a world of inspiring options, it’s easy to see why. There’s even a restaurant—Susan Feniger’s Street—that debuted in 2009 in L.A. with a street-food focus (eatatstreet.com).

Chicken Little

Want to combine the street-food trend with the fried-chicken trend? Try a Thai version. Start with SilverBrook^® BRAND fresh or frozen chicken marinated in puréed onions, coconut milk, coriander and yellow curry, then stewed and dipped in rice flour. Finally, the chicken pieces are fried in a wok.

Char-broiled chicken wrapped with a flaky roll could be lunch—or presented appetizer size. The same entrée-or-appetizer strategy goes for chicken-basil dumplings, a Thai staple. Or Malaysian-style wings with hot sauce, scallion sour cream, celery leaf salad and grilled limes. Chicken soup? For street eaters in Asia, it often consists of chicken and corn in a spicy broth.

Noodle Around

A number of American restaurateurs have been inspired by Asian street cuisine; for example, the noodle bar. At Noodle Doodle Do in Memphis, patrons enjoy shrimp wonton soup with barbecue pork. The daytime-only venue also offers vegetarian noodle soup featuring udon—wide, flat ribbons of wheat flour—along with carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, daikon radish, pumpkin and peanuts in a spicy curry coconut broth.

In Boston, udon are charred in a wok and teamed with spicy chicken and baby bok choy at Myers + Chang. Seattle’s Boom Noodle serves ramen with braised pork, egg and bamboo shoots. Frank Bonnano takes a fusion tack at Bones in Denver, combining chilled buckwheat soba noodles with roasted lamb, goat cheese and almonds, all splashed with curry vinaigrette.

Fry Me

Fried food is a walk-and-eat staple. French-fried potatoes rule around the world, topped with everything from gravy and cheese curds to rosemary-truffle ketchup and tarragon-anchovy mayo. Serve them in a paper cone as they do in Belgium.

In Pakistan, fried bread is often rolled around grilled chicken, onions, tomato and a dollop of garlic-ginger yogurt sauce. Deep-fried rice balls are popular in Italy, coated with a breadcrumb-egg mixture and filled with cheese. Mussels fried in oil, skewered and dipped in garlic sauce are relished in parts of Turkey—why not try clams, shrimp or crawfish here in the U.S.?

Oh Mexico

Take a stroll below the border, and you could stop for an ear of grilled corn smeared with melted butter and mayo, sprinkled with mild cheese, and served with a lime wedge. Be inspired by Mexican beverages, too, from tamarind soda to fruit juice to agua horchata (liquid from almonds or pumpkin seeds).

In the States—Portland, Oregon, to be exact—truck-and-patio combo Taqueria Los Gorditos offers spicy soy chorizo cooked with onion and jalapeño to please vegan taco fans, along with shredded-beef versions. Lots of refried beans, chopped onion and fresh cilantro enliven many of the choices (bonappetit.com/go/streetfood).

San Fran Fresco

The City by the Bay held its first Street Food Festival just last year. Enthusiastic vendors offered a variety of treats, from simple to gourmet (sfstreetfoodfest.com). Skewered: lamb and pork satay on a stick of lemongrass, and house-made strawberry popsicles. Sippable: watermelon agua fresca and lychee-infused iced tea. On aa slab: heirloom-tomato spread atop grilled bread, and cornmeal cake with steak or cactus salad.

Breakfast on the Go

Citizens of Seattle can get a walk-up breakfast as well as a drive-through one, thanks to Skillet, a converted Airstream trailer serving morning delights such as eggs with maple-braised pork belly.

In L.A., there’s a breakfast slider made with Hawaiian bread, sausage, sautéed onions and scrambled eggs flavored with soy sauce. As well as rosemary-garlic hash browns and buttermilk-pancake bites in “seasonal flavors.”

Hearty muffins chock full of fruit and nuts—topped with butter or cream cheese—are another great idea for any operation capable of offering a morning takeaway option.

Sweets on the Streets

Dessert is not neglected by street-food vendors; in fact, it’s becoming very chichi. L.A.’s Kogi Korean BBQ to Go entices with a cupcake (of sorts) called Chocolate Tres Leches. It’s made with the eponymous ingredients as well as peanut brittle, toffee, chocolate crisp-rice cereal and cinnamon-toast cereal, plus cinnamon and cayenne for spice.

NYC serves up hundreds of choices. Such as bomboni: deep-fried pastry filled with vanilla cream and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. And Belgian waffles topped with strawberries, whipped cream and maple syrup. Gelato, giant cookies, bread pudding, mousse—there’s something for everyone with a sweet tooth.

Dessert on a stick is hot, too. From fruit to cheesecake to mini sticky-buns, think about offering an end-of-the-meal treat that could go from table to sidewalk.

On the street: Another great place to look for customer-pleasing menu ideas.

Word on the…

There are plenty of resources that survey street food from around the globe.

• Wikipedia (that’s right!) offers a nice long entry on street food with some useful
links, wikipedia.com/street_food.

• The book Street Food: Exploring the World’s Most Authentic Tastes, by Tom Kime,
is available online at scribd.com/doc/17276682/Street-Food-Cooking-Recipes.

• For 12 “do-it-yourself recipes from some of the best street food in the world,”
go to utne.com/Politics/Street-Food-Recipes.aspx.

• More recipes are available at tastebook.com/collections/4873-International-Street-Food.