How Sandwiches Are Enjoyed Around The World

Sandwiches might be the world's most perfect food. The ideal sandwich is a glorious union of soft, crispy, or hearty bread, rich fillings, bright sauces, and usually fresh vegetables that tie the whole thing together. Sandwiches are versatile, portable, and the ultimate pick-me-up meal, whether you're grabbing a quick sammie for the road or sitting down to a saucy wonder that you can devour with a knife, fork, and stack of napkins.

No matter where you go on the planet, there's bound to be a mouthwatering local sandwich that you can sink your teeth into. From decadent vegetarian favorites and meaty soft steamed buns to over-the-top French-fry-filled beauties, there's a sandwich for every taste. Can't hop on a plane to sample authentic Croquette Sando? The United States is full of great sammies, too. But, if you do find yourself on the streets of Hanoi or Paris, make sure that you get your hands on one of these must-devour sandwiches.

While the Turks get credit for dreaming up the first renditions of döner kebab centuries ago, the sandwich version is actually more of a global collaboration. As with many amazing foods, its origins are slightly murky, with some debate as to whether Kadir Nurman or Mehmet Aygün first fused tender, seasoned döner meat with bread in early 1970s Berlin, or even if the sandwich existed slightly earlier in London (via The Guardian).

However döner kebab came to be, it's hard to deny the utter deliciousness and decadence of this happy union of slow-cooked marinated meat, tangy yogurt, thinly-sliced vegetables, and soft bread. Döner's meat is roasted on a vertical spit that slowly spins to give the meat a uniform and perfectly cooked taste. Kebab sellers shave off thin slices and then pile them high for the ultimate, savory street food snack.

The beloved Cuban sandwich is nearly ubiquitous in the southern part of Florida, with roots in Havana (via Steemit). According to Flamingo Magazine, Cuban sandwiches may have been created in some form by the Taíno, Cuba's native people, when they topped flatbread with meat and made the first version of the sandwich. Cuban sandwiches hit Key West in the mid-1800s and evolved into their current form, a scrumptious mixture of cheese and ham (via Flamingo Magazine).

Today's Cuban sandwiches are flat-pressed savory gems full of gooey Swiss cheese, ham, and tender pork. They get their signature crunch from tart pickles and a smear of spicy mustard. The whole lovely sandwich is pressed thin and served hot. Fortunately, there are plenty of great places to get your Cuban sandwich fix in the United States, offering both traditional sammies and slight variations and riffs on the original recipe.

According to the New York Times, falafel is a contentious issue between Palestinians and Israelis, with the former claiming that the latter stole the crispy, spicy chickpea creation. However, if you dig a little bit deeper, you'll find that falafel probably first popped up in Egypt (via History Today), although the timeline is particularly murky. Falafel's mysterious and fiercely debated origin story aside, its near-universal deliciousness is not up for debate. The falafel sandwich is a glorious mixture of savory falafel, tangy sauce, crisp vegetables, and pita bread.

Although authentic falafel differs from western versions, there are still many places to get your falafel fix in the United States. Full of robust, aromatic spices like warm cumin and coriander, these chickpea balls are a unique meat-free alternative full of protein and nutrients (via Healthline). Then, top your falafel sandwich with a nutty, aromatic drizzle of tahini (via Spiceography), and you have a flavorful, complex, and healthfully decadent meal.

Although Chivito sandwiches are a famous and beloved food across the South American country today, they actually started off as a practical joke (via SC Times). It all started with a hungry customer looking for a goat meat sandwich back in 1944. Antonio Carbonaro, an innovative restaurateur, dug through this refrigerator and fished out various meats, butter, and a few condiments (via Guru Guay), creating the immortal Chivito sandwich.

According to Taste Atlas, Chivito sandwiches are Uruguay's national dish. It's easy to understand how this hearty sandwich made its way into hearts across the country, with its tender layers of thin steak, ham, bacon, egg, cheese, and vegetables. It's got tons of different textures, brightness and tartness from the chopped veggies, and richness from the perfectly-cooked steak. Plus, true Chivito connoisseurs know that the best way to eat it is with ketchup and mayonnaise dipping sauce (via SC Times).

According to Time Out, roti john has a few distinct origin stories, but what ties them together is the commonality of the name. Whether you believe that roti john dates back to the 1960s in Malaysia, or Singapore, the dish's name comes from a desire to sell food to white visitors or service people in the two countries. "John" was a popular moniker for white people, so the dish's name translates to "bread, John?"

As with many great sandwiches, roti john hits on the trifecta of good tastes; spicy, meaty, and cheesy. It's a beautiful combination of heaping diced meats, eggs, and vegetables, all covered in twin drizzles of cheese and chili sauces. You'll get a mouthful of everything in each bite. However, unlike other substandard submarine sandwiches, the bread doesn't overwhelm any of the fillings. Instead, roti john hits the bread-to-filling ratio perfectly, which is probably why it's still wildly popular today.

Taiwanese gua bao combines soft, tender steamed buns with pork belly and assorted fillings for a tasty street snack that hits all the right flavor notes and is guaranteed to satisfy your hunger within minutes. According to CNN, gua bao (which it calls "Taiwan's hamburger") is one of Taiwan's most authentic and traditional street foods containing a tart punch of pickled veggies, spices, and plenty of slowly cooked pork. Traditionally eaten during the Taiwanese celebration of Weiya, it's meant to symbolize a fresh start.

Even if you don't celebrate Weiya and aren't interested in erasing back luck off your slate, you can still enjoy gua bao, whether at a restaurant or in your own home. These sandwiches are unique little bites that get much of their crunch and texture from the veggies and fork-tender pork inside, with the airy, doughy buns acting as the ideal canvas for the other exceptional flavors.

The first rule of enjoying Montréal smoked meat is not to confuse it with pastrami, New York's saltier and sugary cousin that bears a passing resemblance. Montréal smoked meat is cooked in water for a slightly different taste and texture (via The Globe and Mail), making its consistency more like that of corned beef. According to Tourisme Montreal, this gargantuan, meaty sandwich may have Jewish Eastern European roots and first appeared in Montréal around the turn of the 1900s, courtesy of Lithuanian immigrants.

Today, it's an iconic Canadian food whose infamy is right up there with poutine. To make the perfect Montréal smoked meat sandwich, you need stacks of slowly cooked and smoked brisket nestled between two slices of bread. Sharp mustard and a tangy pickle cut through the fat and give the sandwich another element of flavor, rendering these bulky sandwiches one for the ages.

Vegemite is a fairly polarizing food, and while many Australians love the thick deep black spread, non-Aussies can't seem to stand the stuff (via VICE). Although the idea of a Vegemite sandwich can be intimidating, it's worth giving this malty spread a try, at least to say that you've done it. According to the National Museum of Australia, Vegemite came about almost 100 years ago as Australia's answer to Marmite, and its popularity exploded during the Second World War.

Vegemite might have been invented as the Aussie clap-back to Marmite, but they are not the same. Marmite is sweeter and gooier than Vegemite, whereas the latter has bitter notes and a rich umami flavoring. You might be able to snag yourself some Vegemite in shops from Brisbane to Sydney, but there's one place that Australians can't get their hands on it: prison. Instead of spreading Vegemite on their toast, Australian inmates made it into jailhouse booze.

Don't make the rookie mistake of referring to Peru's butifarra as simply a ham sandwich. This iconic treat is more than that, with deeply-spiced ham, tons of peppers and onions, and fresh-from-the-oven bread (via Eat Peru). It's the ultimate example of how stellar ingredients can take even a fairly ordinary sandwich combination to dazzling new levels. You can find it all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa.

According to Eat Peru, the sandwich's central ingredient is ham, and it's what makes Butifarra extraordinary. The ham, also known as jamon del pais, is made from local pork and liberally spiced with tons of garlic, peppers, and a slathering of oil. Then, it's slow-cooked, sliced up, and served for a juicy portion of meat in every single bite. Although you can recreate butifarra at home with good ingredients and super-fresh bread, it's unlikely that you'll be able to score the central player in the dish. For true butifarra, you might have to hop on a plane to the Sacred Valley.