Today’s leg of the Vegan MoFo international street food tour takes us to Belgium! I’ve been to Belgium twice. One of those times, I passed through it on a train and didn’t realise until it was long gone. Oops. The other time… well, it was equally eventful. I was about fourteen, and my family spent a couple of days in Brussels. As it turns out, Brussels is not that interesting to a fourteen year old. I remember precisely two things that I enjoyed about Brussels; my mother’s outrage that the hotel she’d booked was most likely an ex-brothel that had never been redecorated, and the status of waffles as a pervasive and delicious street food.

Ever since I figured out the secret to using my waffle maker (hint- it’s patience, or more accurately, not opening it and scowling at the resulting torn-apart waffles for having the audacity to not be cooked yet), pancakes have been a thing of the past in the Wiko house. Waffles were a natural choice for a sweet, street food treat.

Raised waffles

Waffles on the streets of Brussels come in many forms, with many accompaniments. On plates, in bags, shoved straight into a waiting mouth- but we all know that the best street foods come on sticks. Since waffles are traditional fare in Belgium, I went with a more traditional recipe than our usual peanut butter waffles- the raised waffles from Vegan Brunch. These use yeast, and the batter is set aside to rise. This gives the waffles a much lighter, more delicate texture- and the batter had a great yeasty flavour that made me really want a beer (have I unwittingly uncovered the delicious secret to the success of Belgium’s Trappist breweries?).

Between the beer and the waffles, Belgium, you’re not so bad. Let’s give it another go one day- but how about we meet in Bruges this time?