Mersin Wrap · Thin-Sliced Sautéed Beef

Tantuni

Photo: Joquee / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Despite looking similar to döner, tantuni is never roasted on a vertical spit — the meat is always pan-sautéed in small batches, a distinction locals take seriously.

Thin strips of beef are quick-cooked in a wide shallow pan with a little sunflower oil, chopped fine, then rolled into thin lavash with onion, parsley, and tomato. Mersin's tantuni stands cook it fast and hot, wrapping each portion to order.

Why it's made this way: Mersin, a Mediterranean port city, built its own fast-food identity around this pan-cooked wrap in the mid-20th century, and it has since spread nationwide as one of Turkey's most popular street wraps.