Japan has some awesome food pairings: sushi and wasabi, red beans and green tea, and fish and grated white radish. While these food combinations tickle the tastebuds, they’ve actually been eaten for centuries to offset negative health effects and promote healthy digestion. But that doesn’t mean things have to be boring!
One creative twitter user has taken inspiration from their pet cat to show us just how amazing a staple Japanese dish can be. Gone is the obligatory mound of plain, grated radish that sits beside grilled fish dishes and in its place is an adorable white cat lovingly caressing a fishy prize from the sea!
A bowl of hot miso soup, some rice and a whole piece of grilled fish is a great way to start the day in Japan. Grated daikon, or white radish, is normally served with the fish to compliment its oily taste. More importantly though, the enzymes in white radish help us digest oils and inhibits the formation of carcinogens. One thing it doesn’t inhibit is cuteness, as its high moisture content allows it to be moulded into any adorable shape.
The real-life muse for the radish art creation is a pet cat called Kuu-chan. The likeness is quite uncanny, right down to the dark, soul-piercing eyes and pale pink nose and ears, which are replicated with a couple of black peppercorns, a drizzle of soy sauce and the pink juice from some red pickled gingers.
For every enchanted encounter must inevitably come to an end. The creator suggests popping the daikon in soup to finish it all off. Who knew a mound of radish could evoke such emotions at the end of a meal?
The Twitter user who created the dish said it only took thirty minutes to complete, and a lot of the time was spent on grating the radish. Once you have a good amount of grated goodness to play with, it moulds easily and retains its shape well. Time to get grating!
Source: Hamusoku
Images: @e00ma