This is the bizarre moment a street vendor grills frozen ice cubes and prepares them as food to be sold as a snack to baffled customers.
The dish was reportedly spotted at a night market in Changsha, in China’s southern Hunan Province, and quickly drew attention on social media.
Phone footage captured by stunned customers shows a stall owner preparing the ice cubes over an open barbecue as if it were fresh meat.
The process involves him brushing oil over the ice, then sprinkling dry chilli and sesame as they melt over the fire.
Finally, he drizzles them with chilli sauce and chopped green onions, then gets them off the grill before they completely evaporate and packs them to go.
While grilling, the vendor even asks customers whether they want it “a bit burnt or tender,” and then reminds them to “eat it while it’s hot.”
The entire preparation lasts less than a minute and one serving costs CNY 15 (GBP 1.6), local media reported.
Some customers have said they find the process very amusing.
According to the stall owner, it is a “specialty snack from the Northeast, and it’s best to eat it while it’s hot.”
When asked by some puzzled passersby about the taste of the grilled ice, he reportedly said: “After trying this, you’ll want to come back for more.”
Others, however, have disagreed by saying he basically sells seasoned water.
Mr Zhao, drafter for the Heilongjiang Landmark Food Brand Identification Management Standards and a senior engineer at the Harbin Institute of Standardisation, said: “This is not a dish that chefs make.
“The so-called specialty snack simply doesn’t exist in the Northeast; it’s something made up by street vendors.”
