Highlights
- Water raindrop cake is made from plain, solidified water.
- The water is especially brought in from Japanese Alps.
- The 'cake' dissolves into water if not eaten within 30 minutes.
Ever wanted to eat water? Sounds weird, doesn't it? But a dish that allows you to do just that exists and is becoming one of the most popular dishes of all time. The Japanese have yet again used their culinary genius, this time to fashion water into a dessert. Say hello to the water raindrop cake! Known as the Mizu Shingen Mochi, which literally means 'a drop of rain' and it looks like a huge solid bubble of water. The dessert isn't something new though. It has been around for a while now- at least long enough to turn into an internet sensation.
Social media foodies are obsessed with the cake that is as unique as it is mystical- it dissolves into water if not eaten within 30 minutes. What adds to its mystique is the fact that it's made from water brought in from the Southern Japanese Alps. The water is solidified just enough, so as to give it a round shape. So who would want to taste solidified water you ask? Well apparently everybody! The water from the Japanese Alps is believed to be so tasty that it doesn't need any flavoring.
The process of making it is pretty simple. The raindrop 'cake' is made by mixing agar agar in the water so as to allow it to solidify. Agar is a substance obtained from algae and is commonly used to make liquids take a jelly-like texture. The water is then poured into spherical moulds and left to set. The cake is them places at the center of a dish and served with roasted soybean powder called kinako and black sugar syrup. Nowadays, chefs have started setting edible flowers in the middle of the raindrop cake to make it look more decorative. Added this to your list of food bucket list? We sure did!