Grilled ice cubes cooked on a BBQ are a ‘specialty’ street food in China

A tale of fire and ice?

It appears that we’ve hit “rocks-bottom” when it comes to bizarre food trends: A Chinese street hawker redefined “cold cuts” after they were observed cooking ice cubes on a grill, as seen in a video going viral online.

In the eyebrow-raising clip, filmed in Changsha, Hunan Province, the unnamed hawker can be seen tossing ice cubes on a makeshift skillet in a manner evocative of a grillmeister on Pluto, Newsflare reported.

He then dusts the super low-fat popsicle with chili, cumin, scallions, coriander and other garnishes.

The clip shows a customer trying the savory shaved ice, which she described as “spicy” and “interesting.”

As we have yet to try this edible icicle, we have yet to confirm if ice is indeed a dish best served hot.

The vendor claimed that the spiced ice, which ran customers around $2 a pop, was a specialty from Northeast China — a claim that has since been debunked by locals.

A senior engineer at Harbin Standardisation Research Institute — who drafts the management regulations for the certification of landmark food brands in Heilongjiang, a province in China’s frigid North — threw cold water on the frozen treat.

“There is no such thing as grilled ice cube snacks in the northeast,” he declared. “This is a fabrication by the street vendor.”

“I’ve lived in the northeast for so many years, and I’ve never seen this dish,” seconded one self-proclaimed native of the region.

As of yet, the exact origin of having seasonings on the rocks still remains disputed: Some believe that these edible icecapades date back to 2021 in Harbin — ironically the site of the Middle Kingdom’s renowned ice festival.

However, other Chinese culture vultures on TikTok maintain that it was a Changsha-based creation (Think of how many Americans see Fortune Cookies as synonymous with Chinese food despite being invented in California).

Either way, fried ice has taken off like wildfire with multiple TikTok showcasing this street sorbet.

As the clips demonstrate, this spartan sundae is adorned with everything from sesame seeds to cumin, and comes in cubes, cones and other shapes a la edible ice sculptures.

In an August Instagram post, Chinese culture site Radii billed the icy-hot nosh as China’s answer to the “girl dinner.”

They were referring to the trend in which primarily female TikTok users cobble together low-effort meals from leftovers and prepared foods in lieu of making supper from scratch.

In any case, this latest concoction perhaps proves Chinese street hawkers are no more immune to ludicrous TikTok food combos than we are in the West.

Despite the minimalist-seeming preparation, it apparently takes glassblower-esque skill to whip up something that’s paradoxically so hot and cold.

As TikTok channel, Noodou describes, the trick is to use just enough fire to keep the ice from getting burnt.

“Many wonder if the ice will melt, but it is not easy to melt because of the size of the ice,” they said.