Carve a Cucumber Shark and Other Glorious Garnishes

04.04.2024 - 00:09 / atlasobscura.com

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE MARCH 30, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE.

In Ang Lee’s 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman, it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the beautiful food being prepared and devoured on-screen. In one scene, retired chef and family patriarch Lao Zhu carefully tries to carve a winter melon for a table decoration. After his hand slips and his art is ruined, he grimly takes a cleaver to the melon and serves it later as soup.

Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of books about the art of food presentation. I consider myself a practical cook, and anything I make for family and friends is likely to be served out of the pot it was made in. But countless books exists on how to elegantly present food on a plate, or how to add flair to a banquet table with carved vegetables and herbs bundled together just so.

As I read page after page of instructions on making tomato butterflies, carrot knots, and pineapple birds of paradise, I was charmed against my will. Usually, my goal when cooking is to make something that looks decent and tastes great. Intricate garnishes have seemed to me to be slightly silly, more suited for a cruise-ship buffet table than a modern dinner party. But there’s still a touch of whimsy in my heart, because when I found instructions on how to make a cucumber shark, I had to try it for myself.

Though I’m not a world-class chef like the fictional Lao Zhu, I nevertheless sharpened my paring knife to make apple bunnies, an onion lotus, a cucumber shark, and a glorious pineapple bird of paradise worthy of gracing an ambassador’s table.

Spring has sprung, so it seems appropriate to start with usagi ringo, or “apple bunnies” in Japanese. To make these pointy-eared wedges, core and cut an apple into eighths. Take a slice, and cut off one of the points. Score a triangle onto the apple slice, and carefully remove the triangle of skin, leaving two pointed bunny ears contrasting with the white apple flesh below.

Repeat with the remaining slices, and, if desired, brush them with lemon juice to keep them from browning.

These simple bunnies are a beloved snack for children in Japan, where they’re often used as a cute edible garnish for bento boxes.

Elaborate fruit and vegetable carvings are one way that chefs of Chinese cuisine show off their knife skills. YouTube abounds with videos demonstrating old-school techniques for turning carrots into lifelike birds and cucumbers into swirling dragons.

Inspired by the Taipei-set Eat Drink Man Woman, I dug out a Taiwanese cookbook from 1980 that contains an entire chapter on making elegant garnishes for banquets and other occasions. While I did not want to attempt carving a winter-melon bowl