Karaage—a.k.a. Japanese fried chicken—is a thing of beauty. The mouth-watering dish is marinated and cut into boneless, bite-sized pieces perfect for bento boxes or as the perfect snack with an ice cold beer. The small size definitely makes it easy to eat and quite addictive.

So of course Japan has a festival dedicated to their favorite fried food, with a Karaage Festival taking place later this month in the city of Fukuoka. Coincidentally, winter is thawing out and the weather is getting warmer, which makes it the perfect time for a big, creamy, cold swirl of fried chicken ice cream.

What’s that? Fried chicken and ice cream, you say? Never the two shall meet, you think? Not if you’re at a Japanese food fest, where they go all out and are willing to take risks on new and innovative ideas when it comes to food textures and flavors. Sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the not so good. (Fried chicken ice cream could easily fall into the latter.)

Ice cream flavors with a savory kick is de rigueur in Japan, with garlic, wasabi, and even ramen flavored treats available for sale. So, fried chicken ice cream, no big deal! Although the brown hue does look an awful lot like curry…which looks an awful lot like soy sauce. (Both flavors that are also commonplace in Japan.) Make sure you don’t just order by color, you’d hate to end up with natto (fermented soybean) ice cream—that’s something you just can’t bounce back from.

Would you try fried chicken ice cream? Let us know in the comments!

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IMAGE: RocketNews24, frontsideair/deviantart
H/T: RocketNews24