Kitchen Putties

About author / Josh Gunn

Bachelor chef; southern cooking; mixologist; university professor. Josh's recipes will delight (and sometimes terrify) you.

There's something I've always wondered: if you walk into any Asian market or restaurant, you'll likely see a white ceramic or porcelain kitty-cat on a shelf or hanging on a wall. The kitty is smiling and appears to be waving. What are these things? A friend from Taiwan once told me this was a "Good Luck" cat that was said to bring in customers. Just last week I was noticing one of these cats in a Thai restaurant and thereafter endeavored to research their origin and meaning once and for all. So I did. And now you get to know too.

According to various, pedigreed Internet experts, these white, waving putties are known as Maneki Neko, literally "beckoning cat." This feline trinket is thus not waving, but giving the Japanese hand-sign for "come here!" Of course, here in the states this is what traffic cops do when they're standing in a busy intersection and don’t want you to run them over, but for the Japanese, it's an invitation!

Various legends are told about the origin of this lucky putty, but they all seem to involve a story like this: some wealthy dude or dudette is bumming along and this crazy cat keeps gesturing to them. Finally, he or she goes over to the cat, and just in time to avoid lightening or a trap. The Maneki Neko thus became a symbol of good look, and its outstretched, come-hither paw is a tiding of good luck or fortune.

Of course, you may have noticed sometimes the right paw is beckoning, and then, sometimes the left paw is urging you over. There's no agreement about the meaning of either. However, the most common belief is that the outstretched left paw brings you customers, while the right paw summons good luck and fortune. Moreover, the higher the paw, the more good luck is supposed to come to you. Apparently you can date the age of a good luck putty by how high its paw goes: more recent, contemporary Maneki Neko have really high paws, while older versions are more modest.

Given the sort of summer my friends and I are having, the quest is now on for the highest-pawed Maneki Neko in the land (alas, lots of dying folks in my and others' families in the last couple of months). I think a large, clock-version of this putty for my kitchen would be awesome.

While I'm shopping online for that good luck for the kitchen, why don't you make your real cats a treat? I work with animal rescue upon occasion, and am currently fostering two very sweet, white cats who were abandoned some months ago. Sometimes these cats turn up their nose at what comes out of a can. They seem to enjoy home-cooked meals, something I do occasionally for, well, for good luck. You might try it too.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 can cooked chicken chunks (or equivalent fresh cooked chicken)
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup frozen broccoli, cooked/steamed
• 1/4 cup steamed carrots, chopped
• chicken broth