Mexican Fruit Cup with a Japanese Twist

A lot of the dishes I cook are inspired more than anything by the need to use something up.  Last weekend, my mom passed along nearly all of a watermelon, and I was hoping to do something creative with it.  My first thought was watermelon and feta salad, but I've made this several times and wanted to change it up.

Then I saw some Tajin at the grocery store and thought about the tangy and spicy flavors you get in a Mexican fruit cup.  The combination of sweet fruits, tart lime, and spicy chili powder makes for a refreshing and exciting treat, and I thought it'd be great way to use up some things I already had. 

I almost bought some Tajin for the occasion before I remembered having shichimi togarashi, a popular Japanese chili spice blend, and my mind got to work thinking about how to infuse some Japanese flavor into this classic Mexican treat.  Along with the shichimi togarashi, I subbed jicama for daikon radish and added some crushed sesame for some extra nuttiness. If you really wanted to go all the way, you could trade out the lime for yuzu, but finding fresh yuzu isn't exactly easy or affordable for most of us.

Mexican Fruit Cup with a Japanese Twist
1/4 small seedless watermelon, cut into spears
1 mango, peeled and cut into spears
1/4 pineapple, cut into spears (I didn't have any on hand, but it would work great here)
3 in piece of daikon radish, cut into spears
3 in piece of cucumber, cut into spears
1 lime
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Shichimi Togarashi

After cutting fruits and vegetables, arrange in cup or bowl.  Crush sesame seeds into a powder using a grinder or mortar and pestle.  Squeeze lime juice over fruits and top with crushed sesame and shichimi togarashi.  Serve with additional limes and shichimi togarashi to season each bite to taste.