Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo from Thailand, has garnered massive online attention for her small appearance and big personality. Many of her viral videos involve her and her mother eating. It is all they seem to do, in fact; pygmy hippos can eat over a hundred pounds every day. Here’s a list of foods Moo Deng will enjoy throughout her life, and how we can draw inspiration from them.
Rose Milk
Moo Deng is only two months old, and hasn’t weaned off milk yet. Hippo milk supposedly tastes milder than cow’s, with a subtle floral flavor. To mimic hippo milk, I would suggest vanilla almond milk, or cow’s milk with a bit of vanilla extract/rose water. Hippo’s milk isn’t quite accessible, but there are more foods for Moo Deng. She can’t have solids yet, but will be eating fruits and grasses soon.
Salad
Though we can’t eat grass, there are plenty of other greens Moo Deng will enjoy. Chop up a salad with romaine lettuce, cucumber, dandelion leaves, spinach, and broccoli to emulate her diet. Pygmy hippos also eat banana leaves. Although banana leaves aren’t edible for humans, they have many other culinary uses. They can be used while cooking sticky rice, steaming custard, or serving a south Indian thali.
Foutou
Pygmy hippos originate in west Africa and feed on local crops like okra, sweet potato, and pumpkin. Moo Deng’s rise to popularity this September happened at the perfect time. You can eat like her this fall with hippo-inspired autumnal recipes. Bake pumpkin pie or roast sweet potato casserole. Or, instead of leaning into seasonal dishes, you could try cuisine from Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. Foutou (pounded yam and cassava), okra stew, and pumpkin leaf soup, are popular foods that would also be popular with Moo Deng.
Any food can take inspiration from Moo Deng. Next time you’re looking for a sweet treat, try making a fruit salad to emulate her. Add a big ice cube in your next mocktail like the ice blocks hippos get at zoos. With her rosy cheeks, sassy grunts, and crotchety attitude, it’s no wonder Moo Deng has the world in her tiny hoofed clutches. She’s already the internet’s sweetheart; maybe she can become our muse, too.