My son B is not a big eater.

Actually, he has never been a big eater, ever since he was born.

When he was around two or three years old, there were probably five foods we could choose from:

Mac and cheese.

Gimbap.

Oatmeal.

Toast.

And maybe one more thing that I can’t remember.

Yes. Basically, all carbs. 😅

Strangely, though, he never minded eating raw vegetables. He would happily eat cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, and other crunchy vegetables.

He is still the same. Instead of steaming or stir-frying vegetables, we usually serve some raw vegetable sticks alongside the main dish.

We tried so many things when he was younger—as first-time parents do—and he has gradually become a little better.

He still isn’t a big eater, but he is not as picky as he used to be. He eats a wider variety of foods now.

His taste buds, however, have turned out to be a little…funny. 😅

No Jam, Please

B does not like jam on his toast.(Yeah, you heard me right.)

Meanwhile, Mimi licks (almost sucks..) all the jam off her toast and leaves the bread behind.

B asks for only butter on his toast or bagel. He has always preferred plain foods: steamed rice with nothing on it, bread with just butter, and pasta without too much sauce.

Just rice.

Just bread.

Just butter.

At least he is eating less sugar, right? 🤔

But here is the strange part:

He eats sardines.

Our Weekend Cheese Tray

For Saturday or Sunday lunch, we sometimes put together a simple cheese tray.

We add crackers, cheese, nuts, vegetable sticks, and easy fruits such as apple slices or blueberries.

And then, here we go:

Sardines.

B likes eating sardines with cheese and crackers.

For a child who prefers the simplest food possible, sardines seem like a very strange choice. They are definitely not plain. They have a strong smell and a strong fishy taste.

But I think I know why he likes them.

His Tongue Was Trained by Myeolchi-Bokkeum

In Korean, banchan means a side dish. One popular banchan for children is called myeolchi-bokkeum, or stir-fried dried anchovies.

Myeolchi simply means anchovies in Korean. They are tiny dried fish cooked in a sweet and savoury sauce.

Traditional recipes often use sugar or corn syrup. I use honey instead—not necessarily because it changes everything, but because it makes me feel slightly better. 😂

B started eating myeolchi-bokkeum when he was very young.

I think those tiny anchovies trained his tongue to accept strong, fishy flavours.

That may be how my plain-rice, plain-bread child somehow became a fish man.

Sardines are not his only surprising favourite. He also loves mackerel and salmon.

When we ask the kids, “What do you want for dinner?” they often answer:

“Fish, rice, and gim!”

Gim is Korean roasted seaweed. We usually serve the meal with avocado too, just to make it a little more nutritious. 😁

So yes, my child may reject toast with jam because it has “too much” on it.

But give him sardines, mackerel, dried anchovies, rice, and seaweed?

Apparently, that makes perfect sense to him.

I may never fully understand B’s taste buds.

But after the days when he ate only five different foods, I am definitely not complaining.