A Mystery That Begets Another Mystery: The Mysterious Snack🍭 | Parenting Diary

Please try to guess what my daughter (5 years old) ate.

Daughter: "I didn't like the snack at daycare today😔"

Me: "What kind of snack was it❓"

Daughter: "Well, um, it was ",white and square and had vegetables in it."

Me: "Vegetables❓ What was the name of the snack❓"

Daughter: "Shijimi (freshwater clam)"

That is absolutely wrong.

I have never heard of a food called "shijimi" that is white, square, and contains vegetables.

Are you saying it exists just because I don't know about it?💦

Are you saying it's some kind of local specialty?💦

However, would a nursery school really serve such a niche food as a snack?💦

That is way too obscure.

Me: "Shijimi?"

Daughter: "Yeah. The teacher said it was shijimi."

I'm so curious🫨

It would be obvious if I just looked at the nursery school's menu.

But I want to reach the answer on my own❗️

Me: "Is it sweet?"

Daughter: "It's not sweet."

Me: "What does it taste like?"

Daughter: "Maybe like vegetables?"

Me: "What kind of vegetables were in it? Like carrots?"

Daughter: "It's a green vegetable."

Me: "Something like spinach?"

Daughter: "Yes, yes, yes, yes! The part that was sticking out looked like spinach!"

Sticking out?

I'm even more confused now.

Hmm❓

Could it be⁉️

Me: "Is it something like a steamed bun? Do you break it open to eat it?"

Daughter: "A steamed bun... maybe. I guess you could break it open to eat it. I didn't, though."

Is it a "oyaki"?

Could it be the Nagano specialty, oyaki?

If it's an oyaki, it would have vegetables inside.

Though it would be nozawana, not spinach.

But would such a rustic snack really be served?

Let's organize the information once.

1️⃣ It's white
2️⃣ Square shape
3️⃣ Contains vegetables
4️⃣ Green vegetables like spinach
5️⃣ Not sweet
6️⃣ Tastes like vegetables
7️⃣ Vegetables are sticking out
8️⃣ Might be like a steamed bun
9️⃣ Can be broken open to eat
🔟 The name is "shijimi"

What is this?

It's not quite an oyaki, it feels a bit off.

In the first place, there's no way I could have misheard it as shijimi (freshwater clam).

My daughter said it wasn't delicious.

In other words, does it fall outside the definition of the "snack" one usually imagines❓

Something that isn't a sweet, but could be misheard as shijimi.

Shijimi

Shijimi

Shijimi

Ijimi

Kijimi

Chijimi

Bleeding

Hmm!?

Chijimi

Korean pancake!?

It certainly often comes out cut into squares.

If you say it's white, it is white.

It contains vegetables, and they are green vegetables.
(To be precise, it's garlic chives)

And, it's not sweet.

You break it, or rather, you cut it to eat it.
I can also understand the statement, 'I didn't do it.'

Moreover, I can even imagine the parts where the vegetables are sticking out!

Furthermore,

It sounds like 'shijimi' (clam) to me

All the pieces have fallen into place❗️

No doubt about it.

The culprit ischijimi.

Me: "Could it be that this is the snack you're talking about❓"

Daughter: "Ah❗️ Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes❗️"

I showed her a picture of the culprit on my smartphone.

•••••••I won.

I won❗️

What could it be? It feels incredibly good.
It feels so good that it's easily in the top 5 of this month's refreshing moments🥴

And so, I was able to identify the true identity of the mysterious snack containing white, square-shaped vegetables.

I'm glad I didn't give up😆

Since it was something a child said, I briefly doubted if it might contain some incorrect information❓
but,
everything matched up perfectly.

I'm sorry for doubting you💦

Before I knew it, I was a little surprised that we could have such a complex exchange of words so naturally.

She has become able to express the images and memories in her head into wordsindeed☺️

That's difficult even for an adult❗️

It was an event from last night that served as good brain training while I felt my daughter's growth.

Thank you for reading until the end today as well😊

How was it❓
Were you able to reach the answer❓

I hope to see you again in another article.

Still, it's surprising that chijimi is served as a snack.

Ah, now I want a beer🍻🎶