I’m not a picky eater. This hill is one that, up until recently, I was willing to die on. I grew up being the kid that ordered off of the grownup menu, not because of the larger portion sizes, but because there was nothing I wanted to eat less than chicken fingers, a cheeseburger, pizza etc. In my family I was known for being open to trying new foods and not scared of foods with intense or strong flavors. In fact, I was known within my family for being the kid who loved blue cheese, frog legs, fisheye, headcheese (I swear its not as gross as it sounds) and so many more “not kid friendly” foods. A big reason for this adventurousness was having grown up seeing adults in my family be unafraid with the foods they ate and being themselves adventurous. Another reason was the instilment of the “no thank you bite” meaning that I at least had to try one bite of everything before I could claim I hated something.
For most of my life, including now I would pick a chicken foot over a zucchini any day. But it wasn’t just zucchini, it was mushrooms, bell peppers etc. I still was deadest though on the fact that I wasn’t picky despite my hatred of these foods.
This idea of my pickiness was really put to the test however when I studied abroad in Japan for six weeks over the summer. Prior to going I was repeatedly asked by others if the food was going to be a problem for me. My automatic response was always ‘absolutely not’ because in my head I was like sushi, ramen, udon, tempura, curry no problem at all. I always said that Japanese cuisine was one of my favorites, so I was excited for the food.
Once I arrived in Japan, this claim of “I’m not picky” really got put to the test. When my sushi showed up and it was more than just tuna, salmon, and yellowtail that was first when my pickiness got put to the test. While certain types of raw fish were within my comfort zone, not all of it was and I found myself saying “大丈夫”, which means “it’s okay”, “don’t worry about it” etc. more often as my way of politely declining a dish. As I kept eating in Japan and getting more into traditional foods and further from the western approved Japanese food my pickiness got put to the test even more. Armed with my “no thank you” bite I kept trying every food on my plate whether I liked it or not even going as far as to try Japanese natto (iykyk).
After “no thank you” biting my way through Japan there were two things that became clear to me. One, you’d be surprised at what you love. I tried so many new foods that I thought I wouldn’t like, but ended up loving due to my no thank you bite, while I didn’t love everything I tried I was never not glad that I at least tried anything before claiming I didn’t like it. Two, it wasn’t that I was an adventurous eater, it was that I was comfortable eating foods within my culture and once you pushed me outside of that, that’s when things got iffy. Being half Chinese, foods like chicken feet, fisheye, jellyfish and more foods that might be seen as gross or weird were just normal to me. The revelation that I could be an adventurous eater while also still being slightly picky and having my list of foods I don’t like was life changing. I’ve now changed my claim to being an adventurous and open to new foods eater who is occasionally slightly picky.
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