A Fishy Vegetable —魚くさい野菜—

My seven year old son brought back an aubergine from school yesterday.  He had grown it in the school garden. 

“Daddy,” he said, and switched to Japanese.  “Nasu aru yo.” (“I have an aubergine.”) 

My wife and I asked him if all the kids were growing their own aubergines. 

“No,” he said, “Some of the children are growing ikura, but I don’t like it.” 

“Ikura?” we said.  “Other children are growing fish eggs?  In the garden?” 

With a little investigation, we found that my son had misheard.  The children were not growing fish eggs in the garden – ikura, but were growing okura, a kind of sticky vegetable. 

“But that’s my favourite vegetable!” he said, suddenly disappointed. 

Maybe in the future scientists will develop vegetables which look like fish eggs and cabbages which taste like meat. 

Until then we will have to make do with aubergine salad.