During my Spanish lesson yesterday Hernan called. I didn't answer the phone because I didn't want to interrupt my lesson. Also I had told Hernan I had my lesson in the afternoon. When I did check my message, he said something about coming over. It was hard to hear as he was calling from the street. I called him back as I went to the produce market and the meat store, but as I was on the street, it was also hard to hear. All I heard was something about me being home. I told him I would be home.
It is very difficult to find limes here. Sometimes my Disco has them, and sometimes the little produce stand on the corner has them. I went to buy some limes because I bought all of this stuff in Chinatown and decided I was going to try to make Laab Gai, a Thai dish from northern Thailand and Laos, that is usually very spicy and really yummy. It is made from ground chicken, chilis, shallots, mint, coriander, lime juice and fish sauce. I had all of the ingredients except the ground chicken, the limes and the fish sauce (but was going to substitute soy sauce).
I asked Leo in my lesson about buying ground chicken. I wasn't sure how to ask for it. He said it was strange and didn't think I could find it in Argentina, but told me how I could ask to see if they would pass chicken through the meat grinder.
The produce store only had a few limes and most of them were hard. They were also expensive 1.25 pesos each. The girl who was helping me sold me three. It was nice that she didn't sell me the ones that were hard and dried up.
Next, I went to the meat guy next door. He had two chicken breasts. I asked him if he could put them through the meat grinder and he said no, but he could cut them with a knife. He cut the two breasts into little cubes with his very sharp knife and as far as I know, he didn't charge me (for the extra cutting).
Hernan had said something about having a beer, but as I sat there thinking about my laab gai, and the black rice I was making with coconut milk, and the asparagus I bought yesterday, and then I realized I had tofu from Chinatown, I realized I had a TON of food that I could not eat myself. I sent him a text and told him I had a lot of food.
Sometime during the evening we had arranged for him to come over for dinner. At 8:30, he sent me a text saying "I will pass by there around 9:30, ok?", I responded, "si"
I went to the Disco to buy cabbage, because the laab, which is kind of a salad and can be eaten cold, is best when put inside cabbage leaves or eaten with rice.
I got home and set about finishing up preparing dinner. The laab was done and in the refrigerator cooling, as was the black rice with coconut milk. I sliced some tofu and chopped up some ginger and put the tofu on a plate with soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions and ginger, and put it in the refrigerator to cool. This was one of my favorite things to eat in Japan when it was hot.
I stir fried the asaparagus with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Everything was ready and I was hungry.
And there was no Hernan.
I waited until 10 before I started to get impatient. He normally is pretty prompt. He had said something about his apartment being a disaster (since most of his clothes are at his mother's, I am always amazed at how he can make such a big mess out of so little), so I thought either he was late getting out or perhaps had taken a marathon nap. At 10:05, I sent him a text saying "wake up". I didn't hear back from him, so thinking he was sleeping, I called him. There was no answer. I left a voice mail saying dinner was ready and I had a skype call at 11:30, so I had very little time. No response. At 10:30, I sent him another text saying "now I am worried". Finally, he texted me saying, he was watching a "peli" (short for pelicula - movie) with a friend. His message said, "I sent you a message 8:30, I am watching a movie with a friend. Tomorrow I am getting up very early, another casting. Kiss."
I was very confused. I saw that I had a message on my answering machine, so I listened to it but didn't understand it. It sounded like he said he was coming by, but then said something about calling his house and seeing him tomorrow.
I checked my text messages and saw that indeed he had texted me at 8:30 and said, "I'll pass by around 9:30, okay?" to which I had responded "si". Somewhere, something was lost in translation and here I was at 10:30 with a ton of food and no dinner in my stomach, which put me in a very foul mood.
I sent Hernan one more text and told him what he had said in his message at 8:30, adding, "I guess I don't understand Spanish".
I didn't answer the phone when he called, but he said he called me to see if I was home and I wasn't so he didn't want to come by and not have me be here. I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. Every communication I had had with him was about him coming over, and I don't know when he called (probably when I was at the Disco), but at some point between 8:30 and 9:30 he got the idea that I was out on the town!
So I ate.
Dinner was good. The laab really does need fish sauce. Soy sauce is too strong in flavor and doesn't add the light saltiness that fish sauce does. It also needed more lime and could have used more chili (since I was making it for a delicate Argentine palate, I only put two chilis). The tofu was great, and I ate the tofu I had prepared for me and Hernan. The asaparagus was also really good, but I put most of it in the refrigerator for later. But best of all was the black rice with cocunut milk, which was my desert. It was delicious.
Hernan doesn't know what he missed out on.
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