Absinthe novel Chapter 43

"Can somebody explain to me why we've been eating the same chicken dish for three days in a row?" Vivi demanded as we sat in front of the pinikpikan we were about to have for lunch.

"Leave it," Jiwoo said in an authoritative tone.

"I can't," Vivi said. "We're on a farm, for crying out loud—the best ingredients are here! Yet we've been stuck with pinikpikan for how many meals now... God, I've lost count!"

"Seven," Nico interrupted. "And now is the eighth time. I'm guessing we'll all be sprouting wings come dinner time."

I glanced at Jiwoo. I wasn't sure whose cheeks were redder: his or mine. I was embarrassed because I was the reason our group had to keep eating the dish, and we would have to do so probably until the end of our stay.

"You call yourselves gourmet chefs?" Jiwoo hissed. "This is the region's specialty! You can't get this kind of flavor anywhere else!"

"I agree there's nothing quite like it," Vivi said before raising her voice. "But that doesn't mean we should keep eating it. Even water tastes like pinikpikan to me now!"

"Frankly speaking, what you guys did is animal cruelty," Nico declared. "I'm sure it's illegal because of the Anti-Animal Cruelty Act or something."

"It's not wrong nor is it illegal if it's a centuries-old tradition!" Jiwoo answered back. "And besides, that distinct flavor won't come out if you don't beat the chicken."

I saw both Nico and Vivi raise their eyebrows, Vivi's dangerously higher than Nico's. No chef ever takes flavors for granted.

"It's true," Jiwoo said. "Striking the chicken repeatedly allows the blood to coagulate in its muscles, adding an extra layer of umami. Anyway, the chickens were hit on the head first. They were pretty much unconscious, and I doubt they felt a thing."

"Fine," Vivi said in defeat while reaching for eating utensils. "But I'm not letting this slide. The two of you owe us a full week's worth of gourmet food once we get back to Manila." She pointed her fork at Jiwoo to make her threat clear. "You hear me? A different. Menu. Every. Single. Day."

Jiwoo's face broke into a wide smile. He nodded at Vivi before coaxing me and Nico to start eating.

"Exactly how many poor chickens did you two have to kill? " Nico asked.

Jiwoo only threw him a sharp look and changed the topic with another question. "What's our schedule this afternoon?"

"Vivi and I are on leafy vegetables while you two are on root crops," Nico replied before taking a spoonful of rice and chicken.

"Root crops? Isn't that where you guys went on our first day?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah, which you both failed to attend. It's a bit far from here, about a 2-hour drive, I think."

"What?" Jiwoo asked. If I hadn't been feeling extra shy because of the pinikpikan situation, I would have said the same thing in disbelief. "Why the long distance?"

"It's still on the farm property," Vivi explained. "It's just that more sensitive plants like fruits and leafy vegetables are grown closer to the main resort."

"I see," Jiwoo said. "Can we borrow the car?"

"Nope," Nico said. "And before you overreact, I'm saying no not because I'm selfish but because there's no way my car can handle the terrain."

"So how will we get there?"

"The resort will provide a sturdy pickup truck. That's what we used, too."

We finished our lunch in better spirits as Jiwoo came up with jokes that were not funny yet so stupid we couldn't help but laugh at them. Before we finished, however, Nico made a startling announcement.

"Before I forget, Maxwell called in yesterday. He conveniently forgot to tell us that there's a cooking challenge this coming Friday."

"Here I was thinking this whole thing was going to be a vacation," I said.

"We're supposed to come up with a four-course meal using only the ingredients found here. The objective is to cook haute cuisine that will impress the judges."

"They're gonna be local big shots," Vivi interjected. "Or so I heard. Which means our menu should be something they'll like, traditional Northern Filipino cuisine and whatnot."

"Right," Nico continued. "And we have to decide who cooks what."

"BJ's making dessert, right?" Vivi asked. When I glanced around, everyone seemed comfortable with that, so I agreed by nodding my head.

"I was thinking that I should do the starters," Vivi said. "I can make lumpiang sariwa."

"I have an idea for the main course," Nico said. "That is if you're okay with cooking the soup."

"Fine by me," Jiwoo answered.

"That's settled then. I trust you guys enough to know that we don't need to coordinate the flavors in advance."