Oriental food shop

The ragu is plopping. We’re having Tagliatelle al Ragu this evening. The sauce is very slow cook so I’m getting it done this morning, ready to just warm up this evening after our visit to the hospital.

This is more of an Italian version. One of the things that struck us is when you have a bolognese in Italy it isn’t the same as in this country. The sauce is far lighter. The meat tends to be a mix of minced pork & beef, as I’m using. The sauce isn’t the thick red tomato of the ragu sauces you buy in jars here. Instead it is subtler – or blander - depending upon the way you look at it. This is what I’m trying to achieve today, subtlety not blandness. The meat nonetheless is going to plop away for a couple of hours minimum.

We’re hoping to get to the oriental food shop in Lancaster after the hospital. It’s a fabulous shop. Most of the foods have writing on we can’t interpret. The owner looks at us with a certain bemusement. I don’t think he has many grey haired westerners seeking things like chilli bean sauce. He’s always keen to help interpret.

The choice of some things is overwhelming. In our usual supermarket you have the only brand of soy sauce they sell. In this shop you have 20-30 different varieties, reflecting the slight differences of production of different Eastern nations.

The Fox is in need of some chilli bean sauce, light soy sauce, sesame sauce (not tahini) & groundnut oil for a minced lamb stir-fry he’s hoping to make for Tuesday.

It’s as well I had that one good night’s sleep. I’m still feeling more myself so hopefully I will cope with both the hospital & the quick shop.