Had a cup of caffé americano at Joe & Dough for breakfast.
Saw this Tropical swallowtail moth (a.k.a Lyssa Zampa) again, stationary on the floor inside the mall. Because it's greyish black and white, it camouflaged well with the floor tiles and could get trampled on anytime. I feared for its safety.
And then, I saw 3 others of the same family on the way to the train station. So there has been more than one... all these while.
Saw this Tropical swallowtail moth (a.k.a Lyssa Zampa) again, stationary on the floor inside the mall. Because it's greyish black and white, it camouflaged well with the floor tiles and could get trampled on anytime. I feared for its safety.
And then, I saw 3 others of the same family on the way to the train station. So there has been more than one... all these while.
Tropical swallowtail moth, or Lyssa Zampa, sighted on the floor inside the mall.
Pounded spring onions and thin ginger rounds with the back of my knife and soaked them in water, for a ginger-scallion mixture. I used both the green and white parts (the recipe was silent about whether to use either or both) and the resulting mixture was - green. Lots of chlorophyll in there. I hope it doesn't give me greenish fillings later, like something Shrek and the Hulk would eat.
Ginger-scallion mixture for steamed Xiao long bao
Realised my store-bought dumpling wrappers had turned mouldy (though it was stored inside the chiller box in the fridge). Which means it has already been decided for me that I have to knead the dough and roll out my own wrappers today.
A tad unprepared but I guess I'll do just fine! Got a hang of rolling out each ball of dough with the rolling pin (please remember to flour the pin and parchment paper on the table top each time you roll out a ball) and voila! I successfully pleated my 1st to 10th Xiao long baos with thin and stretchy wrappers this time. Here's featuring two of them...
A tad unprepared but I guess I'll do just fine! Got a hang of rolling out each ball of dough with the rolling pin (please remember to flour the pin and parchment paper on the table top each time you roll out a ball) and voila! I successfully pleated my 1st to 10th Xiao long baos with thin and stretchy wrappers this time. Here's featuring two of them...
 Yang's Xiao long bao #1, 2 Jul 14 |  Yang's Xiao long bao #2, 2 Jul 14 |
Pleating just 10 Xiao long baos was quite some work and cleaning up to be done. I wonder how one could sit all day long to pleat 40 of them (recipes I read are usually for that many Xiao long baos).
And I sprinted all the way from home to catch the earliest train I could to fetch 小雨.
My steamed Xiao long baos didn't look as neat as those wrapped with pre-made dumpling skins during my 2nd try. However, the addition of ginger-scallion water and cornstarch did give that stickiness and tenderness that was missing in the previous round. The self-made wrappers using all-purpose flour tasted more like my mom's bee hoon kuay or the Qiu Lian ban mian you get at food courts, rather than the skin of a steamed Xiao long bao served at Din Tai Fung. (Maybe I should try another dough recipe I saw, which uses a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour.) I had used my own unsalted chicken aspic cubes, without the ham and fatty cuts of pork and no added gelatin powder, as found in most recipes.
And that gave two steamer baskets of Lefty Yang's homemade Xiao long baos. *Clap*
Still room for improvement though...
And I sprinted all the way from home to catch the earliest train I could to fetch 小雨.
My steamed Xiao long baos didn't look as neat as those wrapped with pre-made dumpling skins during my 2nd try. However, the addition of ginger-scallion water and cornstarch did give that stickiness and tenderness that was missing in the previous round. The self-made wrappers using all-purpose flour tasted more like my mom's bee hoon kuay or the Qiu Lian ban mian you get at food courts, rather than the skin of a steamed Xiao long bao served at Din Tai Fung. (Maybe I should try another dough recipe I saw, which uses a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour.) I had used my own unsalted chicken aspic cubes, without the ham and fatty cuts of pork and no added gelatin powder, as found in most recipes.
And that gave two steamer baskets of Lefty Yang's homemade Xiao long baos. *Clap*
Still room for improvement though...
Lefty Yang's homemade Xiao long baos, 3rd attempt
Yoghurt these nights got fanciful but ain't as cold anymore when Yang finally digged in. Better for my sensitive teeth though.
My yoghurt art tonight - a green moth (or butterfly?), inspired by the moths I have been seeing in town. I really ate quite some dried cranberries and sliced grapes as I tried to perfect this. Hmm... didn't yoghurt art used to be just some simple shapes, flowers or strawberry trees? Lol.
My yoghurt art tonight - a green moth (or butterfly?), inspired by the moths I have been seeing in town. I really ate quite some dried cranberries and sliced grapes as I tried to perfect this. Hmm... didn't yoghurt art used to be just some simple shapes, flowers or strawberry trees? Lol.
Green moth or butterfly? art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #10
Green moth or butterfly? art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #10, further decorated with strawberry and cream wafer...
The song sung by Lee Hom - 你不知道的事 suddenly came to mind. So what's the difference between a moth and a butterfly? And do they really *blink* before they learnt to fly??
No, as with all insects, butterflies can't blink, without eyelids. But I still love this song, anyway.
蝴蝶眨几次眼睛
才学会飞行
夜空洒满了星星
但几颗会落地
我飞行 但你坠落之际
很靠近 还听见呼吸
对不起 我却没捉紧你
你不知道的事, 王力宏
作词：王力宏、瑞业
作曲：王力宏
No, as with all insects, butterflies can't blink, without eyelids. But I still love this song, anyway.
蝴蝶眨几次眼睛
才学会飞行
夜空洒满了星星
但几颗会落地
我飞行 但你坠落之际
很靠近 还听见呼吸
对不起 我却没捉紧你
你不知道的事, 王力宏
作词：王力宏、瑞业
作曲：王力宏
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