For centuries, bird’s nest has been a prized possession enjoyed by royalty.
Today, it continues to be a delicacy in Chinese culture savoured by many. How has this unique animal product survived changing times while retaining its popularity?
Today, it continues to be a delicacy in Chinese culture savored by many. How has this unique animal product survived changing times while retaining its popularity?
Stay with us till the end to find out.
What Are Edible Bird Nests?
These are the nests of swiftlets, which the male birds made from his saliva that dried and is edible.
It’s garnered to make sweet dessert soup and is valued for its prized nutritional content and flavour.
Edible bird’s nests are rich in collagen, amino acids, glycoprotein, antioxidants, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, and hormones. These are the key building blocks of smooth skin, like leucine, lysine, glycine, glutamine, tyrosine, arginine, cysteine, histidine, and tryptophan. These are renowned for tissue regeneration and cell growth.
Bird’s Nest is Rich in Collagen
It is usually freshly cooked with rock sugar into a dessert commonly called “bird’s nest soup” 燕窝. As a luxury food that is highly desired, it’s also used in other cooking methods such as drinks or mixed in some Chinese dishes.
There are even birdnest mooncakes that were launched in 2012.
Why are pure bird nests so beneficial and popular?
There are high levels of glycoprotein, collagen, amino acids, antioxidants, hormones, and various minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium in birdnest.
It’s also used in skincare ointments to maintain youthful skin. This soup is highly recommended for:
Pregnant ladies
Mothers who gave birth recently
Young children
Sickly or weak individuals
Patients recovering from surgeries
Sports athletes
Celebrities, actresses, and models who need to maintain youthful skin and looks
Elderly seniors
The Chinese love this because of these health conditions from eating:
Boost the immunity system
Improve healing and recovery
Build-up body strength
Improve their beauty
Maintain youthful skin
Boosts Your Immunity System
Many mothers and grandmothers swear by bird’s nest soup’s improvement to the overall health and immunity of their beloved children and grandchildren.
This has been a remedy since the ancient days of imperial China, where only the royal family and well-connected businessmen could savour the soup.
It’s also highly recommended for those who are recovering from illness or surgery operations. New mothers or pregnant ladies eat bird’s nests to get more amino acids for their bodies to build strength.
Bird’s Nest for Skin and Beauty
Scientific studies have proved that bird’s nest has a large amount of epidermal growth factor (EGF).
With the richness of collagen and amino acids, it’s no wonder that many women love drinking this often to maintain their youthful skin.
How Should I Eat Bird’s Nest?
According to Chinese medicinal advice, it is suggested that we should eat bird’s nest products on an empty stomach. This is a tonic that’s meant to nourish our bodies, so an empty stomach is better to absorb all the minerals. However it is not necessary to have this first, we can always eat this as a dessert after a good meal.
Most people in the East eat this delicacy as hot soup, boiled for hours, or chilled as a dessert. You can use honey instead too.
There are many modern restaurants that use it as a twist in Asian cuisine. For example, there are egg tarts that use this luxury food as fillings or chefs that add it to jelly desserts.
There’s also congee porridge that uses bird’s nests as well as dishes that cook it with scallops and mushrooms.
How Can I Prepare Bird’s Nest?
A simple way is just to soak, steam, and add sweeteners
Soak the bird’s nest for four to eight hours.
Then steam or stew (double-boil) them for 15 minutes.
Add in rock sugar or raw honey for five minutes for a sweet dessert.
How long do I Soak Bird’s Nest?
Soak your bird’s nest for three to eight hours depending on the condition.
Wild natural graded with good texture require at least 24 hours of soaking to soften.
Here are the directions:
Place the bird’s nest in a bowl of cool and clean water, making sure the water covers them entirely. This allows full contact with water for full absorption.
You may change the water once or twice during the soaking period.
After three to eight hours, you can feel that it’s become softer and expanded in size.
There may be a small number of feathers or debris so you can use a pair of tweezers to remove them. For ease, place the material on a white cloth so you can see the dark feathers or debris easily.
Use a strainer or netting to remove excess water.
If there are still impurities, you can rinse the nest a few times, tearing small strands out to allow the impurities inside to be washed off.
How to Cook Bird’s Nest Soup?
All types of bird’s nests should be prepared with indirect heat (i.e., stewing or steaming).
One should take caution not to boil the nests directly, to prevent overheating. Place the bird’s nest bowl to be steamed or stewed.
The Chinese call this procedure “double boiling” where the bowl is placed on a metal stand in a pot of water. You boil the pot of water that steams the soup bowl.
bird nest soup taste like delicious
How to Stew Bird’s Nest?
The water in the stewing bowl must cover the entire bird’s nest and other ingredients. The water level should not be more than 70% of the stewing bowl’s full height because the water level will rise during the boiling period.
Boil the pot of water (that is holding the stewing bowl) and reduce the heat to a simmer.
The active ingredient, the “mitogenic stimulation factor”, gets active around 80 degrees Celsius (176 Fahrenheit).
The effectiveness will be lost if the soup is boiled directly at more than 80 degrees Celsius. Hence, once the pot of water boils, reduce the heat and let it simmer.
How Long Should I Boil Bird’s Nest?
You only need 15 minutes for the bowl of bird’s nest to simmer once the pot of water boils.
You may prefer to use an electronic stewing pot or slow cooker for convenience. Simply adjust the heat intensity to a low level.
You can keep it at a warm temperature too so that you can serve it to family members at any time.
Avoid using a microwave as it applies heat directly and may damage the nutrients.
Bird’s Nest Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
1 piece of nest (a whole nest of 8g for 1-2 servings)
1 bowl of water
A few pieces of rock sugar to taste (you can use less if you prefer it less sweet)
It’s also important to note that as with all food, it should be taken in moderation.
Eating Bird’s Nest During Confinement
It’s safe for mothers to consume bird’s nests during confinement post-pregnancy.
These essential minerals and vitamins, such as EGF, aid the recovery process and enhance the milk supply for mothers who breastfeed their children.
It can also help stimulate the appetite and aid digestion, repairing damaged tissue and improving overall immunity.
The period after birth is crucial and as a mother who has just given birth, you should take all the effort you can to recuperate and re-energize yourself to enjoy your time with your new bundle of joy!
Can Bird’s Nest Cure Cancer?
Bird’s nest helps relieve some cancer symptom
No, bird’s nest cannot be a substitute for modern medical treatment but it can help relieve certain symptoms.
It can be indirectly beneficial to cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The contents and nutritional value can help relieve “dry symptoms” such as dry skin, throat, or mouth.
The essence of chicken, multivitamins, and Lingzi in the delicacy is also known to help with relieving these conditions.
However, you should consult your doctor before including this as part of your diet in case it interferes with your treatment.
Can Birds Nest Cure Cough?
Birds nest cure cough
Bird’s Nest Can Alleviate Cough Symptoms
The pre-digested form of nutrients can help improve recovery and aid in the relief of common respiratory ailments such as coughs and asthma.
The soup you make should include ingredients like ginger that can aid the body in absorbing the antioxidants. Ginger is also a natural remedy that aids circulation and relieves cough.
Can Birds Nest Cure Acne?
birds nest can improve acne condition
Yes! Regular consumption of highly nutritious bird’s nest can increase collagen levels in your body to improve and maintain youthful skin.
White types from farms are generally cleaner and require less processing before it’s edible, resulting in a higher trait as compared to the rest.
Are Red Bird’s Nests Made from Swiftlets’ Blood?
Red Bird’s Nests are not made from swiftlets blood
This is untrue. The redness origins from the minerals of the surrounding cliff environment that seep in, turning it red in color. Redness becomes a sign of nature yield.
As red nests are more expensive than white ones, it’s important to note that certain factory producers have dyed them red. While genuine reds are higher in minerals, do not get scammed paying more for dyed red items.
Consumers are advised to purchase them from a trusted source to avoid harm.
Are Red Bird’s Nests Made by Both House and Cave Swiftlets?
cave swiftlet benefits myth
This myth is untrue. Red bird’s nests are only made by cave swiftlets and the redness is due to the contact and the normal absorption of minerals from the cliff wall.
White nests are made from BOTH cliff and farm processes but farms produce cleaner and superior nests due to the clean environment where the nests are built.
Are Red Bird’s Nests Better Than White Bird’s Nests?
red Bird’s nests are better than white bird’s nest
It depends. Both nests have the same levels of protein and amino acids base but reds are presumably better due to the higher levels of minerals they contain.
Your body requires only a limited amount of minerals and any excess or long-term consumption can damage your health as it may put unnecessary stress on your organs to process the excess minerals.
Are Cave Nests Better Than Farm Nests?
This is untrue. Cave nests are more expensive as they are low in supply due to the difficulty of climbing steep cliff walls.
Another reason would be the excessive minerals found in the natural cliff outputs are thought to be superior in essence even though both have similar amino acid and protein levels.
The industry has turned to farms in urban areas and adopted swiftlet husbandry methods and structures. They are specially designed to mimic the conditions of nature and the nests are routinely collected to ensure high traits, cleanliness, and freshness.
Are Swiftlets Harmed in the Harvesting of Bird’s Nests?
baby birdlings are not harmed during birdnest collection
It’s an industry practice for farmers to harvest only after they are abandoned. However, methods may differ depending on the location.
Bird’s nests from farms are collected in a responsible way after they are abandoned by the family when the baby birdlings can fly. They only return during the next mating season when they will build new homes for another batch.
However, for nests from high cliffs, due to seasonal constraints and other risk factors, workers may simply pluck whatever is available.
Where to buy Bird Nest, what brand in Singapore?
Buy Indonesian bird’s nests and get them delivered at a favorable price from product-category/birds-nest/”> premium bird nests at the best prices. These are imported directly from suppliers in Indonesia and they are carefully selected to guarantee satisfaction.
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