How to Cook Edible Birds Nest

Wondering what to make your mum for Mother’s Day this Sunday? We give you two recipes to make the most out of this premium Chinese delicacy

Swiftlets spit and build their nests with it. Men scale heights and risk their lives to harvest it, and consumers pay big bucks to eat it. Edible Birds Nest, a pale resin-like substance made up of interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement, is something that most Chinese mothers would love to eat on Mother's Day. It can be prepared either as a savoury soup or a dessert. Below, we give you recipes for both.

How to Cook Edible Birds Nest

Nutrition

Edible Birds Nest is believed to boost the immune system and raise the libido. Women believe that eating it daily enhances their complexion, making it a perfect gift for mums. Edible Birds Nest contains high levels of protein, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium. In fact, Edible Birds Nest itself is almost tasteless; it requires additional effort to render it tasty.

Varieties

Generally, there are three types of Edible Birds Nest, and they are easily recognisable through their colour: red, white and yellow. The red variety nest owes its hue to metal pigments found in the iron oxide cave walls to which the nests cling; it is the most prized and comes with a price tag to match.
The white variety is more popular and more readily available. Its texture is the smoothest of the three, hence its popularity. But when buying white Edible Birds Nest, in particular, be cautious of its source. It is known that some suppliers heavily bleach their products to obtain the valued whiteness — so ensure that you buy from a reliable retailer. The last variety — yellow Edible Birds Nest — contains the most minerals and has a crunchier bite to its texture.
Raw Edible Birds Nest usually comes in two forms: complete pieces or broken pieces. Naturally, the complete pieces command a higher price while the other is more affordable. However, the nutritional value of both is the same.

Preparation

To lessen the hassle of preparation, you could buy Edible Birds Nests that have already been cleaned, i.e. with all pinfeathers and foreign particles removed. The little extra that you might have to pay for it would be worth it, as removing such numerous and minute particles by hand can be, as you might imagine, very painstaking and tedious.

To prepare dried Edible Birds Nest, following the following steps:

• Allocate 15g of Edible Birds Nest per person.
• Soak Edible Birds Nest in water for 24 hours.
• Change the water at least twice during this process.
• Using a pair of tweezers, remove pinfeathers and foreign particles.
• Drain water from the Edible Birds Nest.
• Put Edible Birds Nest in a bowl, pour hot water and drain immediately. The Edible Birds Nest is ready for cooking.
• Papaya with Edible Birds Nest

Method:

• Boil 100g crushed rock sugar in 1.5L mineral water until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Place 300g papaya (cut into 2cm x 2.5cm pieces), 50g white fungus (soaked for 2 hours) and 60g pre-cleaned Edible Birds Nest in a double-boiler.
• Steam for at least two hours. Adjust the sweetness of the soup and
• serve immediately.
• Double-Boiled Edible Birds Nest with Pigeon

Method:

• Put 2 prepared pigeons; 60g pre-cleaned Edible Birds Nest; 100g pre-soaked dried longan; 100g dried arrow root (soaked overnight); 1.75L mineral water and 1/2 tsp salt into a double-boiler.
• Steam for four to six hours. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Types Of Edible Birds Nest

Workers use bamboo ladders, scaffoldings and rope ladders to climb the cave walls in order to harvest the nests. This high-skilled work has been a local tradition for generations.
Cave nests are mostly found in tall and steep cave walls which making nest-harvesting a high-risk profession. These nests usually contained high volume of feathers and debris that required intensive cleaning and are later made into strips or chunks. Its rarity makes the price extremely high.

House Edible Birds Nest is found uniquely in coastal areas of Southeast Asia. With its geographical and climate advantages, the local people have transformed regular buildings into the ideal breeding ground for swiftlets thus called Bird’s House.
Unlike the common swallows, swiftlets are smaller in size (roughly about 11~12cm) and have a rather glittering greyish brown back. They have narrow wings and short tail feathers, which make them excellent in flight. Their legs are tiny, not suitable for walking. They spend most of the day in flight.
Swiftlets hunt during the day and return to the birdhouse at dusk. Adequately moist, these custom-built buildings provide an optimal nesting ground for the birds.
Even though their tiny legs may seem weak, swiftlets clutch firmly at the outer wall of their nests when resting. They never stay inside the nest.
People commonly think that consuming Edible Birds Nest would render swiftlets homeless. In fact, these nests are constructed for laying eggs. After the swiftlets grown up and flew off, the nests are then abandoned and can be readily harvested.
Nest-collectors will carry out monitoring scheme regularly and harvest only after baby chicks hatch, grow and leave the nest. The periodical monitoring and caretaking have contributed to the increase rate of birth and survival of the swiftlets in recent years.

Benefits Of Edible Birds Nest

According to Compendium of Meteria Medica, Edible Birds Nest has a mild and gentle essence with benefits of strengthening the lungs, nourishing kidneys and improving spleen. It also enhances “qi” flow (“life energy”), reinforces the immune system and prevents coughs. It is widely viewed as the best health diet for those recovering from severe illness.
Studies conducted by nutritionists in the United States showed that the nutritional value of 1000g of dry nest includes 499g of water-soluble protein, 429g of calcium and 18 types of essential amino acid while 8 out of the 18 can’t be synthesized by the humans, and therefore must be supplied in the diet. It also contains 2 types of collagen that increases the speed of cell division that results in stimulating cell regeneration.
Easily digested and absorbed by human body, Edible Birds Nest is suitable for people of all ages. After regular and long term consumption of Edible Birds Nest, women will find their youth prolonged especially their skin remain youthful, men find strength and energy, and elderly find health while children find their appetite and healthier body. Moreover, an expecting mother who consumes Edible Birds Nest during her pregnancy strengthens the immune system of the baby.

The Nutritional Value Of Edible Birds Nest

Most researchers have confirmed that pure Edible Birds Nests mainly contain water-soluble protein, fat, 8 types of essential amino acids, and elements such as sodium, iodine and other beneficial nutrients as well. Amino acids are the basic building blocks for protein and they must be supplied in the diet. They are lysine, methionine, leonine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, isoleucine.
Lysine readily converts its epsilon carbon then to carbon dioxide, helping to form glutamic acid. Methionine produces two other sulphur containing amino acids, cysteine and taurine. Leucine promotes the healing of bones, skin, and muscle tissue after traumatic injury, and is often recommended for those recovering from surgery. It is also popular among surgeons and athletes as supplements. Valine is a vital nutrient for babies because it helps regulate blood sugar and stimulate the central nervous system for proper mental functioning.