Easy Swallow Bird’s Nest Soup Recipe with Rock Sugar

Why Bird's Nest Soup is a Well-Rounded Dessert:

• Strengthens the immune system
• Promotes youthful appearance
• Enhances energy and metabolism
• Improves lung health
• Improves digestive system health

Bird’s Nest Soup Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of edible bird's nest
• 7 tbsp. rock sugar (or to taste)
• 4 cups water

What is Bird’s Nest Soup?

Bird's Nest Soup is one of the finest delicacies in China. From the ancient past, it has long been coveted as a medicinal and delicious luxury offering many benefits to those who drink just a few spoonfuls of the golden, gelatinous soup. Bird's nest soup is made from boiled swallow or swiftlet nests and rock sugar. The legendary nutrients come from the bird's solidified saliva used to form the nest and shelter their eggs during nesting season. 

The flavor is delicate and lightly sweet, a refined dessert soup sought after by nobles and lovers for its rumored ability to restore a youthful appearance. Proper preparation of bird's nest soup is simple but requires great care and time to create a fine, sweet broth.

The Rich History of Bird's Nest Soup

Bird's Nest Soup represents an important part of Chinese history and culture. It is associated with royalty and often consumed only on special occasions due to its rarity and expense. It was particularly favored during the Ming Dynasty.

The harvesting process once involved climbing cliff walls by the sea to extract the nests of swallows and swiftlets from natural caves. Today, man-made houses that attract the little birds are built to shelter bird families until each is done with their nest. Then, nests are delicately harvested and cleaned before the next nesting season begins.

The industry has evolved from wild nest collection to more considerate and sustainable practices, ensuring that birds and hatchlings are done with the nest before it is harvested from the nesting houses.

The Nutritional and Health Benefits of Bird's Nest Soup

Bird's nests are considered a luxury element of traditional Chinese medicine because they are rich in nutrients that boost your overall health. The saliva of swallow birds is full of organic compounds that improve the immune system, skin health, and natural balance. These nutrients include proteins, amino acids, mucin, and lipids that give you a natural glow.

Traditional beliefs suggest that Bird's Nest Soup made from a swallow's nest can act as an aphrodisiac, boost your immunity, and may be particularly healthy for pregnant women who need extra nutrients to grow a healthy baby. Legend has it that the soup also has anti-aging effects.

From a scientific perspective, swallow's nests are rich in nutrients, but not all the traditional health claims have been proven through research. When studied, it was revealed that bird's nests contain an incredible range of micronutrients, which may contribute to their reputation as a medicinal ingredient.

Directions: How to Prepare Bird's Nest Soup with Rock Sugar

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of edible bird's nest
• 7 tbsp. rock sugar (or to taste)
• 4 cups water
• Optional:
• Dried red dates
• Goji berries
• Dried longan

Step 1: Soaking

Depending on the type of swallow bird’s nest you purchase, you may need to spend hours soaking the nests. Raw edible bird’s nests can take up to 10 hours to fully soften, while Golden Nest’s Simply Swift allows the nests to be fully cooked within 15 minutes.

• Option 1 (2-5 hours): Raw edible bird’s nest:
• Begin by soaking your bird's nests overnight. Soaking softens the nests and prepares them to break down into a gelatinous soup when cooked. Soak for 2-5 hours until the nests are soft.

• Option 2 (15 minutes): Golden Nest Simply Swift
• If you are using Golden Nest Simply Swift Swallow Bird Nest, please skip to Step 3: Cooking.

Step 2: Cleaning

• Depending on your nest source, it may be necessary to remove impurities from the nests. Swallow and Swiftlet nests contain both saliva strands and feathers. Golden Nest washes bird's nest pieces meticulously so there should be little to no impurities, but this step is important if your nest pieces are not yet perfectly clean.

• If you find feathers, use tweezers to remove impurities for a final cleaning.
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Step 3: Cooking

• Option 1: Raw edible bird’s nest:
• When the broth is almost done, add a few pieces of rock sugar to taste. This should provide a light, sweet flavor to the broth without overpowering the natural flavor of your nests.
  
• You can also add optional ingredients like dried dates, goji berries, or longan, which add a little color and variety to your soup.

• Option 2: Golden Nest Simply Swift
• Stove top:
• Pour 4 cups of water to pan and bring to boil
• Add 2 pieces of Golden Nest Simply Swift and boil with medium heat for 15 minutes with the lid on
• Turn off heat and add rock sugar or other ingredients
• Microwave:
• Pour 4 cups of water to a large microwave-safe bowl
• Add 2 pieces of Golden Nest Simply Swift and microwave in high for 4 minutes without cover
• Add rock sugar and other ingredients to your liking

Step 4: Serving

When your soup is ready, gather your special partner or your loved ones to share this delicacy. Carefully ladle the bird’s nest soup with rock sugar into your finest bowls. The soup can be served warm or cold.

This soup is a wonderful way to celebrate special occasions, such as an engagement, anniversary, or baby shower where the special medicinal properties bring added significance to the shared moment and delicious flavor.

Quality and Ethical Considerations When Buying Bird's Nests

What type of bird's nest should you buy to make bird's nest soup? There are several grades of bird's nests determined by their color and purity. 

Bird's nests come in red, gold, and white. White is the most common but also the most pure. Red and gold bird's nests are prized for their rare color and appear this way due to the berries and seeds consumed by the birds.

Bird's nest grades range from AAA to C, where AAA is not only beautifully pure and clean, but also perfectly shaped, and Grade C bird's nests need to be cleaned several times before they are safely edible.

Ethical sourcing is a must. Because bird's nests are so valuable, it's important to avoid supporting illegal harvesting or poaching. Reputable suppliers like Golden Nest build bird habitats and gently harvest the nests after each nesting bird family's eggs have hatched.

You can verify the authenticity of a bird's nest when purchasing online or in stores by researching the reputation of the brand and supplier.

Bird's Nest Soup in Modern Cuisine

Have you seen bird's nest soup listed in a fine-dining restaurant? This ancient delicacy is seeing new implementations throughout modern cuisine, especially in fusion dishes that explore innovative uses for the delicately flavored gelatinous broth created when bird nests are expertly prepared. Through these innovations and the simple traditional recipe, bird's nest soup has maintained its cultural relevance and popularity in Chinese cuisine despite its high cost.

Conclusion

Bird's nest soup offers the essence of tradition, luxury, and marvelous health benefits when consumed at home or in fine dining. You can make your own version of this dish consumed by ancient royalty with nothing more than edible bird’s nest, water, rock sugar, and patience. Explore crafting your own bird's nest soup for special occasions.