To maximize the nutrients in bird’s nest, proper processing plays an extremely important role. The following article will show you how to process bird’s nest to ensure that all nutrients are preserved.

Bird’s nest has many uses, affecting health comprehensively from the cardiovascular system, bones and joints, blood, immunity, … However, incorrect processing can cause the loss of important nutritional components. This article will share how to process bird’s nest scientifically, helping to preserve the nutritional value to maximize the benefits of bird’s nest.

How to prepare bird’s nest

To ensure that all nutrients in bird’s nest are preserved, the pre-processing stage before processing plays an extremely important role, especially for raw bird’s nests that still contain feathers and impurities. According to the following pre-processing method:

• Step 1: Soak the bird’s nest in a bowl of clean water for about 1 minute to soften the bird’s nest.
• Step 2: Place the bird’s nest in a cloth, cover it tightly and then put it in a sealed box with a lid.
• Step 3: Leave the bird’s nest box in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours to soften the bird’s nest.
• Step 4: Take the bird’s nest out of the box and soak it in a bowl of clean water. Separate the parts of the bird’s nest with little feathers and those with a lot of feathers for easy picking.
• Step 5: Gently squeeze the bird’s nest to drain the water and place it on a white plate.
• Step 6: Use specialized tweezers to pick feathers and impurities out of the bird’s nest. When picking, dip the tip of the tweezers in a bowl of water to make it easier for the feathers to fall out.
• Step 7: After picking the feathers, wash the bird’s nest again, squeeze it gently to drain the water and the bird’s nest is ready to be steamed.

Note: To make the preparation process quick and easy, you should prepare the necessary tools such as: Bowl, plate, white bowl of clean water, specialized tweezers, a sealed box with a lid and a cloth.

In the process of preparing bird’s nest, the preliminary processing is very important to remove feathers, dirt and other impurities.

If you choose refined bird’s nest or de-feathered bird’s nest, the preparation process will be simpler. Just soak the bird’s nest in clean water for about 30 minutes to let it expand evenly, then take it out and you can proceed to process it immediately.

How to prepare delicious, nutritious bird’s nest

Some of the following bird’s nest recipes can help preserve the nutrients and delicious flavor

Bird’s nest stewed with rock sugar

This is the simplest and easiest way to prepare bird’s nest. You can also vary it by adding a few red apples. This dish has the effect of enriching the blood, clearing heat and detoxifying. Here is how to do it:

Ingredients to prepare:

• Bird’s nest: 10g;
• Rock sugar: 50g;
• Water: 500ml;

Steps to follow:

• Step 1: Soak the bird’s nest in warm water for about 2 hours until the bird’s nest expands. Then, take out the bird’s nest and wash it, removing impurities. Tear the bird’s nest into small pieces for easy processing.
• Step 2: Boil water in a double boiler until boiling. Mix rock sugar into the pot of water and stir until completely dissolved.
• Step 4: Next, add the bird’s nest to the pot and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes so that the bird’s nest is soft and absorbs the sugar.
• Step 5: Turn off the stove and let cool. The bird’s nest with rock sugar can be enjoyed hot or cold, depending on your preference.

If you add red apples, add them when stirring the rock sugar to dissolve. Cook for about 15 minutes until the red apples are soft, then add the bird’s nest.

Lotus seed bird’s nest sweet soup

Lotus seed bird’s nest sweet soup is a nutritious dish, suitable for people who have just recovered from illness, helping to restore health and improve physical condition. It can also help improve physical condition for people with weakness, insomnia, poor appetite, diarrhea, cloudy urine and urinary incontinence.

Bird’s nest soup with lotus seeds is a bit complicated to prepare but delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients:

• Pre-processed bird’s nest: 1;
• Lotus seeds: 50g;
• Dried apples: 50g;
• Goji berries: 10g;
• Rock sugar: To taste;
• Water: 1 full bowl;
• Fresh ginger: 2 thin slices.

How to prepare:

• Step 1: Soak the bird’s nest in cold water, wash away impurities, tear into small pieces and drain.
• Step 2: The lotus seeds need to be peeled and the lotus core removed if using fresh lotus, or washed and soaked until soft if using dried lotus. Boil the lotus seeds with a bowl of water until soft.
• Step 3: When the lotus seeds are soft, add the dried apples to the pot and boil for about 7 minutes until the dried apples expand.
• Step 4: Add the lotus seeds including water, bird’s nest, dried apples, goji berries, and fresh ginger to the pot. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour until the ingredients blend and the bird’s nest is soft.
• Step 5: When the bird’s nest is soft, add rock sugar to the pot and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Bird’s nest with Chinese medicine

This is also a way to prepare bird’s nest for people who are malnourished, have just recovered from illness, need to recover after giving birth, or after surgery. How to make it is as follows:

Ingredients include:

• Cleaned bird’s nest;
• Ginger: 5 – 7 thin slices;
• Ginkgo: 50g;
• Red apple: 50g;
• Longan: 50g;
• Rock sugar: Enough or not.

Steps:

• Step 1: Wash the lotus seeds, ginkgo and red apple, then boil them and put them in a bowl. Thinly slice the ginger, wash the longan with clean water.
• Step 2: Put 5 – 7 slices of ginger, bird’s nest, longan, lotus seeds, ginkgo, and red apple in the bowl. Place the pot on the stove, simmer over high heat until the water boils, then turn the heat to medium and continue simmering for 15 – 20 minutes. After turning off the stove, add rock sugar, stir well to dissolve and enjoy.

Bird’s nest with traditional Chinese medicine is suitable for people who need to recover their health after surgery.

This dish should have a little rock sugar because the sweetness comes from longan and red dates. Therefore, depending on your taste, add more or less rock sugar.

How to prepare bird’s nest while still retaining its nutritional value?

In order for bird’s nest to retain its nutrients, the preparation of bird’s nest needs to pay attention to issues from the initial processing to preservation.

• When preparing, do not soak the bird’s nest in hot water. Because soaking the bird’s nest in hot water can destroy nutrients and create conditions for mold to grow.
• Do not soak the bird’s nest for too long, because it can make the bird’s nest mushy and lose nutrients. The soaking time depends on the type of bird’s nest: Island bird’s nest from 30 – 45 minutes, house bird’s nest from 20 – 30 minutes and pink bird’s nest, blood bird’s nest from 45 – 60 minutes.
• Clean feathers and impurities carefully, because if any remains, it can cause bad odors and bacteria.
• Do not steam too much bird’s nest at a time, 3 – 5g is enough to ensure the dish is not too thick.
• Only add enough water, up to 80% of the height of the container, to avoid water overflowing when boiling, causing loss of nutrients.
• Do not steam bird’s nest for too long. The time to steam bird’s nest should only be 30 – 45 minutes. If steamed for too long, the bird’s nest will dry out and harden, losing nutrients and flavor.
• The ideal temperature for steaming bird’s nest is about 80°C to avoid losing nutrients.
• Steamed bird’s nest should be stored in the refrigerator at 4 – 6°C, and can be kept for 14 days. However, it should be used up within the day to ensure full absorption of nutrients.

Processed bird’s nest should be stored in a cool, dry place, away from moisture.

Thus, the above article has shown how to prepare bird’s nest to ensure that all nutrients are preserved. Hopefully, with these detailed instructions, you will be confident in preparing delicious and nutritious bird’s nest dishes to improve your health.