How To Process And Cook Bird’s Nests
Bird’s nests which are normally harvested from caves are known of its
health benefit. It’s not only naturally nourished with iron and minerals
but also contains 16 amino acids and carbohydrates. However, not many
people know on how to process and cook this special food. Here are a few
tips on how to process and cook raw bird’s nests;
1. When you collect raw nests from the cave or home, soak the nests in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes to make them soft. Do not soak for too long as it will destroy the originality of the nests texture. Handle it carefully, and try not to separate the strands of the nests. A nest with the strands intact has a higher value. The number of strand per nest varies from 70 to 90.
2. Next, you need to remove the feathers from the nests. This is normally done by using a sharp tweezers. As the process is done manually, it requires skill and patients. This process is very time consuming. Take careful precaution to avoid cross contamination.
3. Hang the nests under the sun for two to three hours to dry up and remove moisture.
4. Next, remove any remaining dirt and feathers. If you want to keep, make sure keep it in a cold room. If you want to proceed with cooking go to next step;
5. Dip the nests in cool boiled water to soften it. Avoid using water taken directly from pipe as it may cause contamination. How long it should be dipped in water is depending on the type of the nests. It varies from 10 minutes to overnight. For example red-coloured nests should be soaked overnight. More important to notice is that when ready, the nests should be soft to touch. It should also expand from it original size.
6. Collect the water used to soak the nests for boiling the nests. Duration of boiling is depending on the type of the nests. For nests harvested from home, boiling should be limited to 40 minutes. For nests collected from cave, boiling may last for two to three hours. Then, add the rock sugar according to your personal taste. Avoid using direct heating. The best is to cook the nests using steam and maintain the temperature below 100 Celsius degree.
7. Turn off the heat and allow the boiled nests to cool for at least 30 minutes before opening the lid. Now it’s ready.
1. When you collect raw nests from the cave or home, soak the nests in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes to make them soft. Do not soak for too long as it will destroy the originality of the nests texture. Handle it carefully, and try not to separate the strands of the nests. A nest with the strands intact has a higher value. The number of strand per nest varies from 70 to 90.
2. Next, you need to remove the feathers from the nests. This is normally done by using a sharp tweezers. As the process is done manually, it requires skill and patients. This process is very time consuming. Take careful precaution to avoid cross contamination.
3. Hang the nests under the sun for two to three hours to dry up and remove moisture.
4. Next, remove any remaining dirt and feathers. If you want to keep, make sure keep it in a cold room. If you want to proceed with cooking go to next step;
5. Dip the nests in cool boiled water to soften it. Avoid using water taken directly from pipe as it may cause contamination. How long it should be dipped in water is depending on the type of the nests. It varies from 10 minutes to overnight. For example red-coloured nests should be soaked overnight. More important to notice is that when ready, the nests should be soft to touch. It should also expand from it original size.
6. Collect the water used to soak the nests for boiling the nests. Duration of boiling is depending on the type of the nests. For nests harvested from home, boiling should be limited to 40 minutes. For nests collected from cave, boiling may last for two to three hours. Then, add the rock sugar according to your personal taste. Avoid using direct heating. The best is to cook the nests using steam and maintain the temperature below 100 Celsius degree.
7. Turn off the heat and allow the boiled nests to cool for at least 30 minutes before opening the lid. Now it’s ready.
