Recipe - How To Cook Bird Nest Soup

Bird's nest is made from the saliva of swiftlets, a kind of bird. The swiftlets use a glutinous secretion to bind together materials for nest building. The secretion comes from glands located below the tongue of the birds.
Once the eggs are hatched and the young birds are able to fly, the nests are abandoned by the birds. If the nests are not harvested by humans, scavengers like lizards and ants will consume the nests.

bird nest

The bird nest has a high content of protein and minerals like zinc, copper, iron, sodium and phosphorous. This protein has essential amino acids which helps to regenerate body cells. Legend has it that taking bird nest regularly will promote youthful smooth complexion and healthier skin tone. In short, eating bird nest regularly will give a person a fair and smooth skin.

In this recipe, ginseng is added to boost the immune system, while rock sugar is added for sweetness. A pandan leaf is added for fragrance.

As a guide, one piece of bird nest can make one or two servings (small bowl).

Ingredients (5 servings)
5 pieces (each is about 5 grams) of  bird nest
A few pieces of ginseng
1 tablespoon of rock sugar

ginseng slices

1 pandan leaf.
5 bowls of water

Method
Step 1.
Soak the bird nest in water for 3 hours or overnight.
Check the bird nest for loose feathers and take them out.
Step 2
Double boil the bird nest with ginseng and pandan leaf in low heat for 2 hours.
Step 3
Add rock sugar at the last 15 minutes

Caution: bird nest may not be suitable for everybody.

Here is a short video showing how to cook bird nest soup.