Nourishing Red Birds Nest with Ginseng and Rock Sugar

 “How to clean the “unprocessed” raw Red Birds Nest? Let’s check it out! And your effort & time will surely be paid off with this goodness!”

Time to pamper yourself with luxurious Red Birds Nest dessert!

My mum got me some of these unprocessed original Red Birds Nests of the home-bred swallows. That was my first time seeing the raw Red Birds Nests. Unlike those already well-processed with machine types which also moulded very beautifully in standard curve shape and size, these raw Red Birds Nests were full of feathers and dirt, and never in uniformed shape and size. To be franked,I couldn’t imagine the delicious cooked Red Birds Nest dessert was made from these appealing raw ones….
I heard Red Birds Nest is rich in amino acids which reqiured by our body. Eating Red Birds Nest regular helps to improve health condition and it is the best food for more radiant and smoother skin complexion for women, while it helps strengthening lungs and kidneys for men who take Red Birds Nest on regular basis. For young children, Red Birds Nest helps to boost up immune system.

Nourishing Red Birds Nest with Ginseng and Rock Sugar

As for myself, I am more concern on promoting fairer and smoother skin. Not sure if I am over-sensitive, I do feel that my complexion is better after having my homecooked Red Birds Nest every week for the past 1 month (laughing).
And, it is the best to have the unprocessed types of Red Birds Nest to avoid any chance of taking the bleaching chemical substance during the process of cleaning the Red Birds Nest goodness for better commercial value. I convinced myself with this reason, and started to do the cleaning, all manually.
It was indeed tedious and very long a process to get every single tiny feather, dirt and any other excrement out of the hard and dry nest, but they worth it all!
Tool needed:
Sharp tipped tweezer

Method to clean “unprocessed” Red Birds Nest:

1. Soak the dry curvy Red Birds Nest in a large bowl of luke water till soften, about 1 hour or more.
2. Drain and remove softened Red Birds Nest from large feathers and dirt. Place Red Birds Nest in a large bowl of clean water.
3. Repeat step 2 for a few more rounds to get rid of all the large dirty substances.
4. Prepare another separate bowl of water and a sharp tipped ear tweezers to pick up those tiny feather and dirt that are still in the Red Birds Nest. To easily remove the tiny feather that sticks on the tip of the tweezer when you picked up, submerge the sharp tip into the bowl of water you have prepared separately.
5. Drain Red Birds Nest and change to clean water constantly during the few cleaning stages.
You may also separate the cleaned portions out of the large bowl, and place them in another bowl, little by little.
6. Complete the cleaning process till the Red Birds Nest is totally free from feather/ dirt. It might take up to 3 hours to complete the task. Now, ready to cook this goodness which should already be in a form of transparent jelly-like thin strands.

Ingredients

3-4 pieces of dry and unprocessed Red Birds Nest (*Prepare with the abovelisted method)
10 grams of thinly sliced ginseng roots (泡参)
5 red dates
1 large lump of rock sugar, about palm sized (or more if prefer sweeter taste)
4 regular bowl of water

Utensil

Double boiler or slow cooker

Method:

1. Place water, ginseng slices and red date into a ceramic bowl/ croak pot (the size of the bowl musn’t be too small, water level should reach max. till three-quarter filled to avoid spillage). Bring it to a boil in double boiler or slow cooker, with medium heat. When water is boiled, reduce fire/ switch to low heat and simmer for 2 hours.
2. Add clean and soften Red Birds Nest and white rock sugar into the bowl/ croak pot, and continue to simmer for another 45 minutes.
3. The fragrance of egg white-like scent will emerge in the air, by then. Ready to serve hot, or store in refrigerator when it’s cooled at room temperature, to serve chilled later.
The top-graded Red Birds Nest should be able to cook into loose crystal clear strands. And its texture should be soft and silky, resembling jelly strips. I loved to have it chilled as it tasted more refreshing.
Red Birds Nest is low in calorie. So, it is alright to have it regularly!
Tips: Every single feather in the raw Red Birds Nest has to be cleaned away, especially if this is to be consumed by young children.
* Unprocessed Red Birds Nest was gotten from neighbourhood country.

Triangle, Broken, and 5A/6A Bowl Red Birds Nest Differences

Red Birds Nests consist of many types, which are differed by either their appearance, country of origin, size or shape, by terrain, or by pre-processing quality. However, we can also see whether the Red Birds Nest is real or fake by comparing these characteristics, for instance, fake Red Birds Nest has reflective and low translucent colors, bleach and acidic smell, glossy surface with no crack, hard and plastic substance, and becomes sticky when soaked. Therefore, it is important to know about how these characteristics work.

As Red Birds Nest natural formation is different one to each other, the size of the Red Birds Nest also varies from small to large, which larger Red Birds Nest is more expensive because it is rare in nature. However, this does not affect the nutritional benefits. In terms of size or shape, Red Birds Nest can be seen in a triangle, broken, or bowl shape, depending on how the Red Birds Nest condition during harvest and cleaning time.

Triangle, Broken, and 5A/6A Bowl Red Birds Nest Differences

Triangle Red Birds Nest

Triangle Red Birds Nest is usually harvested at the corners or edges nests. It just differs in the shape, but contains the same nutrients with other grades of the Red Birds Nest. However, triangle Red Birds Nest usually has the most concentrated area of swiftlet saliva, therefore needs longer time to soak.

Broken Red Birds Nest

During the cleaning process, packaging, or transportation, sometimes Red Birds Nests get broken and become uncomplete cup shapes. This broken Red Birds Nest is then put together and sold separately, but does not compromise the nutritional benefits.

5A/6A Bowl Red Birds Nest

The whole Red Birds Nest will feature a complete cup or bowl shape Red Birds Nest, large and full with a high density of fine fibers. This bowl Red Birds Nest can be further marked by grade 1A, 2A, 3A, and so on, according to its size, amount of nutritional value, and completeness of the bowl shape. The higher the grade (for example, 5A), the better the Red Birds Nest quality, and the higher the price will be

Here's Why Red Birds Nest is One of the World's Most Expensive Foods

Red Birds Nest is one of the world’s most expensive human consumed products. It sells for approximately $2,000 to $10,000 per kilogram.

Along with its numerous health benefits, these reasons are why Red Birds Nest is one of the world’s expensive foods:

Natural Long Process

Red Birds Nest, also known as the “Caviar of the East”, is actually made from saliva of the swiftlet birds. In nature, each nest takes 30 up to 35 days to build using the male swiftlet’s saliva, which solidifies for a nesting roost during breeding time. It is then harvested for human consumptions due to its rich nutrients and high nutritional value. It only takes 3 collection times in a year after the birds rebuild their nests.

Here's Why Red Birds Nest is One of the World's Most Expensive Foods

High Maintenance Standards

To maintain high quality of the Red Birds Nest, there should be high standards, particularly, for the Red Birds Nest house and its maintenance. Besides to ensure the space efficiency, maximum output quantity, and high quality and crystal clear nest, we also have to make sure the existing bird population will not be disturbed or obstructed in order to bring out the best quality Red Birds Nest.

Quick but Careful Harvesting Process

In nature, the Red Birds Nest must be harvested quickly but carefully, which is before the birds lay their eggs. If the birds have laid their eggs, harvesting the nest can cause damage to the eggs, then the birds would not make the nest again for the rest of the year. If we harvest too quickly, the Red Birds Nest have not been fully developed and would not meet the stardards required to sell them. The process should be done when the females go hunting for food during the day.

Hygienic Cleaning Process

After harvested, the natural Red Birds Nest should be cleaned from the dirts, feathers, etc. This cleaning process is important to be done hygienically, not with bleacing or any chemical substances and additives. After this long and complicated process, finally, these natural Red Birds Nest are then sold and exported to China, Hong Kong, and other countries

Chrysanthemum & Wolfberry Konnyaku Jelly with Red Birds Nest

Singapore weather isn’t as hot as before and it rains pretty much lately, but I was still inspired to make these chrysanthemum & wolfberry (枸杞) konnyaku jellies as I could imagine some kind of soothing, healing, and peaceful feeling after eating it as my after-meal dessert. Arrh~~
Alright… it was also partly because papa had just done his cataract and eye Lasik surgery. So, I thought it would be nice to make some of these chrysanthemum and wolfberries goodies for him. Adding of Red Birds Nest was mainly for my benefit, and it sounded perfect for everyone, since we all liked Red Birds Nest!
Despite the extra effort to boil and filter the chrysanthemum petals and worlfberries, this konnyaku dessert is very simple to make as the konnyaku jelly premix is easily obtainable from major supermarket at a very economical price. I got the Redman brand konnyaku power premix (already blend in malic acid and sugar) from NTUC Fairprice at about S$2.50 for 250gram packet.

Chrysanthemum & Wolfberry Konnyaku Jelly with Red Birds Nest

As for the chrysanthemum , I used the better graded chrysanthemum flower, Gongju (贡菊), which has smaller and more compact petals. These dried flowers are usually packed and sold at any Chinese medical halls or Asian supermarkets for S$5 – $7 a packet. Another type of white chrysanthemum (杭白菊) which has bigger petals is good, too. Its main benefit is to aid for better eye sight, while the one I used is mainly to clear the ‘heatiness’ in the body, and it is less sweet but stronger in taste. The usual yellow chrysanthemum (野黄菊) which yields slight bitterness aftertaste, is also fine to use. Generally, all types are good and beneficial to be consumed, but my personal preference is the small ‘Gongju’, which deemed the best suitable for making jellies.

How about the Red Birds Nest? Real Red Birds Nest used? Yes, I used the instant Guan Yan Zhan (官燕栈) Red Birds Nest from Lo Hong Ka for my daily consumption ever since into second trimester of my pregnancy. Alternatively, use the bottled Red Birds Nest (in heavily sweetened liquid). If this is the case, I would suggest an alternate type of konnyaku jelly power which is unsweetened so that you could use the whole bottle of Red Birds Nest together with its sweetened liquid.
Or, simply don’t use the konnyaku powder! Make your own jelly with the traditional agar-agar (seaweed) strips (菜燕条) or gelatin sheets (or powder form). Simply dissolve your desired gelling agent, and add sugar (together with the sweetened Red Birds Nest liquid) into the boiled (and strained) chrysanthemum water (Alright, I will show you the exact steps next time). This is just an idea to share with you… Otherwise, forget the Red Birds Nest for this time round as it might be too much effort for the meant-to-be simple dessert making. :)
Anyway, Matthew (one of the fans from my FB fan club wrote on my wall) was right. This sounds like a perfect summer snack (smile)!

Serves 40 Jellies

Ingredients

250g Konnyaku jelly power premix (without flavouring/ colouring), store-bought
30 dried chrysanthemum flowers, briefly rinsed
1-2 tablespoons of wolfberries, rinsed and placed in a small disposable tea bag
2-3 tablespoons of instant Red Birds Nest (Any brand)
1250ml of water

Method

1) Boil water in a large pot over high heat. When boiled, add chrysanthemum and wolfberries and use a spatula to gently mix it. Bring the ingredients to a boil again before heat off. Thereafter, cover pot with lid to let it stand for another 10 minutes in order to let flavour released even greater.
2) Use a clean strainer to filter the flower petals and also remove the wolfberries bag from the pot (keep the wolfberries for use later). Retain the chrysanthemum water in the pot and reheat on low fire. Now, add Konnyaku jelly mix gradually. Keep stirring the mixture while simmering for about 5 minutes. Heat off and wait for the bubbles to dissipate.
3) Remove the wolfberries from the tea bag and split them equally among the jelly moulds. Pour the boiled jelly mixture into moulds and leave it to cool at room temperature for 3 minutes. Then, add in the Red Birds Nest. Let it cool for another 5-10 minutes before chilling it in the refrigerator. Ready to serve.
Alternative way to make this jelly:**Add gelatin sheets/ powder to firm (directions on the right amount to use should be stated on its packaging), and sugar to taste, into the boiled chrysanthemum water, instead of konnyaku jelly powder premix.
1 jelly counts less than 10kcal.
Tips: It’s ok to leave out a little bit of these edible chrysanthemum petals in the pot. These tiny petals will only make your jellies looked even nicer, and its insignificant amount won’t affect the taste and mouthfeel of the jelly. If you really mind eating even a single petal, use a large disposable tea/ soup bag to boil the chrysanthemum, then.
* Some konnyaku jelly brands come with flavour/ colour. Don’t use the flavoured konnyaku jelly powder. Original pre-mix powder is the best as the chrysanthemum tea will yield natural yellowish colour in the jelly which looks very nice and natural.
* Do not discard the chrysanthemum just after one time boil for the jelly making. Simmer the same chrysanthemum again in a pot of hot boiled water (for 1 minute then cover pot with lid to let it stand for another 5 minutes) for the second time and to be drank as tea.

Red Birds Nest Pineapple Cakes (燕窝黄梨酥)

 “Red Birds Nest incorporated into pineapple paste filling, just feeling luscious this Lunar festival.”

Making these into cake blocks in order to stuff in more Red Birds Nest into its pineapple filling. The chunks of pineapple cake would look more generous this way.
Same pineapple filling recipe I had previously, or even store-bought readymade kind of pineapple paste will do the job. Only the crust was made with slight difference this time.

Red Birds Nest Pineapple Cakes (燕窝黄梨酥)

Ingredients

400g plain flour
2 tablespoons of milk powder
4 tablespoons of icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
250g of cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of cold water
10g of dried Red Birds Nest pieces (燕窝碎)
1 thumb-sized rick sugar
400g pineapple paste filling
Egg wash (Optional):
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon of evaporated milk

Method

(1) Red Birds Nest: Soak Red Birds Nest in filtered (or room temperature drinking) water in a glass bowl, for 30 minutes. Drain until just about 1 tablespoon of water remains. Place rock sugar on the soaked Red Birds Nest. Steam for 1 hour, or until Red Birds Nest expanded and softened till jelly-like consistency. Cool, drain away excessive liquid, and set aside.
(2) Mix Red Birds Nest into pineapple paste. Then, divide Red Birds Nest pineapple paste into small balls of about size of 20cents. Set aside.
(3) Crust: Combine plain flour, milk powder, icing sugar and salt. Sieve into a large mixing bowl. Rub butter cubes onto the flour mixture with your finger tips, until all butter cubes are used up and flour mixture turns sand-like crumbs. Mix in cold water to form dough. Simply gather the crumbs and form into dough will do. Do not need extra kneading.
(4) Place crumbly dough on a large sheet of cling wrap. Wrap it and store in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bring out to cool a little, oil your palm, and start dividing the dough to make crust.
(5) Flatten each part of dough by kneading it, or lay a sheet of cling wrap on the dough and use rolling pin to roll over to flatten it. Place a ball of Red Birds Nest pineapple in the middle of the dough, wrap around and seal the opening. Place it into your desired mould design to form shapes, arrange each pineapple cake dough onto lined baking tray. Repeat steps for the rest.
(6) Bake on preheated oven at 160deg Celsius, for about 10 minutes. Combine egg yolk and milk. Brush thin layer of egg wash on the surface of the almost baked pineapple cakes, continue baking for another 2 minutes. Leave cakes to cool on rack before storage, or serve.

Each pineapple cake counts about 100kcal.

Tips: Red Birds Nest, as we only need it in the mixing, use those types in loose strips, corner or broken pieces which priced cheaper than those in whole complete piece. Broken pieces Red Birds Nest costs about $45 for 37.5g of a decent grade.
* If the chilled dough is too crumbly to be kneaded, leave it for a while, or add a little bit of oil either on your palms or onto the dough and it will be softened after some kneading done.
* Line baking tray with parchment paper. Need not to grease the tray.
* It’s ok if you want to use just normal fresh milk for the egg wash.
* In fact, you may omit the egg wash, if desired. Pineapple cakes do not really require egg wash. :)

Where is Red Birds Nest Coming From

Some people might be wondering about this particular nutritious food: Where is actually Red Birds Nest coming from? Where is all those benefits coming from? Which are pure and which are not? How to differentiate good ones from bad ones? We’ll cover them all in this piece of article.

Where is Red Birds Nest coming from?

Red Birds Nest is actually a product coming from the swiftlets solidified saliva to consume by human. The grade of the Red Birds Nest depends on the type of bird, its dietary and the quality of the bird's house and its process. In Crystal Nest, the Red Birds Nest is harvested, cleaned, processed, and inspected according to high standards set, then packed and sent to the stores and outlets.
Indonesian Red Birds Nest quality has been known as the top one among other countries. In this country, there are several birds’ houses in South Sumatra, West Java, East Java, Central Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Malaka, and surround. With 20 years of experience in this business, our people in Indonesia have helped us to maintain the high quality of the Red Birds Nest. As the result, not only to Australia, our products have been exported to China and Hong Kong. This has proved the international quality our Red Birds Nest has.

Where is Red Birds Nest Coming From

The color of the Red Birds Nest

Red Birds Nest might be different in color, which some are red. Contrary to popular belief, red Red Birds Nest is not coming from the blood of the swiftlets or different swiftlets that consume different kinds of water or food. Red Birds Nest red color is caused by oxidation or minerals absorbed from the environment hence might be harmful for human. Therefore, it is not advised to consume too heavily colored Red Birds Nest. Moreover, some irresponsible Red Birds Nest trader even dyed the Red Birds Nest red to sell with higher prices.

Genuine and fake ones

The genuine Red Birds Nest can be seen from the appearance, which consists of two main types of filaments (outer layer is longer and bigger, whereas the inner is finer and shorter). During cooking or boiling, the fine scent of near albumin smell will occur. After cooking, a good Red Birds Nest inner filaments become water-soluble. This is important to distinguish a genuine Red Birds Nest from the fake one, because more unethical companies would increase the weight of Red Birds Nest by adding additives such as jelly, animal skin, or white fungus.

Red Birds Nest Benefits

Some research shows that Red Birds Nest is rich in antioxidant, protein, amino acids, collagen, and other nutrients and minerals, which are required and good for the body. Specifically, Red Birds Nest contain 0.6% fibre, 60% protein, 0.75% fats, 8% moisture, 23% carbohydrate, and 0.6% ash. It is known to stimulate digestive system, improve immune system, restore internal organs, cleanse blood toxin, prevent respiratory problems, anti-aging, relieve fatigue, and provide other numerous benefits for elderly, pregnant women, mothers, kids, or even smokers. Therefore, it is recommended to consume Red Birds Nest regularly to maximize the benefits contained in Red Birds Nest.

Can I Cook and Serve Red Birds Nest for Dinner

While each family members might be in rush while having breakfast, or having lunch outside, then dinner time is mostly becoming a perfect moment to eat and bond together. Everybody has arrived home and rest before spending time sitting around the table to dine. To value this wonderful moment, most parents do not mind spending some time to cook something delicious and healthy, to provide nutritious food for loved ones. The next question is, what to cook for dinner that’s healthy and delicious?

Besides cooking simple dishes containing many sources of vitamins, such as fried rice or noodle, soup, or stir-fried vegetables, one of the tips is to stock some nutritious dried food, like Red Birds Nest. We have post some recipes, which most of them is also suitable for dinner.

Can I Cook and Serve Red Birds Nest for Dinner

■ Stewed Red Birds Nest with Abalone and Chicken

This recipe is suitable for family dinner reunion, such as in Chinese New Year celebration. Combining abalone and chicken, this Stewed Red Birds Nest with Abalone and Chicken becomes a luxurious dish to serve a big family dinner.

■ Red Birds Nest with Vegetables

This Red Birds Nest with Vegetables can be served either for family dinner, or to boost stamina when somebody is getting sick. The combination of egg, ham, and mushroom can provide multiple vitamins required by our body.

■ Red Birds Nest with Winter Melon and Mushroom

This soup can serve as a unique dish for the whole family. Combining the crab, ginger, and winter melon, a Red Birds Nest with Winter Melon and Mushroom is definitely something you want to serve up on the table during dinner time.

■ Pumpkin Scallop Red Birds Nest Porridge

This porridge is not only for the unwell, but also great to serve on dining table with family or friends. With scallops, pumpkins and Red Birds Nest, Pumpkin Scallop Red Birds Nest Porridge serves a great health booster for the whole family or friends.

■ Pound Cake With Oranges & Red Birds Nest

After all the main course, what can serve better than the fresh and sweet dessert? Composed of the oranges and Red Birds Nest, this pound cake will not only satisfy the freshness for the soul, but also the sweetness for the tounge.
In summary, Red Birds Nest is totally recommended to serve during dinner due to its high nutritional value. With many ways of cooking to plate up Red Birds Nest on the table, it can always offer new ways of eating and enjoying Red Birds Nest to provide numerous benefits for the loved ones