bird's nest soup!

[kasia]

i've been drinking this every night (the store-bought kind :P - i only get the homemade kind back at home). the only reason why i drink it is because it's supposed to be good for complexion. although i've been drinking it since i was little, i've been having difficulty lately - especially after reading that the bits really are the birds' 'gummy saliva'. swirling bird spit around your mouth = ick.

what do you guys think of bird's nest soup? has anyone tried bird's nest boba? i've heard it's good, but i'm actually not a huge fan of boba.



here's a description of what it is...

Authentic bird's nest soup is made using the nests of the swiftlet, a tiny bird found throughout southeast Asia. The swiftlet lives in dark caves, using a method of echolocation similar to the bat to get around. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of its own gummy saliva, which hardens when exposed to air. Humans who harvest the swiftlet nests often come from families that have made their living this way for generations. Prying the nests from the cave walls is extremely dangerous, and many harvesters die each year.

Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold to restaurants, where they are served simmered in chicken broth. While I have never tried authentic bird's nest soup, apparently it is an acquired taste - many westerners think it tastes quite rubbery the first time they try it. However it is quite popular throughout Asia, perhaps because it has the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. It is also costly; many western restaurants serve a less expensive version consisting of soup with noodles shaped to resemble a bird's nest.

[moschikat]

-_-

my relatives on my dad's side of the family tried to make me eat it. i think i had the same problem once i heard it was bird spit.

mnfngh.

on a side note - have you guys tried that essence of chicken? ( :gross: )
now they came up with chocolate scented essence of chicken.

:huh:

*sigh*

[SunWuKong]

this is a lucrative business. people in thailand actually have to own exclusive harvesting rights for certain caves, and these rights can be bought and sold.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Ugh! :gross: See post on Shark's Fin... :ph34r: :P

[kasia]

btw, i don't buy the super-expensive kind like old people do. the ready-to-drink kind at the stores are pretty affordable. they say it's bird's nest, but sometimes i wonder - you can get 10 jars for $40.00. isn't bird's nest supposed to be a lot more expensive? *but* it does have the little rubbery bits, so maybe it *is* real :lol:

[tvbdude]

I tried the ones that came in little glass jars, and it tastes very nasty

[Hanuman]

I've never tried it. i do love the crunchy noodles shaped like a birds nest with the seafood in it. Yummm!!!!

[luv]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Dec 25 2002, 01:09 PM
Originally posted by luv@Dec 25 2002, 12:02 PM
I think I'll try to eat anything once, but (I know this is sea critter thread) I draw the line at the following:

snakes
scorpions
field mice -- grams says this is Cantonese specialty
dogs/cats --why can't dog meat be mixed with mung bean?
horse
birds nest

but I think that's it...I don't have any problems with sea cucumbers though..
bird's nest and snakes? what's wrong with those two? especially bird's nest?

and bean?
sorry sorta talking to myself there. ma says that mung bean eaten with (or within the same meal as) dog meat will give people deadly case of food poisoning.

I tend to think of birds nest as endangered species. Ever since I heard that Birds Nest is essentially swan "spit" that hardens to house their eggs. People harvest these "nests" for soup leaving the poor swans without a place to lay their eggs. To have a substantial nest or the rare "huet yeen" -- a swan would have to kill itself (hence the blood in the Birds Nest) producing the mucous. So yes its a stupid nest, but it kills the bird, the birds family, and any future birds.


This is what I feel about bird's nest...

[lethal]

Originally posted by Tawee@Feb 14 2003, 01:10 AM
I've never tried it. i do love the crunchy noodles shaped like a birds nest with the seafood in it. Yummm!!!!
Ooh!

Yes!

Oh, and has anyone ever made a real bird's nest from straw and twigs before? Its cool...the birds didn't like it though :P

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by luv@Feb 16 2003, 11:30 AM
To have a substantial nest or the rare "huet yeen" -- a swan would have to kill itself (hence the blood in the Birds Nest) producing the mucous.  So yes its a stupid nest, but it kills the bird, the birds family, and any future birds.
doesn't that pretty much hold true also if you eat, say... beef?

[Bbc84]

Bird Nest and Shark fin are MY FAVORITE KINDS OF SOUP. I can drink 10 bowls :D

[teaz0r]

=) i like bird's nest.
slippery goodness.

[himura-dono]

i have a friend who vomits at the utterance of pheonix claws, but goes apeshit over birdnest... :blink:

i just don't get it...

[deez nuts]

swallow's nest in an edible gel form is supposed be good for the skin, especially for the baby while a woman is still pregnant. it gives that clear and pasty skin that we all love.

it's mad expensive. my brother and i bought some for my mom for mother's day. it was like 400 bucks for like a 6-8 oz jar.

dad said it's really popular in indonesia. that a guy has to climb a high mountain to get the nest. that's why it's so expensive.

i mean why doesn't the dude just look for the fabled korean swallow king, capture it and let it lay eggs full of gold! then, he wouldn't have to work so hard and climb them high mountains.

[applehead]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@May 19 2003, 04:48 AM
i mean why doesn't the dude just look for the fabled korean swallow king, capture it and let it lay eggs full of gold! then, he wouldn't have to work so hard and climb them high mountains.
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

[Chester]

My father is constantly making cups of it for me to eat -- I don't much care for it, but it's more of a directive than an offer and I don't really dislike it, so I just eat it.

Lately, he's been buying the red/bloody kind, which is a little funny...bird's nest in a marinara sauce, as it were.

Personally, I would find much better uses for the money. For whole nests of the highest grade, this stuff can cost around a thousand dollars for a box about the size of a hardcover book.

I think I'd rather have a hardcover book.

(But, oh, my complexion is so glassy-smooth!)

[kasia]

hey, is it true that the kind in jars is basically ineffective?

[Eros]

I've never had the soup but I have had bird's nest drink (the stuff that comes in a can). It wasn't bad but it wasn't impressive, either.

[kasia]

*bump* does anyone know more about this? the rock sugar bird's nest soup - which brand is the best?

[Chris]

i love bird's nest soup!!!

[Banana]

I think just the idea of it is nasty. And I'm Chinese! We eat everything!

[seanp]

I ate it right after they collected on those moutains in vietnam and cooked it.. .forgot the taste though

[BaiginLong]

birds nest soup is the best
never had the sweet kind but the kind they usually serve at nicer Chinese restaurants are good

[kasia]

birds nest soup is the best
never had the sweet kind but the kind they usually serve at nicer Chinese restaurants are good

i never knew they served bird's nest at restaurants. in what area?

[BaiginLong]

believe it or not they did back at some restaurants in chicago's Chinatown
(or was it just one of them???)
special order though i think

[kasia]

just fyi, my dad bought me a box of bird's nest and i ate it every other day for about a month. i still don't have baby soft skin. *gripe*

but it's still yummy.

[yoMAMA]

isn't that just bird's piss? [ and it cost an arm and a leg in asia!]

some people......;)

:p

[kasia]

isn't that just bird's piss? [ and it cost an arm and a leg in asia!]

some people......;)

:p

no, gross. i wouldn't drink bird's piss. or maybe i would....anything for beauty? it's bird's spit.

[yoMAMA]

no, gross. i wouldn't drink bird's piss. or maybe i would....anything for beauty? it's bird's spit.

you are right, it's bird's spit....but then again...that doesn't sound that appetizing.....

:tongue:

[nola]

deee-lee-shus! haven't had it in years. it's expensive.

[Banana]

This thread always gives me chills.

[BillHoo]

That's actually not a bad idea.... Transplant some of these birds elsewhere. Perhaps build something like a huge aircraft hangar with beams and ledges of food-grade stainless steel for the birds to build their nests from.

Maybe have some moveable scaffolding to be able to harvest the nests.

They've transplanted ginseng to the United States. Why not this species of swift? (Aside from the agricultural restrictions and quarantines required by the USDA)

If someone is willing to work it from the asia side of things, I'd be happy to procure the real estate and building in a similar ecology here in the US.

Probably need to capture a few nesting pairs and get paperwork to get them out of the country. On this end, I would have to get some special "research" grant or license to allow them in the United States.

Heck! The entire White Pekin meat duck industry in the United States started with 9 ducks out of 200 that where imported to the United States from Peking, china early last century.

They were known as the Long Island Duck since they were originally farmed in Long Island, NY. Now, most of the Long Island ducks come from Arkansas. (Long Island Real estate has made farming a losing venture)

-Bill_H


i mean why doesn't the dude just look for the fabled korean swallow king, capture it and let it lay eggs full of gold! then, he wouldn't have to work so hard and climb them high mountains.