What is Bird's Nest Soup: Chinese Bird Saliva Soup may gross you over, but it's damn expensive! (2024)

Food practices across the world never fail to surprise us. Some dishes are hundreds of years old, or constitute some weird but exotic ingredient, or might be available only during a particular time of the year. All these aspects of the food world make it an endless loop of astonishment, excitement, and discoveries. On one hand, some dishes appeal to people by their very name and ingredients but on the other hand, there are many dishes that utterly shock and bewilder, Bird’s Nest Soup being one of them!

Bird’s Nest Soup, also known as Bird’s Saliva Soup, is one of the most famous but also most controversial delicacies in Chinese cuisine. Many people are willing to spend fortunes on this soup as they believe eating it will help them maintain their youth as well as have a long healthy life and a strong body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, it promotes good health, especially for the skin.

This soup has been a part of Chinese cuisine for generations. Chinese people began consuming bird’s nest soup during the Ming Dynasty and according to some tales, it is believed Zhen He, who was a Chinese explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral, was the first person in Chinese history to eat Bird’s Nest Soup.

The dish is named so because the main ingredient in preparing it is Edible Bird’s Nest. YES! The soup is made from edible bird nests which are called the “Caviar of the East”. Bird’s Nest Soup is extremely rare and valuable. The main ingredient is the nest of the swiftlet bird which is usually found in Southeast Asia. Edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. The most prized are “red nests” from the red-nest swiftlet, which can cost as much as $10,000 per kilogram. However, the most common are white and black-nest swiftlet nests, which run between $5,000 and $6,000 per kilogram.

The reason behind the dish also being known as Bird’s Saliva Soup is also very interesting. The swiftlet lives in dark caves. Instead of twigs and straw, however, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of its gummy saliva, which is produced by the glands under the tongue. The nest then hardens when exposed to air. Most nests are built during the breeding season by the male swiftlet for 35 days and they take the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall.

Bird’s Nest doesn’t have a lot of taste, and its texture is similar to softened gelatin and jelly. Chinese people usually cook Bird’s Nest Soup with rock sugar and serve it as a sweet dessert soup. Some people prefer to cook it without rock sugar and instead mix it with some warm milk. The cooking process is extremely critical when making soup. Microwave cooking or boiling on a stove causes the nest to lose any taste it has and it is stripped of its nutritional value. The common way to cook Bird’s Nest Soup is to slowly and gently steam it after soaking the nest in water.

For more than 1,000 years, Bird’s Nest or its main constituent, bird saliva (or “Yan Wo”, as the Chinese call it) is known for its aphrodisiac and potent health powers. Though there is not enough scientific evidence about the health benefits of Bird’s Nest or the soup made out of it, but traditional Chinese medicine claims many health benefits of the aforementioned. Some of them are as follows:

1. Bird’s Nest has high glycoprotein content, growth factors and a neutral energetic property, which help boost a weak immune system.

2. Bird’s Nest is reputed to maintain youthfulness and enhance the complexion.

3. It is rich in epidermal growth factor (EGF). This substance is responsible for skin and tissue repair.

4. When Bird’s Nest is consumed in moderation, its unique predigested form of proteins and nutrients is said to aid recovery from chronic illnesses.

5. Bird’s Nest may help relieve respiratory ailments such as asthma or chronic coughs. It is traditionally used to clear phlegm, ease chronic dry coughs and relieve fatigue.

6. Bird’s Nest can also be used to increase the appetite, improve digestion and stimulate bowel movement.

7. It is also rich in proteins, amino acids and minerals that are essential for healthy growth.