People who buy raw bird's nest will find it still has a lot of feathers and impurities. Therefore, cleaning the bird's nest is extremely important and also takes the most time. To clean the feathers from bird's nest effectively, Yến Sào Sài Gòn shares the "secrets" below with you.
Preparation:
A clean white basin, so that the feathers are easy to see.
Tweezers (picking tongs).
A clean strainer.
A spoon
A plate or bowl to hold the clean bird's nest.
How to clean feathers from bird's nest
Step 1: Soak the bird's nest for about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the type of nest and how thick or thin it is. Soak until the bird's nest loosens.
Step 2: After soaking, drain the bird's nest and put it on a (white) plate. At the same time, prepare a bowl of clean water. Next, we pick out the large feathers and impurities (soil, lime, etc.....) and some pin feathers (small feathers that are hard to pick) in the first pass. The bowl of clean water is used to dip the tip of the tweezers when picking feathers.
Step 3: After the first pass has left the nest fairly clean, the bird's nest still has some pin feathers and small impurities that are hard to pick. We then take the nest piece by piece, put it in the strainer and place it in a bowl of water. Stir gently with a spoon to let the hard-to-pick pin feathers fall away, and limit how long the nest is in contact with water, because that easily causes the nutrients in the nest to be lost (use a strainer with small holes so the nest does not fall through). Continue until all the remaining nest is done.
Step 4: If you prepare once to use over several times, put the cleaned nest you have not yet used into the strainer to drain, and only then store it in the refrigerator. Do not put bird's nest that still has water in the refrigerator, as this will spoil the nest.
Step 5: Take the nest and steam it by double-boiling or in a dedicated steaming pot. A small tip: when double-boiling, add 1 slice of ginger to the steaming (to remove the fishy smell of the nest).
Double-boiling time is about 15 to 20 minutes.
Steaming time with a dedicated steaming pot is about 50 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes.
Bird's nest has long been regarded as a nutritious and precious food. However, during preparation you may have unintentionally lost some nutrients, or used the wrong method, so that our bodies cannot absorb the maximum nutrients from the nest. Therefore, Yến Sào Sài Gòn offers a few notes when using bird's nest, as follows:
NOTES ON CLEANING BIRD'S NEST
When cleaning the feathers from bird's nest, do not soak the nest in hot water, because hot water will dissolve the nest and cause some nutrients to be lost.
Do not use anything other than clean water to wash bird's nest. Many people use alcohol, cooking oil… to wash it. This is unnecessary and also makes the nest lose nutrients or lose its flavour. Water alone is enough to clean the nest.
The soaking time should not be too long (under about 4 hours). Once the nest has loosened, that is enough.
NOTES ON STORING BIRD'S NEST
If you do not cook the nest right after cleaning, squeeze it dry and put it in the refrigerator's cool compartment. The nest can be kept for about 1 week. If you want to keep it longer, use a fan to blow it until it is completely dry (avoid drying in the sun), then store it in an airtight box in a dry place.
Bird's nest is a nutritious food, not a miracle medicine, so if you have bird's nest, use it, and do not keep it stored year after year. Although bird's nest can be kept for many years if kept dry, keeping it too long may cause loss or change of its nutrients. Do not eat bird's nest that has gone mouldy…
NOTES ON USING BIRD'S NEST
When you eat bird's nest is also very important. Although there is no research yet, people still believe that the best time to eat bird's nest is in the evening before going to bed. This is because in the evening, about 1 hour after falling asleep, the level of growth hormone is very high, and if plenty of raw materials are supplied by food at that time, the body can make the best use of them to develop.
Eating bird's nest regularly is what gives the best nourishing effect. It is better to eat a small amount every day or every other day, rather than occasionally eating a large amount.
The best way to cook bird's nest is to double-boil it, which preserves the nest's nutrients. Whatever dish you prepare, steam the bird's nest separately by double-boiling first, and only then add it with the other ingredients.
Yến Sào Sài Gòn wishes you success!