Swiftlet’s Nest (Yan Wo)

Swiftlet’s Nest, as its name indicates, is the nest of a kind of bird. Ordinary bird’s nest is not edible because it is built of straw, twigs and mud. The swiftlet’s nest is built by the bird mainly with her own saliva, which gets thickened when exposed to air. Many of these nests take the shape of a shallow cup. There are three categories of swiftlet’s nest. The best one is the “official nest”, or the first nest made by the swiftlet. It consists of almost 100% condensed secretion from her tongue. The other precious one is the “blood nest”, which contains red liquid coming out of red cliff rocks and is rich in minerals. The most common one is the “feather nest”. It contains some impurities like grass and bird’s feather. Swiftlet’s nest is very nutritious. It produces delicious soup when cooked with other ingredients.