Nourishing Bird's Nest Soup Recipe by The Fuss Free Chef

Haven't tried making one of these myself...eager to find out what's the outcome following this recipe.

Nourishing Soups and Teas - Post #1 : Bird Nest Soup

The whole family is coughing, no thanks to the haze.   Itchy throat, sniffling and phlegmy cough. I seem to have it particularly bad. At times my rib cage hurts due to the hacking cough, my head feels light, and even my eye balls feel sore (does that make sense?!)

Hubby bought a box of raw bird nest a few months ago, but i had forgotten all about it, having chucked it into the fridge. I suddenly remembered about it when i was thinking of what nourishing soups to make.

The Chinese have been cooking bird nests for over 400 years, and many firmly believed that it has significant healing properties in terms of improving asthma, minimising coughs (especially the phlegmy type) and generally strengthening overall body immune system. 

 In the last decade, bird nest prices have soared to ridiculous levels.  That is why I honestly believe there is no point in eating it outside because 1. they'd probably serve you the fake stuff, and then 2. charge you an arm and a leg for it.  Unless you eat at the really top end reputable restaurants, AND pay with both legs and arms for a teeny weeny portion.  Even then, I seriously doubt if the entire portion is the real deal (I'm the biggest sceptic).

So the next best thing is to cook it yourself.  i didn't ask hubby how much was the box of 20 pieces of dried swallow/swiftlet saliva - I don't really want to know since it's already been paid for.  I just prayed real hard that it's the real deal, and took out four pieces.  

I know that's A LOT to cook at one go, but hey, we are all sick. When is a better time than now?  And guess what, mummy is going to take double portion, because mummy has to take care of everyone so mummy can't afford to be sick :P

The dried bird nests, before soaking

The only cumbersome part about cooking this is the cleaning.  There is no way out - you will be straining and squinting your (failing) eyesight to diligently pluck out all the tiny feathers and dirt that is trapped inside the strands of the bird nests.  If you happen to have bought those that are not very clean, this will kill you.  So try to get those that are cleanest possible without breaking the bank. 

This is best taken right before you go to bed.  Warm it up before consuming. 


Bird Nest Soup, Slow Cooker Recipe
Serves 4

• 4 pieces of dried bird nest
• 3 medium or large size red dates, pitted
• 1 medium size honey date
• 1 medium size rock sugar
• 400ml water

1.  Soak the dried bird nests in tap water for about 1-2 hours, or until the layers have soften and expanded.

2.  Use a pointed tweezer to carefully pluck out the tiny feathers and dirt in between the layers.  Be careful not to press or separate the layers too much with your fingers, it could easily disintegrate.  Transfer the cleaned bird nests into another bowl with water, and repeat this process 2-3 times.  Once done, drain the bird nests using a sift and pour all into a slow cooker. 

From left, clockwise: Picture 1 - The equipment you will need: 
(A) an extra bowl to transfer the cleaned bird nests, 
(B) a cup preferably with an all white inside, so you 
can see the dirt that has been removed, 
(C) tweezer  (D) a sift to drain the cleaned 
bird nests before pouring into the slow cooker.  
Picture 2 - Get a pointed tweezer, do not get the straight line type.  
Picture 3 - the small slow cooker (good for two servings).  
The cup is to visualise the scale of the cooker.  
It is only marginally taller than a regular mug.

See the tiny feathers and dirt that has been plucked out from the bird nests.

3.  Rinse the dates and put on top the cleaned bird nest in the slow cooker.  Add in the rock sugar.  Boil the water in a separate saucepan.  Once the water is boiling, pour into the slow cooker, cover and set to High.  Once the soup is boiling, turn the heat down to Medium and let simmer for 1 hour.  Check occassionally and stir once or twice.  

From top left, clockwise: Honey date, red dates and rock sugar;  
My SIL bought me some jumbo sized red dates from Singapore, 
thanks Vanessa!;  The cleaned bird nests, see that the strands 
are still intact;  Put everything into the slow 
cooker and pour boiling water

4.  Once the time is up, taste and adjust the sweetness and consistency of the soup.  I made this pretty concentrated, so if you feel it is too thick, add some hot water in.  Do not add cool water as it would bring down the temperature of the soup.

5.  Switch off the heat and consume warm just before you go to bed. 

A pot of concentrated goodness

The gooey, gelatinuos bird nests, strands still intact. 
This is a real treat, thanks daddy for buying!

Note:  Given the weather these days,  I will be posting a series on Nourishing Soups and Teas, starting with this post.  Next post up is on Double Boiled Snow Pear with Almond Seeds and White Fungus.  Stay tuned!

Confinement Do's and Don'ts

An interesting read, posted by mummally @ 06 September 2007 10:59PM on Malaysia Brides Forum

Confinement taboos 
These traditional approaches stem from the belief that newborn babies are more easily infected by illnesses, and in the olden days of high infant mortality, it became a practice to keep both baby and mother indoors during a period of confinement. Today, many of these old beliefs are still practised in varying degrees. If you are inclined to follow suit, bear in mind that everything should be in moderation.Chinese 
The Chinese have a confinement period of 1 month. But they are also advised to restrain from sexual activities for 100 days. During this 1 month confinement period, a confinement lady is normally employed for a month to live with the family and take care of the new mother and baby.

There are 5 definite taboos during the Chinese confinement period. The new mother is not allowed to wash her hair during the entire period. The reason generally given for this is that washing your hair after delivery is believed to affect the discharge of "unclean matter" from the womb, and to cause various physical irregularities like slackened internal organs, waist pains, poor blood circulation and dark pigmentation. For this reason, many Chinese women prefer to cut their hair short before delivery. Dry shampoos are a common alternative. These are available at all leading pharmacies. Bathing is only done with Chinese herb infused hot water only. These special herbs are available at all Chinese Medical Halls.

Another big no-no is excessive sweating and coming into contact with wind. The thinking behind this is that sweating further expands the pores allowing wind to enter the weakened body. Therefore, new mothers are advised not to consume foods that are too hot, and to wipe away sweat immediately.

Reading books and watching TV are also not recommended for more than 15 minutes because the eyes are thought to age first. Similarly, crying is also not encouraged.

For up to 6 months after delivery, new Chinese mothers are advised not to carry heavy loads to avoid the further slackening of internal organs and to prevent backaches. The right way to carry your baby is to sit, carry, then stand.

Water and cold drinks are not consumed for 21 days after delivery because they are thought to have a bad effect on the metabolism, causing among other things, rheumatism. Chinese women generally drink rice wine with the alcohol evaporated and the red date water.Indian 
The Indians practice a 40 day confinement period, where they rest and recover in their mothers’ houses. Traditionally, all Indian mothers are only allowed to take herbal baths and receive a special massage with mustard oil daily. In some very traditional families, they consider the first week after delivery a period of pollution for the entire Indian family. Therefore, a ceremony may be held on the seventh day to remove the pollution.Malay 
The Malays observe the tempoh berpantang or taboo period for 44 days. Traditionally, a woman spends her confinement in her family home where she is attended by her mother and the bidan. The bidan will normally come to the house for three days to perform urut to release stress and help the body to recover quickly. During confinement, the bidan may warm the new mother’s abdomen by applying a smooth, heated stone (bertungku). This is specifically reputed to "cleanse the womb" (menaikkan rahim) to prevent illness, speed the shrinking of the uterus and therefore return a pre-pregnancy figure.Got this from the wonderful world of the internet! :)

I can tell you this much ; I did not follow any of the taboo. I bathed and washed my hair on the second day after my delivery at the hospital. I couldnt stand the sweaty skin and oily hair.Plus my MIL did the confinement for me and she's kinda modern so she didnt follow much. Just cooked me food but not those authentic confinement food more like normal dishes but add kei chi and tons of ginger. I spent the first 15 mins of each mealtime picking out the ginger bits. I didnt eat much rice but I took lots of steamed cod fish which was good for breastfeeding moms as I found that my milk supply increased. And I think she got sick cooking the same type of food everyday that towards the end she asked if I wanted McD. Lol

But I took lots of those herbs in pill forms from Eu Yan Seng and I drank plenty of soups. Its very difficult not to touch water since I took care of Ashley single handedly during my confinement. Everyone is looking at me one kind each time I told them that I bathed Ashley myself. What's wrong with that?

Anyway you can choose to follow but remember to do things in moderation 

Post Natal Diet / Confinement Diet

During pregnancy, the baby is like a parasite and will take all the nutrients that he requires from you. If your diet is sufficient in nutrients for both, it does not cause any problems. If on the other hand your diet is insufficient for both, then your recovery after the birth will take longer and if you still do not replenish your body stores during the confinement period, you may remain weak for a long time. This is probably why our elders make such a lot of fuss about eating well during the confinement period.

Wherever you are in the world, everyone will try and tell you what to eat and if possible how to eat it. The most important thing to do is follow your own body's needs. Whatever you eat, do make sure that you have a good balance of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and water in every meal.

Just remember the following pointers:

1. If you are breast feeding whatever you eat will be transferred to your baby via your breast milk therefore it is important that you eat a balanced diet so that your baby will get the right nutrients for optimum growth and development.

2. Some food does cause the baby to become 'windy' or have loose stools. If you find that your baby is suddenly quite unsettled, try and think of what you ate during the last 12 hours. Avoid that food for a few days and then try again. If the same happens again, then you should avoid that particular food for a while and re-introduce it into your diet by taking a very small amount and see how baby reacts then slowly increase the amount so that baby gets used to the food.

3. You may find that your appetite is slightly low especially during the first week. This is normal as your body is readjusting to its non-pregnant state both physically and mentally therefore it is better to have small frequent meals instead of the normal 3 big meals a day.

4. You need to drink plenty of fluids in order to make sufficient breast milk and if you are forbidden to drink water, you can get the amount of fluid from other sources such as soup.

So what should you eat?

Most Eastern cultures believe that your body is cold after delivery therefore you should avoid cooling or cold food but eat a lot of yang or ‘heaty' food to warm the body up. However, if you are normally a yang person, eating too much ‘heaty' food may cause rashes and fever. In this case it would be better to reduce the amount of ‘heaty' food and eat more neutral food. If you are normally a Yin person, you should not have any problems eating ‘heaty' food (lucky devils). The following table gives you a quick review of the types of food to eat or avoid.

Types of food to avoid

‘Cooling food' for example: banana, cabbage, cucumber, coconut and Chinese cabbage
Contribute to mother's poor blood circulation and stomach ache in the baby if you are breastfeeding. Salt as a condiment and salty foods in general are to be rejected, too, in the belief that use reduces breast milk production

‘Acidic food' for example: pineapple, mango, lemon, lime
Contribute to excessive lochia in the mother and diarrhea in the baby.

Too much ‘Heaty food' for example: chilli, pepper, spices, tonics, spirits and medicines.
Contribute to diarrhea in the baby and maternal headaches

‘Windy food' for example: jackfruit, tapioca, pumpkin, onions.
Contribute to baby being colicky and may cause indigestion for mother and baby.

Poisonous food such as prawns, shellfish, crab, eel, ginger
Delay healing of the mother's wound and may cause allergies and eczema in the baby. These foods may cause stomach upsets and vomiting

Type of food recommended

To improve milk production

Chicken, squid, clams (small varieties), fish (especially carp), millet, mutton, pork, rice wine, sea slug, soybean milk mixed with powdered walnuts, wheat cakes, wheat noodles with egg, green papaya

To provide strength to the mother so she recovers quickly from the exertion of labor.
Chicken, frog, Panax ginseng, licorice extract and razor clam

What you eat also depends on what you believe in and who cooks for you. If it is your mother or MIL you may not have many choices. I have seen women quarrelling and not talking to each other because of this issue. Try and work out a compromise which is acceptable to both parties. Use a persuasive and logical approach instead of confrontation.

Read that there are many benefits to Raspberry Leaf Tea

• It can help build up the uterine lining and prepare it for conception
• Tones the uterus to ease labour

Here's an article from babycenter.com - I've heard that raspberry leaf tea in pregnancy can help to make labour easier. If so, when should I start taking it and how much should I take?

Fish That Are Safe To Eat During Pregnancy

Some links on the types of fish to avoid and those that are best to consume during pregnancy or when trying to conceive:

1. Which fish is safe to eat during pregnancy? - The Bub Hub
2. Is it safe to eat grilled salmon while pregnant?
3. Can you have Salmon or Tilapia when you are pregnant?
4. Is it safe to eat seafood during pregnancy?