Bird's Nest Soup

The best-known use of edible birds nest is bird's nest soup, a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. When dissolved in water, the birds' nests have a gelatinous texture used for soup or sweet soup (tong sui). It is mostly referred to as 燕窝 (yànwō) unless references are made to the savoury or sweet soup in Chinese cuisine. According to the Qing Dynasty manual of gastronomy, the Suiyuan shidan, bird's nest was regarded as a delicate ingredient not to be flavoured or cooked with anything overpowering or oily. And while it is precious, it must also be served in relatively large quantities otherwise its texture cannot be fully experienced and enjoyed.

In addition to their use in soup, edible bird's nests can be used as an ingredient in other dishes. They can be cooked with rice to produce bird's nest congee or bird's nest boiled rice, or they can be added to egg tarts and other desserts. A bird's nest jelly can be made by placing the bird's nest in a ceramic container with minimal water and sugar (or salt) and double steamed.