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Bird’s Nest and Foie Gras Mousse on Toast
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 15g
French Foie Gras Mousse (bottle) 100g
Macadamia nut 3
Baguette 1/2
Honey citron tea 1 1/2 tbsp
Parsley to taste
Method:
1. Soak and steam bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Cut foie gras mousse into 4 slices. Refrigerate (0-8 °C). Mix bird’s nest and honey citron tea. Divide into 4 portions.
3. Rinse and chop parsley. Crush macadamia nut. Divide into 4 portions separately. Cut baguette diagonally into 4 2-cm slices. Pan-fry in a flat-bottom pan over medium heat until both sides are golden. Take out and let cool.
4. Add foie gras, honey citron tea and bird’s nest, macadamia nut and parsley onto baguette pieces in sequence. Serve.
Tips:
The pan-fried baguette should have cooled down first or the foie gras will spew out oil and affect the texture. Europeans recognize foie gras, caviar and truffle as “World’s Top 3 Finest Foods”. However, products of foie gras are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, the amount of consuming should be aware according to personal health.
Nutrition Information:
Macadamia nut - rich in calcium, iron, vitamins, amino acids and monounsaturated fatty acids, but they are cholesterol-free. The monounsaturated fatty acids can lower the level of total serum cholesterol and is good for maintaining health of heart.
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Bird’s Nest, Honey Citron and Ice Cream on Toast
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 15g
Vanilla ice cream (cup) 90g
Macadamia nut 3
Baguette 1/2
Honey citron tea 1 1/2 tbsp
Parsley 1 stalk
Method:
1. Soak and steam bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Cut ice cream into 4 slices horizontally. Wrap in cling wrap. Freeze (-18°C or below). Mix bird’s nest and honey citron tea. Divide into 4 portions.
3. Rinse and chop parsley. Crush macadamia nut. Divide into 4 portions separately. Cut baguette diagonally into 4 2-cm slices. Pan-fry in a flat-bottom pan over medium heat until both sides are golden. Take out and let cool.
4. Add ice cream, citron honey tea and bird’s nest, macadamia nuts and parsley onto baguette pieces in sequence. Serve.
Tips:
Water will spew out from hot bird’s nest when combining with ice cream. Let the bird’s nest cooled down first before adding onto the baguette.
The pan-fried baguettes need to be cooled down first or the ice cream will melt very soon.
Nutrition Information:
Macadamia nut - rich in calcium, iron, vitamins, amino acids and monounsaturated fatty acids, but they are cholesterol-free. The monounsaturated fatty acids can lower the level of total serum cholesterol and is good for maintaining health of heart.
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Baked Oyster with Bird’s Nest and Herbs
Servings: 5
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 10g
Oyster (shell opened) 5
Onion 1/2
Unsalted butter 20g
Whipping cream 40g
Dried mixed herbs 3/4 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Ground black pepper 1/4 tsp
Bread crumbs 3 tbsp
Cheddar cheese 50g
Method:
1. Soak and steam bird’s nest. Set aside.
2. Peel and dice onion. Finely dice cheddar cheese.
3. Heat a flat-bottom pan over low heat. Melt butter. Stir-fry onion until translucent. Stir in whipping cream and dried mixed herbs. Cook until reduced half of the sauce. Add salt and black pepper. Take out and the sauce is ready.
4. Divide bird’s nest into 5 portions and add onto oysters. Pour the sauce.
5. Add cheddar cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs.
6. Preheat oven to 240°C. Bake oysters for 8 minutes. Turn to 200°C and bake for a further 6-13 minutes until golden (depends on the size of oysters). Serve.
Tips:
Do not rinse oysters with water or it will dilute the taste of sea water.
Keep the oysters balanced in the oven to prevent the sauces flowing out from the oysters. You may put folded aluminum foil underneath to balance the oysters if necessary.
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Bird’s Nest and Apple Pie
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 15g
Frozen puff pastry sheet 2 sheets
Apple 1 (approx. 180g)
Ground cinnamon 3g
Sugar 30g
Vanilla extract 1/4 tsp
Egg yolk 1
Black sesame seeds to taste
Syrup:
Sugar 10g
Hot water 10ml
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Set aside.
2. Rinse and core apple. Thinly slice.
3. Add apple slices, ground cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until apple slices are flavourful and tender. Turn off heat. Stir in bird’s nest. Divide into 8 portions.
4. Take frozen puff pastry sheets out from freezer (-18°C or below) to room temperature. Cut into 8 12-cm side length squares.
5. Add a portion of bird’s nest and apple filling on the center of a puff pastry sheet. Fold in half. Press to make patterns on the three open ends with the back of fork. Poke holes with fork on the surface.
6. Whisk egg yolk.
7. Mix sugar and hot water well to make syrup.
8. Place bird’s nest and apple pies on thick parchment paper. Put into a preheated oven and bake at 200°C for 10 minutes until puffed. Take out. Brush some whisked egg yolk. Bake for a further 4 minutes. Take out. Brush with syrup and sprinkle black sesame seeds. Bake for a further 1 minute. Serve.
Tips:
To make the pie crispy, do not brush the egg yolk before the first baking; egg yolk should be brushed when it is puffed.
Brushing syrup can make the pie crust glossy and crispy; but do not bake it for too long time or it may have a taste of burnt.
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Bird’s Nest and Mussel Soup with Puff Pastry
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 20g
Pumpkin 500g (approx. 1/2)
Mussel meat 8
Frozen puff pastry sheet 1 sheet
Chicken broth 400ml
Egg 1
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Set aside.
2. Rinse, peel and remove seeds of pumpkin. Steam for 7 minutes over high heat. Add chicken broth. Process into pumpkin soup with a blender.
3. Rinse mussel meat. Add into boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes over high heat.
4. Beat egg until the mixture does not stick to the whisk.
5. Bring pumpkin soup to a slightly boil over medium heat.
6. Prepare 4 soup cups. Add mussel meat, pumpkin soup and bird’s nest.
7. Take frozen puff pastry sheet out from freezer (-18°C or below) to room temperature. Cut into 4 pieces according to the size of the soup cups. Cover the soup cups.
8. Preheat oven to 250℃. Bake the soup for 6-8 minutes until puff pastry sheets puffed. Take out. Brush some whisked egg yolk. Bake for a further 2 minutes until golden. Serve.
Tips:
Steam pumpkin until cooked and ready to put into a blender by testing with a chopstick; it should be easy to pierce.
Do not press the centre of the puff pastry when covering the soup cups, otherwise the puff pastry will not puff; only press the edges to seal.
To make the pie crispy, do not brush the egg yolk before the first baking; egg yolk should be brushed when it is puffed.
Thickening is not necessary for this soup as pumpkin can make the soup thick. It is good to consume the soup with mixing in the puff pastry.
Nutrition Information:
Mussel – have functions of deficiency treating, essence replenishing, kidneys benefiting and body warming.
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Bird’s Nest Stuffed Squid with Teriyaki Sauce
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 30g
Frozen Hokkaido squid 4
Kobako crab stick 8
Chicken broth 50ml
Teriyaki sauce 250g
Sugar 1 tsp
Japanese seasonings for rice 5g
Potato starch mixture:
Potato starch 1 tsp
Water 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Set aside.
2. Transfer frozen squids from freezer (-18°C or below) to fridge (0-8°C). Let defrost until tender. Remove bone and the thin layer on the surface from the squid. Rinse.
3. Add squid into boiling water. Blanch for 2 minutes over high heat.
4. Rinse crab stick. Tear and mix with bird’s nest. Divide into 4 portions.
5. Stuff crab stick and bird’s nest into the squids. Pierce with toothpicks like a cross to secure the end.
6. Heat a wok over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil. Pan-fry 2 sides of the squids for 3 minutes each until golden.
7. Add chicken broth, teriyaki sauce and sugar into a saucepan. Cook until bubbles form. Turn to low heat. Stir in potato starch mixture in one direction. Turn to high heat. Cook until bubbles form again.
8. Take out the toothpicks. Pour the sauce. Sprinkle Japanese seasonings for rice. Serve.
Tips:
- Do not defrost frozen squid at room temperature or in water to prevent bacteria from growing and destroying the quality.
- Blanching squid can help setting the shape for stuffing and reducing the water content, thus to prevent oil splatter when pan-frying.
- Crab stick is imitation crab meat which is mainly made of fish.
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Coconut Sticky Rice with Bird’s Nest and Mango
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 15g
Glutinous rice 200g
Coconut milk 150ml
Sugar 40g
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pandan leaf 3
Mango 2
Deep-fried split mung bean 30g
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Set aside.
2. Rinse glutinous rice until the water is clear. Soak in water for 1 night. Drain. Rinse pandan leaves. Cut into sections. Divide into 3 portions.
3. Line steamer with a cloth. Place 2 portions of pandan leaf on the cloth. Add the soaked glutinous rice onto the leaves evenly. Steam for 20 minutes over high heat. Turn off heat.
4. Cook coconut milk, sugar, salt and the remaining pandan leaves to slightly boil over medium-low heat. Turn off heat. Take out the pandan leaves and the sauce is ready.
5. Add the sauce into the glutinous rice in 2 portions. Stir for around 7 minutes until sticky like a paste.
6. Peel and remove stone of 1 mango. Process into mango juice with a blender. Rinse another mango. Cut 2 slices of mango flesh. Cut the mango flesh to have crosswise pattern. Pop it. Set aside as decoration.
7. Add bird’s nest into a bowl. Add glutinous rice and press firmly.
8. Put a plate on the bowl. Turn over to make the rice placed on the plate. Pour the mango juice. Sprinkle deep-fried split mung beans. Add the mango decoration. Serve.
Tips:
The deep fried split mung beans can be made at home: first soak them in water for 1 hour, then drain and steam over medium heat for 6 minutes; heat a wok with oil and turn off heat, deep-fry the beans for 1-2 minutes and take out; absorb excess oil with a paper towel.
Be aware that the beans will turn more golden in colour after cooling down, so it is recommended to not deep-frying for too long time.
Steamed glutinous rice will become hard if setting aside for too long time, it is recommended to consume as soon as the dish is ready.
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Bird’s Nest and Durian Roll
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 30g
Durian flesh 300g
Wafer paper 9 pcs
Bread crumbs 100g
Egg 2
Method:
1. Soak and steam bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Mix bird’s nest and durian flesh. Divided into 6 portions.
3. Tear 3 wafer papers into halves.
4. Place a half of the wafer paper onto the bottom part of a whole wafer paper. Add bird’s nest and durian flesh onto the overlapping part.
5. Fold the bottom part of the paper then fold the left and right sides to the middle. Roll from bottom to top.
6. Beat egg until the mixture does not stick to the whisk. Place bread crumbs on a plate.
7. Dip the durian and bird’s nest rolls with beaten egg evenly and then bread crumbs.
8. Heat a wok with oil over medium heat. Add the bird’s nest and durian rolls and deep-fry until the edges are golden. Turn over and deep-fry another side for around 2 minutes until both sides are golden. Take out and drain. Serve.
Tips:
Durian flesh can be replaced with ready-to-use durian filling.
The durian rolls need to be fully covered with beaten egg otherwise the area without beaten egg will be difficult to be covered with bread crumbs and result in a non-crispy texture.
In order to make durian rolls neat and easy, it is recommended to use one hand to dip the durian rolls in beaten egg and the other hand to dip in bread crumbs.
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Vietnamese Rice Paper Roll with Bird’s Nest
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 30g
Rice paper 8 pcs
Chinese lettuce 8 leaves
Cucumber 1/2
Macadamia nut 5
Strawberry yoghurt around 100g
Pickled Vegetable:
Sugar 300g
Rice vinegar 300ml
Salt 1 tbsp
Radish 1/3
Carrot 1/3
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Mix sugar and rice vinegar.
3. Peel, rinse and julienne radish and carrot.
4. Marinate with salt for 10 minutes. Rinse again. Soak in rice vinegar for 3 hours or more to make pickled vegetables.
5. Rinse and julienne cucumbers. Crush macadamia nuts.
6. Soak rice paper in water until soft and translucent.
7. Take out soaked rice paper and place on a surface. Add Chinese lettuce, bird’s nest and cucumber. Sprinkle crushed macadamia nuts.
8. Fold the left and right sides of the rice paper to the middle. Roll from bottom to top. Repeat steps to make 8 salad rolls. Dish up. Serve with strawberry yoghurt and pickled vegetables. Serve.
Tips:
- The taste of rice vinegar is mellow and which is widely used in Vietnamese dishes. Rice vinegar with high quality is a bit yellow in colour and not transparent.
- Washing out the excess salt after marinating can ensure the radish and carrot will not be too salty.
- Roll the rice paper with ingredients once it is softened, otherwise it will be easily broken. After taking out a soaked rice paper, it is recommended to soak another one before rolling the soaked one with ingredients. Place a wet cloth underneath when making a roll to prevent the rice paper from sticking to the chopping board.
Nutrition Information:
Macadamia nut - rich in calcium, iron, vitamins, amino acids and monounsaturated fatty acids, but they are cholesterol-free. The monounsaturated fatty acids can lower the level of total serum cholesterol and is good for maintaining health of heart.
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Thai Green Papaya Salad with Bird’s Nest and Shrimp
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 30g
Shrimp 4
Green papaya 1/2
Cucumber 1/2
Thai sweet chili sauce 200g
Pickled Vegetable:
Sugar 300g
Rice vinegar 300ml
Salt 1 tbsp
Radish 1/2
Carrot 1/2
Method:
1. Soak and double boil bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Mix sugar and rice vinegar.
3. Peel, rinse and julienne radish and carrot. Marinate with salt for 10 minutes. Rinse again. Soak in rice vinegar for 3 hours or more to make pickled vegetables.
4. Rinse shrimps. Add into boiling water and blanch over high heat until cooked. Take out. Shell and devein. Half-cut along the back of shrimp. Retain the head and tail of shrimp.
5. Peel and remove seeds of green papaya, rinse and julienne. Rinse and julienne cucumber.
6. Mix green papaya, cucumber and pickled vegetables. Add shrimps. Pour Thai sweet chili sauce. Add bird’s nest. Stir well before consuming. Serve.
Tips:
The taste of rice vinegar is mellow and which is widely used in Vietnamese dishes. Rice vinegar with high quality is a bit yellow in colour and not transparent.
Washing out the excess salt after marinating can ensure the radish and carrot will not be too salty.
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Bird’s Nest, Purple Sweet Potato and Coconut Jelly
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 30g
Purple sweet potato 300g
Gelatin powder 55g
Water 800ml
Milk 650ml
Coconut milk 400ml
Dark brown sugar to taste
Method:
1. Soak and steam (soak in water) bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Rinse purple sweet potatoes. Steam for around 20 minutes over medium-high heat. Take out and peel. Cut into pieces.
3. Process purple sweet potatoes and 650ml of water into purple sweet potato juice with a blender.
4. Bring purple sweet potato juice to a boil over medium heat. Mix gelatin powder with 150ml of water. Stir in the gelatin solution to the purple sweet potato juice. Bring to a boil again and turn off heat. Let cool.
5. Add milk and coconut milk into the purple sweet potato juice to make purple sweet potato mixture.
6. Add bird’s nest into the moulds evenly. Pour in purple sweet potato mixture to the moulds. Refrigerate (0-8°C) for 4 hours. Dip with dark brown sugar while consuming. Serve.
Tips:
- Gelatin powder will set in a short time after adding in water; thus it needs to be added into the purple sweet potato juice as soon as it is mixed.
- After boiling the mixture of gelatin solution and sweet potato juice, it needs to be cooled down first before adding in milk and coconut milk; otherwise two layers will be formed and they cannot be mixed together.
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Bird’s Nest and Pomelo Jelly
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest 20g
Pomelo 2
Sugar 75g
Gelatin powder 20g
Water 50ml
Method:
1. Soak and steam (soak in water) bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Cut off the top of pomelos. Cut along the edge of the flesh with knife. Spoon out the flesh to make a pomelo bowl.
3. Remove seeds from the pomelo flesh. Process into pomelo juice with a blender.
4. Bring pomelo juice to a boil over medium heat. Stir in sugar. Mix gelatin powder with water to make gelatin solution. Stir in the gelatin solution to the pomelo juice. Bring to a boil again and turn off heat. Let cool.
5. Add bird’s nest into the pomelo bowl.
6. Pour in pomelo gelatin solution to the pomelo bowl. Stir well. Refrigerate (0-8°C) for 4 hours. Serve.
Tips:
Avoid spooning out the pomelo flesh too close to the rind, leave some fleshes stay with the rind can give a better presentation.
Gelatin powder will set in a short time after adding in water; thus it needs to be added into the pomelo juice as soon as it is mixed.
After pouring the pomelo gelatin solution into the bowl, it will be absorbed gradually; refill more juices after a while until it is fully filled, chill in refrigerator afterwards.
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Bird’s Nest Mizu Shingen Mochi
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Bird’s nest (yellow bird’s nest) 5g
Kanten powder 62 1/2g
Dried rose bud 13g
Water 325g
Method:
1. Soak and steam (soak in water) bird’s nest. Let cool and set aside.
2. Rinse dried rose buds.
3. Add 10g of dried rose buds into hot water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn off heat. Cover with lid and let stand for 5 minutes. Take out the rose buds. Set the rose tea aside.
4. Remove stem and seeds of the remaining 3g of dried rose buds. Tear off the petals.
5. Bring the rose tea to a boil over medium heat. Stir in kanten powder to make jelly solution. Bring to a boil again and turn off heat. Stir in rose pedals.
6. Add bird’s nest into the moulds evenly. Cover with lid. Pour in the jelly solution with a funnel. Let cool. Refrigerate (0-8°C) for 8 hours or more. Serve.
Tips:
The amount of ingredients is crucial to make mizu shingen mochi. It is recommended to use a scale to measure the amount of all the ingredients first (including water) for successfully making mizu shingen mochi.
Kanten powder can be bought at large supermarket.
Use yellow bird’s nest to make the bird’s nest visually more obvious inside the mizu shingen mochi. If any rose petal stays in the funnel when pouring the jelly solution into the moulds, a chopstick can be used to move the petals.
Nutrition Information:
Dried rose - have functions of blood and qi activating, liver soothing, depression relieving, blood harmonizing, and bruise healing. It can promote metabolism, blood and breathe harmonizing and beauty benefiting.