The term “Swiftlet farming” may spike confusion that it is a business of farming or domesticating swiftlet to be reared in a confined space like chickens in a chicken coop. This is far from the truth as Swiftlets cannot be domesticated.
The idea of swiftlet farming is not to actually raise these birds for sale, but for their nests, which is highly sought after especially by the Chinese.
The swiftlet nest, or commonly called bird’s nest, is a Chinese delicacy since the Tang Dynasty of China (618 – 907 A.D.). The nests are simmered with broth into bird’s nest soup.
Though we have many "farmed" bird nests ready back at home, it is unfortunate that Bird nest is in the list of US customs food restriction list. Since I can't bring our very own bird nests here, I went searching online and bought two boxes of bird nests and made it the way my mom would.
It feels much better having this sweet soup though I am far away from home.
大约10年前，俊外公在郊外的林子里建了一间高高的，四面无窗却有着几个小洞洞的建筑物。他说这是“燕屋”，等着燕子们来入住；从此踏上了养燕之路。后来的好几年，俊外公陆陆续续地和朋友们合资，又建了好几间的燕屋。有的相当成功，吸引了不少的燕子来定居，有的不算太好，燕子们都不来。
所以俊外公经常说，所谓的养燕子。其实就是给燕子们提供一个相对有吸引力的住所，剩下的，就是运气了。燕子不需要喂食，也不需要医疗照应，只要定期地给燕屋进行清理，然后定期采收燕窝即可。
家养的燕窝在质量上和野外采收的燕窝差别并不大，还很可能更人道一些。因为采收的时候只会采集燕子已经不再使用的燕窝，燕子下了蛋，孵出雏鸟喂养成年之后就会弃巢重新建立新的鸟巢，再下蛋再养幼鸟。所以业内也有个标准，就是燕窝只能采集已经被燕子弃用的鸟巢。
话说得有点远了，每次回娘家，吃的燕窝都是很夸张的一整碗熬得浓稠的粥。我怀孕的时候，俊外公最大的遗憾就是没能让我经常吃上他的燕窝。所以他来美国看我的时候，还准备了一大盒要带来给我，还好上机前被我在视频里劝阻了。燕窝和任何和鸟类有关的食品/产品都是被禁止带入美国的哦！想吃还是在美国境内买来吃吧！
Here are some pictures of harvested bird nests and cleaned bird nest. Pictures were taken during my visit back home in February this year.
以以下是俊外公收成的毛燕盏和清理干净之后的燕盏。
I bought my bird nest from https://www.goldennest.com/cn/ and is pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness and its quality.
前阵子看见“祝福是真诚的”mm写了一篇【燕窝的新吃法】-http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/cooking/1515813.html 。
我也跟风弄了些燕窝，用俊外婆平时的做法炖了盅燕窝糖水吃，算是聊以慰藉思乡的心情吧！
Ingredients：
1/2 Box/2 pieces of Dried Bird Nests
30-35 g of rock sugar (Or to taste)
4-5 Dried red dates （Cleaned）
10-12 Gingko (Remove the bitter stems)
4-5 Slices of American Ginseng Optional
材料：
1/2 盒/两片的 白燕盏/金燕盏
30-35 克 的冰糖
4-5 只 红枣 （洗净）
10-12 只白果 (去苦心）
4-5 片 泡参 可无
1. The Bird nests I bought here in USA is very clean, I can use it straight from the box by soaking it for 2-3 hours. Drained and keep aside.
2. Place red dates, gingko and American Ginseng in a Stew mug with lid and steam for 45 minutes.
3. Add Bird nests and rock sugar, continue steaming for 45-60 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
1. 美国这里卖的燕窝收拾得很干净，可以直接凉水泡发（大约2-3个小时）沥干备用。
2. 把红枣、白果和泡参放到炖盅里，加凉水两杯放到锅里炖45分钟。
3. 打开加入燕窝和冰糖，继续炖45分钟-1个小时即可。
I showed the picture of my bird nest sweet dish to my dad and he was pleased.
炖好拍照给老爸看，告诉他我在美国也吃上燕窝啦！
欢迎到我的新浪博客玩--
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