Bird’s nest is a famous food known for its nutritional content and can be prepared into many delicious and nutritious dishes. Among them, bird’s nest porridge is very popular. Let’s cook with TasteVN to explore 2 recipes for bird’s nest porridge for the whole family to enjoy!
1. Bird’s Nest Porridge with Chicken
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Bird’s Nest Porridge with Chicken Serves 4
Rice 1/2 cup (about 80gr) Bird’s nest 10 gr Chicken breast bones 500 gr Chicken thigh meat 500 gr Carrot 1 piece Green onions 10 stalks Cilantro 2 sprigs Dried shiitake mushrooms 5 pieces Garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (salt/ pepper/ sugar/ seasoning powder)
How to choose fresh and delicious ingredients
How to choose fresh and delicious chicken meat
- Good chicken will have a characteristic shiny yellow skin, a thin outer layer that feels smooth to the touch, and has good elasticity.
- The meat inside should have a natural pinkish-red color, not too light or too dark, and should not have any bruises or clotted blood.
- Avoid buying chicken meat that is slightly pale or has turned darker gray, as these are chickens that died before being processed.
How to choose delicious shiitake mushrooms
For this dish, you can use either fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms!
For dried shiitake mushrooms
- You should choose mushrooms that are not broken and have a light brown cap (basically, there shouldn’t be much change in color when the mushrooms are dried).
- Pay attention to the scent, ensuring it is not musty or has any strange odors, and that there are no white mold spots on the mushrooms.
For fresh shiitake mushrooms
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms look like an umbrella, and should not be bruised. You should choose mushrooms that are of moderate size, with short stems, tightly closed caps, and a slightly yellowish-brown color.
- Avoid choosing caps that are dark brown as they may be toxic; however, you should also be flexible in your selection because typically, cooked shiitake mushrooms will also turn dark brown.
- Pay attention to the characteristic, natural aroma of the mushrooms.
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- It is advisable to choose carrots of moderate size, not too large, with a slender shape, and feel firm when held.
- Fresh carrots have a bright and deep orange color, with smooth skin, not rough, and the green tops are still tightly attached to the body without separating.
- Limit choosing carrots with wilted or bruised tops, feel slimy when touched, mushy flesh, and many dark spots on the surface, as these are old carrots that can affect health.
- Typically, larger carrots are not as tasty as smaller ones because they are older, have more fiber, and very few nutrients.
Tools needed
Clay pot, blender, cutting board, spoon, chopsticks,…
How to Make Chicken and Bird’s Nest Porridge
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Prepare the Chicken
For the chicken thighs you bought, use a knife to remove the outer skin.
Then soak the chicken thighs in diluted salt water for 15 minutes, rinse 2 – 3 more times with water, and let them drain.
How to prepare and eliminate the odor from chicken- To prevent the chicken from smelling, you need to remove all the feathers, including the fine down feathers, to make the chicken white, clean, and less odorous.
- Mix vinegar and salt in a ratio of 2 salt to 1 vinegar and rub it all over the chicken, scrubbing multiple times, then rinse thoroughly with clean water or rub lemon and salt on the chicken skin, or use a bit of ginger and white wine to rub on the chicken to eliminate the odor.
See details: How to clean chicken, no odor
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Simmer the Chicken Broth
For the chicken breast bones, wash them clean with water, then put them in a pot with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1.5 liters of water, and 5 bunches of green onions tied together.
Place the pot on the stove and cook on high heat until it boils, using a ladle to skim off the foam, then lower the heat and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes for the chicken to release its flavor.
Next, add the skinned chicken thighs and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Then, remove the chicken thighs, let them cool, and shred the meat. Strain the broth through a sieve to remove any remaining bones and green onions.
Tip: To save time simmering the broth, you can use canned chicken broth sold at supermarkets and grocery stores,…
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Preparing other ingredients
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl with warm water for about 7 – 10 minutes until they expand, then cut off the stems and rinse them clean, chopping them into small pieces.
Chop the green onions and cilantro after washing them. Peel the carrot, wash it, and dice it finely.
Soak the bird’s nest in a bowl with cold water for 20 minutes to soften. Then, use your hands or a fork to separate it into strands, strain it through a sieve, and let it drain.
How to quickly soak dried shiitake mushrooms
- Method 1 (soaking): You can soak the mushrooms in water for 1 – 2 hours and then rinse with clean water. To make them expand quickly, soak them in warm water at 60 – 80 degrees Celsius for 7 – 10 minutes.
- Method 2 (boiling mushrooms): Wash the mushrooms with clean water and then boil them in hot water for 3 – 5 minutes.
See details: How to properly prepare shiitake mushrooms
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Grind the ingredients
Add the shiitake mushrooms and diced carrots into the blender, cover it, and turn on the switch to blend for about 10 seconds until the ingredients are smaller.
Then, open the lid and season the ground ingredients with 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Close the lid again and turn on the switch to blend for another 5 seconds until the ingredients are well mixed with the spices.
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Cook the porridge
Add 1/2 cup of rice to a basin and rinse it with 2 times the water until clean. Then put the rice into a clay pot, add the chicken broth, and cover it.
Place the pot on the stove and boil it over high heat, then open the lid to add the ground shiitake mushrooms and carrots.
Season with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and stir well, then continue to cook over medium heat until the porridge is soft, taste and adjust seasoning, then turn off the heat.
Remove the pot of porridge from the heat, add shredded chicken, chopped green onions, and cilantro, and top with the bird’s nest to complete.
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Final product
Chicken bird’s nest porridge fragrant with green onion, cilantro, and shiitake mushrooms, seasoned perfectly.
Chicken is tender and sweet, carrots and shiitake mushrooms are soft, along with chewy bird’s nest strands, making it very delicious and nutritious.
2. Bird’s Nest Porridge with Minced Meat
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty Level
Easy
Ingredients for Bird’s Nest Porridge with Minced Meat For 2 people
White porridge 1 bowl (rice bowl type) Minced meat 30 gr Bird’s nest 5 gr Cabbage 1 sprig Olive oil 1 teaspoon Minced garlic 1 teaspoon Fish sauce 1/3 teaspoon Salt 1/5 teaspoon
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh minced meat
- Choose meat that has a bright pink color, a dry membrane, a slightly firm surface, and tender meat fibers.
- When pressed, the meat should bounce back, be dry, and not slimy.
- You can buy pre-minced pork from the market and then prepare it, but it will be difficult to check the meat quality.
- It is best to buy whole pork pieces and grind them yourself using a meat grinder to ensure safety and quality when using.
- You can buy pre-minced meat or buy whole pork pieces to mince or grind using a meat grinder.
How to choose fresh vegetables
- Choose cabbage with bright green color, smooth leaves, no dark spots, decay, wilting, or yellowing leaves.
- Additionally, when buying, you should pick up the cabbage. If it feels heavy for its size, then this is the freshest cabbage.
- Do not choose large cabbage with light weight, as these are often old cabbage that has been stored for a long time.
- For this porridge dish, you can use any type of cabbage according to your preference, such as: sweet cabbage, green stalk cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, spinach…
How to prepare Bird’s Nest Porridge with minced meat
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Prepare the ingredients
Add 5g of bird’s nest to a bowl and soak it in 200ml of water for 2 hours to soften the nest. Then, shred it into small pieces and strain through a sieve to remove the soaking water.
Next, place the bird’s nest in a pot and steam it for 20 minutes until cooked.
Wash the vegetables and chop them finely.
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Stir-fry minced meat
Place a pot on the stove, turn on medium heat, add 1 spoon of olive oil, then add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
After that, add the minced meat and stir-fry until the meat is firm and cooked. Turn off the heat and scoop the meat into a bowl.
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Cooking porridge
Put 1 bowl of white porridge into the pot, add a moderate amount of water so that the porridge is not too watery or too thick.
Turn on the stove over medium heat, bring the porridge to a boil, then add the sautéed minced meat and stir well.
Season the porridge with 1/3 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1/5 teaspoon of salt, add chopped vegetables and stir well so that the porridge boils for 1 minute to cook the vegetables.
Adjust the seasoning to taste, turn off the heat, scoop the porridge into a bowl and add the steamed bird’s nest to complete the dish.
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Final product
Minced meat bird’s nest porridge has a sweet taste from the meat and vegetables, with soft and chewy bird’s nest strands, and is well-seasoned, making it very suitable for small children and patients who need to recover their health.
You should enjoy the porridge while it is still warm to enhance the flavor and nutritional value of this dish!
How to choose good bird’s nest
- Select bird’s nests with thin edges, thick bases, and strands that are closely connected to form multiple layers, with a fishy smell of bird saliva.
- It is advisable to choose bird’s nests that are 8 – 10 cm in size, with an average weight ranging from 3.5 – 12 grams. If the weight is over 12 grams, it may be a fake nest or one that has been mixed with many compounds to increase weight.
- You should buy from bird breeding facilities or reputable bird’s nest supply stores to ensure quality and hygiene.
Notes when cooking bird’s nest porridge
- Do not cook porridge at high temperatures as it will lose some of the nutritional value of the bird’s nest.
- Do not steam the bird’s nest for too long as it may make the nest mushy and lose its distinctive flavor.
It’s really simple to make 2 nutritious and delicious bird’s nest porridge, right? Let’s cook with TasteVN right away!
*Refer to images and recipes from 2 YouTube channels: Huy Phụ Bếp and Home Cooking
