About Edible Bird Nest - Edible Bird Nest's History

The first person to taste Edible Bird Nest

PictureIt has been said in the “Bai Shi Tong” that there was a person in Java , Indonesia by the name of Sato Nurod who saw swiftlets flying to limestone caves on mountains near the sea. His curiosity got the better of him and he decided to venture into the limestone caves. There were many beautiful Edible Bird Nests inside and he removed a few and took them home. At first, he thought it was jus fun but he decided to test for its taste. He cooked a few pieces of the Edible Bird Nest and found them to be tasty. News spread and the local people went to collect Edible Bird Nest from the limestone caves. After long periods of consumption, everyone felt healthy and energetic and that was when they realized Edible Bird Nest is a treasure. From then on, the tradition of Edible Bird Nest as a nutritional product was popularized. This may be just a legend and since it was ages ago, there was no way to prove its authenticity. The earliest tax on Edible Bird Nest was recorded during the Ming Dynasty in 1589 where “superior grade Edible Bird Nest was taxed 1 tael of silver for every 100 katis, medium grade at 0.7 tael of silver and low grade at 0.2 tael of silver.” It can thus be seen that trading in Edible Bird Nest was very mature at that time.

About Edible Bird Nest - Edible Bird Nest's History

Historical records showed that when Admiral Zheng He sailed south (1405-1433 AD), at a time when barter trade was carried out between Chinese fleets and South East Asian countries, ceramics from the Tang Dynasty were traded for Edible Bird Nest from the people of Borneo (consisting of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia). These were brought as tributes to the emperor and since then, Edible Bird Nest was regarded as a precious nutritional supplement.
Zheng He visited the coastal regions of Malaysia , Indonesia and Thailand which are chief production places of Edible Bird Nest. It has been recorded that some 125,000 pounds of Edible Bird Nest consisting of some 4 million pieces were exported from Batavia , Java (now known as Jakarta ) to China after the 17 th century. This coincided with the seven voyages down south of Zheng He.
The following is a legend on how Zheng He discovered Edible Bird Nest: There was once Zheng He's fleet was caught in a thunderstorm on one of his trips down south. He floated to a deserted island in the Malay Archipelago . When there was a shortage of food, some of the sailors accidentally discovered there were swiftlet nests on the cliffs. Zheng He ordered his subordinates to take the Edible Bird Nests, cleanse them and stew as food. Several days later, everyone of his crew looked healthy and was full of energy. Upon returning home, Zheng He presented the Edible Bird Nest to the Emperor. From then on, Edible Bird Nest became an item used as tribute to the Emperor and court officials. The practice of using Edible Bird Nest for beauty purposes also became popular in the royal courts.

The earliest Chinese to discover Edible Bird Nest:

The “Sarawak Records”: When Ye Zhen Hua and Wang San Shu of Kuching reached Miri in Sarawak , they discovered a swiftlet cave. At that time, whoever discovers any swiftlet cave can have it as his personal property.

The earliest medical records on Edible Bird Nest:

“Ben Jing Feng Yuan”: Written by Zhang Lu Cheng in 1659. It has been recorded that “Edible Bird Nest is sweet and mild. It promotes the constructive combination between metal and water, the lungs nourishes the kidneys, while it also calms down the stomach, making it an excellent food.”

The earliest record on Edible Bird Nest in medical books:

“Medical Dictionary of China” was published by Xie Guan in 1921. It has been recorded that Edible Bird Nest is used for revitalizing qi, balancing qi, nourishing the lungs, improving appetite, dissolving phlegm, stopping cough, increasing sperm, nourishing bone marrow and as an aphrodisiac.”

The earliest poetry on Edible Bird Nest:

“Wu Mei Cun Poetry Collection”: End of the Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. Wu Wei Ye (1609-1671) wrote: The sea swiftlets are homeless, they fight for tiny white fishes. They provide food for humans, but they can never settle down. The taste is delicious but their nests are soon empty. Officials look for things afar and they present their books early.”

The classic literature which described Edible Bird Nest most:

“Dream of the Red Chamber”: In the diet of Da Guan Yuan in the Dream of the Red Chamber, the word “Edible Bird Nest” appeared 17 times. There is a passage which sounded, “Dai Yu is weak and replenishment of superior nutrients is not recommended. The most suitable nutritional replenishment recommended was Edible Bird Nest. For Qin Ke Qing who suffers from both weakness of the blood and qi and Jia Bao Yu who is mentally down and weak, Edible Bird Nest is the perfect medicine for them. In Chapter 45 of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Bao Chai said, “I saw your prescription yesterday and found that there is too much of Ginseng and Cinnamon. Although these herbs replenish both qi and mental energy, they are too heaty. I would suggest that the liver be calmed down and nourishment be given to the stomach first. When the heat in the liver is gone, the gas in the stomach will also disappear. Health can be maintained by just taking in food. Take one tael of Edible Bird Nest upon waking up each morning, added with half a tael of rock sugar and boiled into porridge. Taking it on a regular basis, it possesses strong effects and is best for replenishing qi.” This clearly showed that Edible Bird Nest has been utilized in Chinese food since a long time ago. It also showed that Edible Bird Nest possess the ability to calm down the liver and nourish the stomach while replenishing qi.

The earliest magazine with knowledge of Edible Bird Nest:

The “Oriental Magazine”: Page 15 of the 8 th edition published in 1918 (Talk on Edible Bird Nest)

Words from the earliest Edible Bird Nest trader:

“Dong Xi Yang Kao Monthly”: 1833

The largest import location of Edible Bird Nest in the world:

TRAFFIC Report: Hong Kong . 1986 – 145.5 tonnes, 1988 – 148.4 tonnes, 1989 – 138.4 tonnes, 1990 – 137.6 tonnes, 1991 – 124.1 tonnes.

The longest living man who took Edible Bird Nest:

“San Lian Sheng Huo Zhou Kan ”: Madam Song Mei Ling, aged 106 years. “She took a small bowl of Edible Bird Nest with rock sugar everyday.”

The youngest person consuming Edible Bird Nest:

“Lian He Zao Bao”: Babies above 4 months may take Edible Bird Nest. “Many pregnant women in Singapore take it, and many fetus have been “enjoying” the nutrition from Edible Bird Nest for many months in their mother's womb.”

The group which are most familiar with taking Edible Bird Nest as a supplement:

Hong Kong movie stars and singers performing take Edible Bird Nest as their only food before concerts.

The largest flock of Collocalia ciphaga swiftlets:

Britannica encyclopedia: 1 million swiftlets.

The earliest swift house:

National Geographic of China : Built in 1880 in the final year of the 54 th East India Resident, J. W. van Lansberge, coinciding with the 10 th year of Xian Feng during the Qing Dynasty.

Premium Edible Bird Nest could fetch $21,660 per kg

PETALING JAYA - Retail prices for premium-grade Edible Bird Nests could go as high as 100,000 yuan (RM66,625 or S$21,660) per kg in China.

The item is listed on a price guide on Edible Bird Nests by Beijing Tong­rentang, a 300-year-old pharmaceutical company in China.

Premium Edible Bird Nests fetch around 40,000 yuan (RM26,648) to 100,000 yuan for every kg while the standard variety costs between 20,000 yuan (RM13,318) and 40,000 yuan.

The Federation of Malaysia Edible Bird Nest Industry Merchant Asso­ciations president Datuk Lee Kong Heng confirmed that processed Edible Bird Nests in Guangzhou, inclusive of tax, fetched between 17,000 yuan (RM11,306) and 23,000 yuan (RM15,297).

"These are for those with proper export documentation," he said.

Currently, only processed Edible Bird Nests can be exported to China via 16 companies approved by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China.

Raw unprocessed Edible Bird Nests are not allowed into China, in line with a ban imposed in 2011, and are sold to local processing establishments for between RM2,500 and RM3,000 at present.

However, sources reveal that China's black market for raw nests could fetch a higher price.

The Prime Minister's Special Envoy to China Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting said both the Malaysian and the Chinese governments were keen to see the ban lifted.

"Both sides are working at the final stage of approval for the export of raw unprocessed Edible Bird Nests to China," he said, without giving a date.

Ong, who was involved in the mediation, said he expected the price of unprocessed nests to rise further once the agreement was ironed out.

He believed that the Chinese nationals' purchasing power held much promise for the industry.

Ong pointed out that the ban was a lesson to be learnt, urging industry players to adhere to a higher level of professionalism.