Nido Soup: El Nido, Palawan’s Best Comfort Food
If you are to travel to El Nido, Palawan, you must not leave the island without having a bowl of the famous bird’s nest soup or in short, ‘nido soup’.
This is of Oriental origin and has become popular in Palawan because of the bird specie called swiftlet that can be found in this region, a bird from which the main ingredient of the soup comes from. This selected swiftlet specie is called Aerodramus fuciphagus or in the native language, balinsasayaw.
The balinsasayaw are often found nesting in dark caves of El Nido. The nests of this bird specie are made of the male balinsasayaw’s saliva. Quite exotic. Dating back some centuries ago, Chinese herbalists found that the balinsasayaw nests are rich in potassium, iron, calcium, and magnesium. So eating the nido soup could really be benificial to your health.
Although there are ready-to-cook nido soup in convenient packs straight from the supermarket, I suppose it’s a different experience if you would witness how the nest was harvested and then you cook it yourself. That’s one-of-a-kind Palawan adventure!
Here’s how to cook the nido soup:
Let the nest softened by soaking it in cold water overnight. The next day, take off the twigs and other unnecessary particles from the softened nest. Boil it in chicken stock with cornstarch then add some ingredients like ham and egg and a dash of salt to taste.
Visit El Nido and have this balinsasayaw experience!
Tried this last year from like http://www.geocities.jp/hongkong_bird_nest/index_e.htm . Tastes really good… yeah, I thought it was gross at first, but wow, you won’t regret it.
Tried Nido soup last year from like http://www.geocities.jp/hongkong_bird_nest/index_e.htm . Tastes really good… yeah, I thought it was gross at first, but wow, you won’t regret it.
interesting post. i have tasted the soup once in a chinese restuarant, it has this fine taste. it was quite expensive though.
im from corrales, new mexico. i love this soup.
Nice information. I thought it was gross at first, but wow,