What is Yan Wo?

Yan Wo, which is also called
Edible bird's nest, the name of traditional Chinese medicine. The nest is built by the coagulation of the saliva and down feathers of the swiftlet
Collocalia esculenta Linnaeus of the Swift family. The complete Yan Wo is irregular half-moon or boat-shaped, often sunken into a pocket, 6-10cm long, 3-5cm wide; the surface is yellowish white or grayish white, one side attached to the rock is relatively flat, the other side is slightly raised, and the interior of the nest is rough, Like silk claws, tiny feathers can be seen under a magnifying glass. The quality is hard and brittle, the cross-section is fine and smooth, showing horny luster. After soaking in water, it is soft and swells, crystal clear and transparent, and elastic under light pressure. The gas is slightly fishy, the taste is slightly salty, and it has a sticky feeling when chewed.
Edible bird's nest
Edible bird's nest is rich in sugars, organic acids, free amino acids and characteristic substances - sialic acid. The main nutrient in Yan Wo is protein, which has 1 essential amino acid (lysine) and 3 conditional essential amino acids. Bird's nest has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing qi and invigorating the middle, reducing phlegm and relieving cough. It is often used for nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing qi and invigorating the middle, reducing phlegm and relieving cough.
Types of Yan Wo
Guan Yan
The first-stage bird's nest with a complete cup shape and few impurities is usually called " Guan Yan " or "Gong Yan ". This kind of bird's nest is the most nutritious, with few impurities and good taste. There is also a traditional way of calling it, that is, the first-stage high-quality white swallow is called official swallow.
Mao Yan
Mao Yan is used to building nests with feathers mixed with saliva, so Mao Yan is a bird's nest containing more bird feathers, or a second-stage or third-stage bird's nest. The nutritional content is not as good as that of official swallow, and there are many impurities, which are difficult to handle.
Grass Yan
Grass Yan likes to build nests with weeds mixed with saliva, so Grass Yan contains a lot of impurities, the color is darker, the transparency is poor when viewed under the light, and the water absorption is weak.
Formation environment of Yan Wo

Yanwo is a nest of a bird which is called "golden swiftlet". Golden swiftlet uses moss, seaweed and soft plant fibers to mix its feathers and saliva to cement the bird's nest as a hiding place. People take this kind of bird's nest, and after refining and selection, it becomes a precious bird's nest.
The main origin of Yanwo is from the Philippines in the east to the caves on the deserted islands near the coast of Myanmar. Most of them are in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sandakan, Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian waters, as well as the South my country Sea Islands. Among them, Indonesia is the most suitable for swallows to live in due to its weather and environment. Therefore, the quality of Indonesian bird's nest is the best, and the production of Indonesian bird's nest is also the largest, followed by Malaysia.
Processing methods of Yan Wo
Collection and processing
Harvest in February, April and August.
Processing method
Bai Yan
Swiftlets lay eggs in April every year. Before laying eggs, they must build new nests. At this time, the mucous glands in their throats are very developed. The nests they build are made of solidified mucus and are white and clean. They are called " Bai Yan ".
Mao Yan
If the nest built for the first time is taken away, swiftlets will immediately build a second nest, often with some down feathers, and the color is darker, which is called " Mao Yan".
Xue Yan
Sometimes blood can also be seen, known as " Xue Yan."
Yan Wo TCM

Medicine part
A nest formed by the condensation of saliva and down feathers.
Taste
Sweet in the mouth, flat in nature.
Tropism
Return lung, stomach, kidney channel.
Effect
Nourishing yin and moistening dryness, replenishing qi and invigorating the middle, resolving phlegm and relieving cough.
Attending
Prolonged illness and weakness, pulmonary tuberculosis cough, phlegm and dyspnea, hemoptysis, hematemesis, chronic dysentery, chronic malaria, choking and nausea, physical weakness and nocturnal emission, frequent urination.
Related compatibility
1. Treat body deficiency and spontaneous sweating: Astragalus 20g, bird's nest 5g. Decoction, 2 times a day. ("Chinese Animal Medicine")
2. To treat cough due to consumptive fatigue: two qian of Adenophora, three qian of bird’s nest, and five qian of lily. A total of stewed bad food. ("I Don't Know the Necessity of Medicine")
3. Treatment of physical deficiency and nocturnal emission: 10g of native bird's nest, 10g of lotus meat, 10g of Gorgon fruit, 15g of rehmannia glutinosa, and 15g of sealwort. Steam the native bird's nest, and then take the four-flavored decoction, and take it every night before going to bed. ("Chinese Animal Medicine")
Dosage
Oral administration: wrapped in silk, decocted or steamed, 5-10g; or made into ointment.
Caution
Take it with caution for those with stagnant damp phlegm and external evils.
Related discussion
1. On bird's nest as the holy medicine for invigorating deficiency and treating tuberculosis: Wu Yiluo: "Bird's nest can nourish lung yin, reduce phlegm and relieve cough, nourish and clear it, and it is a holy medicine for regulating deficiency and tuberculosis. All diseases are caused by lung deficiency and cannot be cleared. Anyone who goes downhill can be cured with this." ("Materia Medica Congxin")
2. On clearing and nourishing bird's nest, avoid frying it with chicken juice and rock sugar: Zhao Xuemin: ""Congxin" says: (bird's nest), people today use it to cook porridge, or cook it with chicken juice. Its nature, how can it be phlegm? If it is fried with rock sugar, it will be suffocating, how can it help the lung and gold to clear up and go down?" ("Compendium Supplements")
3. "Materia Medica Congxin": "(Bird's nest) can be used as a decoction, and it needs to be used for a long time. The color like brown rice is the best. Bird's nest feet (red and purple in color, named blood swallow), have similar functions...false Bird's nests are borderless and hairless (or with slightly bordered hairs, both of which are false), and white in color (some are as white as silver threads)."
Yan Wo benefits
Nourishing yin and moistening dryness
Yan Wo is sweet and flat in nature and taste, and enters the lung and stomach meridians. It has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening dryness. It has a good curative effect on patients with yin deficiency and internal dryness, lung dryness and qi deficiency.
Replenishing qi and invigorating the middle
Yan Wo is sweet and flat in nature, and enters the stomach meridian. It has a good effect on patients with spleen and stomach qi deficiency, weak qi, chronic dysentery, chronic malaria, choking and nausea, and also has a good effect of nourishing qi and nourishing the middle.
Resolving phlegm and relieving cough
Yan Wo enters the lung meridian, and can also be used to treat cough, phlegm and asthma, and has a certain effect of reducing phlegm and relieving cough.
Yan Wo side effects
Allergic reaction
Usually, Yan Wo has a nourishing effect, but due to individual differences, it is not ruled out that after contact with bird's nest, symptoms of allergic reactions may occur, causing skin itching, erythema pain, etc.
Digestive diseases
A small number of people have symptoms of diarrhea after eating Yan Wo, which is generally considered to be related to their own gastrointestinal disorders. If the diarrhea is more serious, it can be treated by taking montmorillonite powder, omeprazole enteric-coated tablets and other drugs.
Increased inflammation
Bacteria may grow in Yan Wo, and after eating bird's nest, it may lead to bacterial inflammation and infection, or aggravate the existing inflammation.
How to take Yan Wo?

Decoction
Take about 50 grams of Yan Wo, appropriate amount of rock sugar, soak the bird's nest in water for about 4 hours, put it in a pot after swelling, add rock sugar to melt, boil for a few minutes, filter out impurities, and eat.
Snow Pear Yan Wo with Rock Sugar
Ingredients: 3-5g of dried Yan Wo, 1 Snow pear, appropriate amount of rock sugar.
Stew the bird's nest in water for 30 minutes, then add Sydney pear and rock sugar. Sydney has the effect of reducing phlegm, relieving cough, moistening the lungs and nourishing the stomach. Sydney bird's nest with rock sugar is good for nourishing yin and moistening dryness, moistening lung and relieving cough.
Yan Wo with Red Dates and Goji Berry
Ingredients: 3-5g of dried Yan Wo, 3 red dates, 10 wolfberries, and an appropriate amount of rock sugar.
Stew the bird's nest in water for 15 minutes, then add red dates and wolfberries, and cook for another 15 minutes. Red dates have the effects of nourishing blood and Qi, nourishing the lungs and promoting body fluid, and wolfberry can nourish the kidneys, improve eyesight and relieve fatigue. Red dates and wolfberry can protect the liver. Bird's nest with red dates and wolfberry is very suitable for office workers who are usually stressed and have irregular work and rest.
Strawberry Milk Yan Wo
Moisturizing the lungs and clearing the intestines, digestion and hangover Ingredients: 3-5g of dried Yan Wo, 3 strawberries, 100ml of milk.
Stew the bird's nest in water for 30 minutes, then add strawberries and milk, stir well and serve immediately. Strawberry whitens and removes freckles, milk supplements calcium to help sleep. Strawberry Milk Bird's Nest is very suitable for women who are looking for whitening and anti-freckle effects and children who love sweets.
Honey Grapefruit Yan Wo
Ingredients: 3-5g of dried Yan Wo, a small piece of pomelo, and two spoons of honey.
Stew the bird's nest in water for 30 minutes, then add grapefruit and honey. Honey clears heat and relieves fire, grapefruit is high in vitamin content, helps to relieve food and hangover, and honey grapefruit bird's nest can moisten the lungs and clear the intestines, nourish blood and strengthen the spleen, and treat symptoms of indigestion.
Yan Wo with Tremella and Lotus Seeds
Nourishing stomach, prolonging life ingredients: 3-5g dried Yan Wo, two white tremellas, 10 lotus seeds.
Stew the bird's nest and water for 30 minutes, and stew the white fungus and lotus seeds for about 20 minutes. Tremella nourishes qi and clears the intestines, nourishes yin and moistens the lungs. Tremella lotus seed bird's nest clears heat and invigorates the stomach, beautifies the skin, and is very suitable for summer heat dissipation.
Porridge
Yan Wo Porridge
Ingredients: 3-5g of dried Yan Wo, 50g of rice.
After the bird's nest is stewed in water, add it to the porridge and stir well before eating. Porridge has always been regarded as a good food for health and stomach. Bird’s nest porridge can be mixed with various ingredients, which can not only increase the taste but also enhance the nourishing effect.
How to choose Yan Wo?
Look
The middle of Yan Wo is a filamentous structure, and the corners of the bird's nest are a sheet-like structure. Pure bird's nest is not completely transparent, but translucent, whether it is soaked or viewed under the light.
Smell
Yan Wo has a unique fragrance, similar to lime, but without a strong smell.
Touch
Take a small piece of Yan Wo and soak it in water. After it becomes soft, pull it with silk strips. If it is poor in elasticity, it will break when pulled. It is a chemically processed product. Knead with your fingers, if there is no elasticity and can be kneaded into a paste, it is also a chemically processed product.
How to buy Yan Wo?
Native Chinese supply factory sale
Yan Wo, if you are interested in
Yanwo,
Cubilose &
Edible bird's nest, please fill below form, we will contact you within 24 hours.