Now moving on to more "normal foods," this Asian delicacy is made from the nest of the swiftlet bird, who instead of collecting twigs for its bed, builds it out of its own gummy saliva, which goes hard when exposed to air. Usually, they build it high up on cliff faces, which means that harvesting them is a dangerous business from which many people die each year. Whether its "rubbery taste" is worth this human sacrifice, it is up to you to find out.
In addition to their use in soup, edible bird's nests can be used as an ingredient in many other dishes. They can be cooked with rice to produce bird's nest congee or bird's nest boiled rice, or they can be added to egg tarts and other desserts. A bird's nest jelly can be made by placing the bird's nest in a ceramic container with minimal water and sugar (or salt) and double steamed. Ready-to-eat bird's nest jelly is available in jars as a commercial product.