Bird's Nest Soup

Term Paper # 100264

Asian Studies > East Asian Cultures
Nutrition > Food

Bird's Nest Soup

This paper looks at the Chinese bird's nest soup as a cultural food and tradition.

1,578 words () | 8 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper demonstrates how bird's nest soup provides a glimpse into Chinese and South Asian cultures. The paper discusses how bird's nest soup is a status symbol, associated with special occasions. The paper highlights how food plays an important role in matters of culture, involving far more than environmental conditions and nutrition. The paper also assesses how popular bird's nest soup remains in China today.

Outline:
Introductory Discussion
A Ritual Dish and Economic Activity
Concluding Remarks

From the Paper:

"Swiftlet nests are believed by some to have aphrodisiac properties but more Chinese regard them as a tonic, their cost as a central ingredient renders the soup something served to honour an important guest or occasion. Consuming food in Chinese cultures remains a group, event-oriented process, the nature of dishes served known to guests, in contrast with what Marshall referred to as a 'narcissism' of Western consumption in its individual preferences. (2005:71) To prepare for a special meal in the home or in more expensive restaurants in Asia, a cook will buy cleaned and dried nests of the swiftlet, a tiny cave-dwelling bird whose nest is made from its own gummy saliva as hardens in the air. Dried bird's nest is soaked in water overnight, drained, brushed with peanut oil, and soaked again until no bits of feather, dust or other debris, rise to the top of the water."

Sample of Sources Used:

Busch, L. and C. Bain. (2004). New! Improved? - The Transformation of the Global Antifood System. Rural Sociology. 69: 321-346.
Ferguson, P.P. (1998). A Cultural Field in the Making - Gastronomy in 19th Century France. American Journal of Sociology. 104: 597-641.
Goody, J. (1998). The Globalization of Chinese Food in Ed. Food and Love - a Cultural History of East and West. London: Verso.
Marshall, D. (2005). Food as Ritual, Routine or Convention. Consumption, Markets and Culture. 8: 69-85.
N.A. (2006). Malaysia Edible White House Swiftlet Bird Nest. Serisoonseng Ltd. Retrieved from http://www. Alibaba.com catalog on November 3, 2006.