Month: October 2026

Fish maw is the cleaned swim bladder of a fish, prepared as food. Known as 花膠 or 鱼胶, it becomes tender with a delicate bite when cooked, taking on the flavours of a savoury broth or a gently creamy dessert.

Its journey connects Qing-era banquets with today’s home cooking and dessert jars. Here is how the ingredient is obtained, what changes when it is soaked, and how to understand its nutrition and place in traditional Chinese medicine.

Actual Nương Nương photographs appear alongside labelled illustrations. Traditional Chinese medicine, ingredient nutrition and finished-food information are distinguished throughout; reading sources appear at the end.

1. A delicacy at the tables of high officials in Qing China

Fish maw had a place in the meals prepared for high-ranking officials in Qing China. In volume 4 of Yangzhou Huafang Lu, Li Dou describes kitchens serving officials and includes fish maw braised with ham (鱼肚煨火腿) among first-rank dishes. It is a concrete glimpse of its status as a banquet delicacy.

In Cantonese and Hong Kong food culture, fish maw remains a valued dried seafood served at banquets and family celebrations. Its tender texture and ability to absorb broth help explain why cooks give it time and care.

2. Where fish maw sits inside the fish

The swim bladder helps many bony fish control buoyancy. It lies in the upper body cavity, below the backbone and above the digestive organs. Fish maw comes from this sac, rather than the stomach, flesh or roe.

Several species supply edible fish maw. The illustration shows barramundi, mulloway and ling as examples; their bladder shapes and sizes differ. These examples do not identify the species used in a particular Nương Nương batch.

3. From the fish to dried and soaked fish maw

The commercial process can be understood in four stages:

1. Process the fish. Fish intended for food enter a hygienic processing chain, with the raw material kept chilled.
2. Separate the swim bladder. The sac is carefully removed from the upper body cavity.
3. Clean and trim. Residual blood, fat and membranes are removed and the bladder is cleaned under food-processing controls.
4. Dry. Controlled drying removes water, producing the firm, lighter, straw-gold ingredient sold as dried fish maw.

Before cooking, dried fish maw is rehydrated. The dry form is firm and compact; the soaked form takes up water and becomes fuller, softer and more flexible. Colour and expansion vary by species, thickness and preparation, so appearance alone cannot tell you how much protein a portion contains. Follow the supplier’s instructions for soaking and cooking the type you buy.

4. Why Zhong Yi values fish maw

In an RTHK programme, registered Chinese medicine practitioner Ho Wai Kit (何慧潔) describes fish maw as sweet in flavour and neutral in nature, traditionally used to nourish yin, moisten dryness, nourish blood and support the liver and kidney systems. These ideas underpin its place in traditional food-based care, including complexion care.[3]

Within this approach, suitability depends on the individual. “Yin,” “blood” and the traditional organ systems belong to that medical framework; they are not clinical trial findings showing that a prepared dessert treats disease.

5. Reading the protein, fat and nutrient figures

ASEANFOODS lists fish maw, dried and uncooked, item AAG52/THG1, with these reference values per 100 g.

Component	Amount
Energy	279 kcal
Protein	64.1 g
Fat	0.5 g
Available carbohydrate	4.4 g
Water	23.5 g
Calcium	31 mg

These describe one ingredient entry, not every fish maw. Soaking, cooking and adding milk change the concentration per 100 g. Iron, zinc and vitamin values are not reported in this entry.

A study of three fish species also found protein-rich, low-fat maws, with composition varying between species. Collagen is part of this protein story: it is a structural protein associated with the ingredient’s familiar texture.

Enjoy collagen with a clear understanding. Eaten collagen is digested, and the body uses protein-building materials where needed. Harvard notes limited evidence that eating collagen directly benefits the skin. Fish maw can sit within a varied diet without turning the dessert into a promise about your complexion.

For a prepared jar, protein, fat, sugars and energy depend on the whole recipe, actual fish-maw quantity and serving size. Use that product’s own nutrition information; the dried ingredient’s numbers cannot be transferred to a finished dessert.

6. Modern ways to bring it to the table

Braised fish maw with shiitake and greens. Gently braise prepared fish maw and shiitake mushrooms in a savoury chicken-stock base until tender, then add bok choy near the end. Serve with rice. Fish maw is the main ingredient, with its soft bite and broth-filled folds at the centre of the dish. It also works in soup or a smaller noodle-bowl portion.

A milk dessert to eat with a spoon. A milk base gives a gently creamy finish; some recipes set softly when chilled. Black sesame brings a nutty character, while black rice and purple sweet potato offer another flavour direction. Setting depends on the whole recipe and chilling conditions; it does not measure collagen content.

Fish maw with red dates and red beans. Five Reds-style preparations pair fish maw with familiar plant ingredients for gentle sweetness and a soft, hearty texture. In Zhong Yi, red dates (红枣) are traditionally associated with replenishing qi and nourishing blood (补益气血). This gives the pairing a place in everyday food-based care, or 食养.

The medicinal bean 赤小豆 is traditionally described as supporting the spleen system and clearing dampness (健脾利湿); that description should not be applied automatically to every red-bean variety. These are traditional ingredient roles, not evidence that combining them makes a jar treat anaemia, raise iron levels or deliver a stronger therapeutic effect.

Nương Nương’s 230 ml range includes Five Reds, Black Rice & Purple Sweet Potato and Black Sesame, alongside the 150 ml Fish Maw & Bird’s Nest Milk. The photograph below shows an actual jar during preparation, with fish maw, red dates and red beans visible; it is not a finished serving or a complete ingredient list.

Keep Nương Nương jars refrigerated in the chilled compartment, not the freezer, and follow the labelled use-by date. Unopened jars keep for seven days with continuous refrigeration; once opened, keep chilled and finish the same day. People with fish allergy should avoid fish maw; check milk and sesame ingredients for the selected recipe too.

7. Asian actresses who have shared their enjoyment of fish maw

Fish maw appears in celebrity food stories too, from familiar soup to convenient milk-based jars. There are several documented examples:

• Gillian Chung (Chung Hân Đồng): a Ta Kung Pao interview dated 3 May 2010 reports her preference for fish-maw soup.
• Fann Wong (Phạm Văn Phương): CNA/8days on 13 November 2020 records a Crystal Jade meal that included braised fish maw with hairy crab.
• Charmaine Sheh (Xa Thi Mạn): Oriental Daily on 30 May 2026 reports her account of milk-stewed fish-maw jars while filming. In the same account, she disclosed an endorsement relationship with a fish-maw brand.

Their stories show how a traditional ingredient fits different ways of eating. For your table, that might mean a savoury family dish or a softly set dessert: choose a flavour and portion you enjoy, understand what you are eating and take time to savour it.

Chrysanthemum and dendrobium jelly is a dessert with clear golden jelly, a whole yellow flower and small goji berries inside. Nương Nương’s recipe combines chrysanthemum, dendrobium, cassia seed, goji and mulberry leaf with ice jelly powder, water and rock sugar.

Explore the ingredients with Nương Nương. Selection and origin stories come from the manufacturer; the recipe has been checked against Nương Nương’s product records.

If you know chrysanthemum tea, there is something familiar here, enjoyed in a different way: pick up a spoon, cut into the jelly and notice the petals held in its golden layers. Floral fragrance and sweetness come with a soft texture, giving you a dessert to spoon through.

1. Chrysanthemum — a whole flower in the bowl

The yellow flower, with its many layers of petals, is the first detail to catch the eye. The manufacturer calls it golden chrysanthemum and describes selecting large, full flowers that keep their shape inside the jelly. The flower is both an ingredient and the dessert’s defining visual feature.

The petals suspended in clear jelly need little decoration. They offer a natural starting point for the story: chrysanthemum is present through its shape and fragrance, giving a visible connection to the name on the lid.

2. Dendrobium — an ingredient from the stem

The Vietnamese name “thạch hộc” may be unfamiliar. It refers to Dendrobium orchids, whose stems are used as the ingredient. The green, jointed pieces in the photograph help put a shape to the second ingredient in the dessert’s name.[1]

The manufacturer gives dendrobium a prominent place in its account of traditional herbal culture. For this dessert, a useful first connection is simply how a less familiar ingredient sits alongside a recognisable flower, giving the recipe its own story.

A different way to enjoy it. Chrysanthemum tea is sipped. This bowl is eaten with a spoon: the familiar flower becomes part of a different experience, held inside a piece of jelly.

3. Cassia seed — the small brown seeds

Cassia seed, known in Vietnamese as hạt muồng or quyết minh tử, looks quite different from the bright yellow flower. The ingredient name refers to dried mature seeds from cassia plants.[2]

4. Goji — a red accent from Ningxia

Goji adds a red-orange accent against the yellow flower and golden jelly. The manufacturer’s story specifically names Ningxia goji as the ingredient’s origin. The photograph shows the fruit on the branch, before it becomes the familiar dried ingredient.

In the finished bowl, a small amount of goji sits beside the chrysanthemum. Think of it as a touch of colour within the dessert; the ingredient photograph does not represent the amount in a serving.

5. Mulberry leaf — the leaf in the recipe

Mulberry may bring dark purple fruit to mind. This recipe uses mulberry leaf, with the green blade and toothed edges shown in the photograph. Together with the flowers, stems and seeds above, it illustrates how different plant parts appear in the recipe.

6. Ice jelly powder — what makes it a spoonable dessert

Nương Nương’s recipe lists this ingredient as bột thạch lạnh, recorded in English as Ice Jelly Powder. It helps form the jelly that holds the petals and goji inside, giving the dessert its spoonable texture.

Water and rock sugar are also part of the recipe, alongside the six featured ingredients. Rock sugar is added sugar and falls within WHO’s definition of free sugars.[3] Consider the sweetness and portion as part of your usual way of eating.

A small bowl when you feel like a change

Nương Nương’s 168 g bowl comes with an individually wrapped clear plastic spoon. It is ready to eat: open the lid to enjoy it, or chill it as directed on the label. An afternoon when you want something floral is an easy occasion to picture.

Read the instructions and expiry date on your own pack before eating. The product label states that it is not for pregnant or breastfeeding people or young children. Store as directed and finish within 24 hours of opening.