Category: Herbs

Baked pear with bird’s nest combines soft-cooked pear, edible bird’s nest, snow fungus, red dates, goji berries and yellow rock sugar. There are several textures to discover in one bowl: pear you can cut with a spoon, fine strands of nest and slippery fungus fronds in a sweet liquid.

If you are curious about where these ingredients come from, join Nương Nương in following their journey from growing region to prepared bowl.

The origin and ingredient-selection stories below follow information supplied by the manufacturer. Additional references appear at the end.

1. Dangshan pear — From the orchards of Anhui

The pear sits at the centre of the bowl, and it is where the story begins. The variety introduced is Dangshan Su pear, from Dangshan County in Anhui, China. Its regional name has held geographical-indication protection in China since 2003.The growing area is described as lying near 34° north, on land along the former course of the Yellow River, with loose, aerated soil, plenty of sunshine and differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures.

The manufacturer describes choosing seasonal pears from 70-year-old trees: thin-skinned, white-fleshed, juicy and crisp when fresh. Cooking softens the flesh. You can cut off a small piece, add a little liquid and taste the pear alongside the other ingredients.

2. Indonesian bird’s nest — Fine strands in the liquid

The bird’s nest is introduced as imported from Indonesia, from a supply region described as rainy and ecologically rich. This ingredient comes from swiftlets and is used in sweet dishes in Chinese cuisine.

In the pear bowl, fine strands sit among the liquid and fungus fronds. A spoonful with pear brings together soft fruit and finer strands. The raw-nest photograph helps identify the ingredient; the amount in each bowl should be checked against the product’s declared information.

3. Gutian snow fungus — Soft folds that hold the liquid

Snow fungus, also known as silver ear or white fungus, is introduced as coming from Gutian County, Fujian, China. Its story describes wooded mountain surroundings and fresh fungus grown on substrate. One particular detail from the manufacturer is the inclusion of lotus-seed shells and astragalus in that growing substrate. These are cultivation materials, not two extra ingredients added directly to the pear bowl.

The many folds soften during cooking, becoming slippery and holding a little liquid in each spoonful. The thickness of cooked snow-fungus dishes is associated with soluble fibre released during cooking; that texture is not evidence of collagen.Alongside the pear, the fungus offers another kind of softness to notice.

An easy distinction to miss. Bird’s nest and snow fungus are different ingredients: one comes from swiftlets, while the other is an edible fungus. Both can appear in sweet dishes, but their names should not be used interchangeably.

4. Xinjiang red dates — Fruit aroma after sunny days

The red dates in the ingredient story come from Xinjiang, China. Long sunshine hours, little rainfall and day–night temperature differences feature in the growing-region account, along with natural drying. The fruit is described as thin-skinned, fleshy and sweet.

Cooking with pear softens the dates and adds dried-fruit aroma to the liquid. Try a little liquid first, then a piece of date to notice its flesh and skin. Even in one bowl, the individual ingredients retain something of their own character.

5. Goji berries — A little orange red colour

Goji berries are the small orange-red fruit scattered among the pear, dates and snow fungus. They soften during preparation and can be scooped up with the liquid or eaten with a piece of pear. Their small size and colour add another detail among the larger ingredients, bringing a little variation to each spoonful.

6. Yellow rock sugar — From cane juice to sweetness

The yellow rock sugar is described as slowly prepared from fresh cane juice using a traditional method, forming pale-yellow, translucent pieces. As it dissolves, it blends into the liquid around the pear and the other ingredients.

“Gently sweet” describes a taste, not the amount of sugar in the dish. Added rock sugar still falls within the WHO definition of free sugars.If you are monitoring sugar intake, check the nutrition panel and serving size on the label.

From ingredients to a ready-to-eat bowl

Pears are selected, peeled, cored and cleaned before the ingredients are portioned, cooked and packaged. The preparation photographs show part of the work behind the soft fruit at the centre of the bowl.

Nương Nương’s version contains one 258 g bowl and a separately wrapped spoon. Preparation is already done; open and enjoy it according to the packaging instructions, starting with the liquid or a piece of pear as you prefer.

Enjoy it warm or chilled

Serve at room temperature, chilled or warmed according to the product instructions. Choose a cool portion for an afternoon pause or a warm bowl to enjoy slowly. For water-bath warming, use suitable equipment and follow the label; do not put the metal bowl or metal lid in a microwave. Check the storage directions and expiry date on the packaging you receive.

Guiling jelly is a black herbal dessert with a mild bitterness, often enjoyed with a little honey. Nương Nương’s recipe combines grass jelly herb, turtle extract, reishi, poria and other plant ingredients. Its familiar dark appearance may bring grass jelly to mind, although the two desserts do not necessarily have the same ingredients.

The manufacturer’s story begins in Cantonese sweet soup shops, where a bowl of jelly is an everyday dessert. Explore the ingredients with Nương Nương before they become glossy black jelly, from reishi caps to Yunnan poria and monk fruit associated with Guangxi.

Regional and selection stories come from the manufacturer. Ingredients and pack contents have been checked against Nương Nương’s label; supplementary references appear at the end.

1. Turtle extract — an ingredient in this recipe

The manufacturer describes turtle-shell material and reports selecting it from turtles aged five to six years. Nương Nương’s label names the ingredient as turtle extract. The age detail belongs to the manufacturer’s account of ingredient selection.

This answers a useful question when choosing the dessert: Nương Nương Guiling Jelly is not vegetarian. The ingredient is processed with the rest of the recipe. The shell photograph illustrates the material before preparation, rather than the amount in each bowl.

2. Reishi — the reddish brown mushroom caps

Reishi appears in the manufacturer’s title, 灵芝龟苓膏. The glossy reddish-brown caps and layered markings give it a recognisable form among the leaves, flowers and fruit in the recipe.

The manufacturer describes reishi as having a woody aromatic character. In the dessert it is processed into the mixture, so you experience the combined flavour rather than encountering a whole mushroom cap as pictured.

3. Grass jelly herb — a connection with a familiar dessert

The material names grass jelly herb as 仙草 or 凉粉草 and introduces it within Lingnan food culture. Its dried stems and leaves can be cooked, with the resulting liquid combined with starch to make jelly.[1]

This ingredient connects Guiling with familiar grass jelly. The recipe here also includes turtle extract, fungi and several other ingredients. Read the ingredient list when choosing a dessert, rather than relying on the bowl’s black colour alone.

4. Yunnan poria — the white interior of a fungal mass

The manufacturer introduces poria from Yunnan’s mountains, associated with older trees. The photograph shows a rough brown exterior and white interior, helping you picture the ingredient before it is cut and prepared.

Poria, or 茯苓, is a fungal sclerotium, a compact mass of fungal tissue.[2] Alongside reishi, it is one of this recipe’s fungal ingredients. Yunnan is the growing-region story reported by the manufacturer.

An easy distinction to miss. Poria and tufuling are different ingredients. Poria is a fungal sclerotium; tufuling is a rhizome from a Smilax plant.[2][3] Both Nương Nương’s label and this manufacturer’s material name poria.

5. Dandelion — yellow flowers among the grass

Dandelion appears as 蒲公英 in the ingredient list. The photograph of yellow flowers among green grass gives a shape to a name on the label. Once the ingredients are combined and cooked into jelly, the original plant is no longer visible; this illustration does not establish that only the flowers are used.

6. Honeysuckle and chrysanthemum — two flower shapes

Honeysuckle has slender white and yellow flowers, as pictured. Chrysanthemum has many layers of petals around its centre. The manufacturer introduces them as a pairing that brings floral character to the dessert.

In the bowl they are prepared with the other ingredients. Chrysanthemum is part of this Guiling recipe; Nương Nương’s separate Chrysanthemum and Dendrobium Jelly has its own recipe and story.

7. Monk fruit — a Guangxi specialty story

For monk fruit, the manufacturer introduces a specialty associated with Guangxi. The photograph shows the round green fruit on its vine before drying. The manufacturer describes a clear, sweet taste that contributes to the mixture’s flavour.

Containing monk fruit does not automatically make the dessert sugar-free or low in calories. If you are monitoring sugar, check the nutrition label and include any honey or toppings you add.

8. Liquorice, cogongrass rhizome, water and starch

Liquorice and cogongrass rhizome are also in the recipe; Nương Nương’s label specifies fresh cogongrass rhizome. They complete the ten featured ingredients described here, alongside water and starch. These ingredients include plants, fungi and animal material.

Water and starch help form the base for the prepared ingredients. The final texture comes from the complete formulation and cooking process, so one ingredient photograph cannot explain the dessert’s entire set.

Ready-to-eat jelly, with honey kept separate

After cooking and sealing, the jelly is ready to enjoy. Nương Nương’s pack contains 258 g of jelly, a separate 12 g honey sachet and an individually wrapped spoon. Try a small spoonful plain first, then add honey gradually to find the sweetness you prefer.

Chill it according to the label if you like a cool serving. You can spoon it directly from the opened bowl; the retail bowl contains a continuous set jelly. After a meal or during a break, it offers a change of flavour to enjoy at your own pace.

The label does not recommend it for pregnant or breastfeeding people or children under three. Follow the storage instructions and expiry date on your own pack, and finish within 24 hours of opening.

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.