How to Cook Chinese Barley

Chinese Pearl Barley / Job’s tears / Coix seed:

Not all barley is created equal.  You must buy Chinese Pearl Barley.  This can be purchased off Amazon through this link or at a Chinese Grocery.  Barley supports the Stomach, Heart, and Kidney energy.  It is especially excellent for building up Stomach energy and releasing a challenging condition known as dampness that can reduce the function of many organs.  Chinese Pearl Barley also is empowered with anti-cancer properties and is the current subject of much research in China.

Tips:

Barley can be added to any soup, spiced up as a grain side dish or a “salad," and eaten with mung beans or alone as a breakfast meal.  Make it sweet, make it spicy.  Add cooked fruit, and/or fresh fruit.  Get creative.

Best to soak barley overnight

when cooking, it’s best to keep a close eye on the barley, because it’s known to boil over like a boiling volcano

Cook your pearl barley in the same water you soaked it in

Cooking 1 cup of dried barley should last for a couple of days. Store in the refrigerator and do not stir between recipes.  

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pearl barley

6-8 cups of water

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse 1/2 - 1 cup pearl barley and soak for several hours or overnight in 6-8 cups of water. 

Bring to a boil (in water it has been soaking in). 

Lower to a simmer and partially cover. 

Simmer for 30 minutes.  Watch closely as barley tends to be frothy like a boiling volcano.