All Time Favourite Barley Drink

~ Plain Barley Drink ~

Barley has a long history in grain diet. It is one of the oldest consumed grains in the world. There is so much information about barley that are available on the world-wide web (www). So, I do not think I should repeat them here. Be rest assured that barley is a healthy fibrous food rich in vitamins and minerals which you may consume, not necessarily as an addition to every one of your daily meal but occasionally as a source of fibre when it is lacking in the making of your wholesome meal at home.

There are 2 common types of barley sold in Malaysia and Singapore the Pearled barley and the Polished barley. Pearled barley, brownish in colour, is lightly hulled from whole-grain barley to remove the outer inedible hull and thin layer of bran. Polished barley is heavily hulled and appear whitish in colour. While the younger generation in South East Asian Chinese are more familiar with the most common barley drinks, many Asian Chinese in other parts of Asia are cooking up barley soups in healthy dietary meal and soups.

Barley drink is my soon-to-be 4 years old little girl’s favourite, be it eating them whole, sipping up the barley drink or adding the cooked grains into soups. She has been a fan of barley drink since she was a baby. These days when she requests for it and if I delay in making her barley drink due to busy schedule, she would nag me continuously for days until I finally give in and pause the clock to make her some. It is all worth it as she is really a big fan of my conveniently cooked to tender but nutritional goodness optimised barley and drink. She likes not just the liquid but all the barley grains, finishing every single grain left in her cup before she let go of the cup. I am pleased that she is keen with my version of barley drink even without sweetener added.

I used to cook barley drinks the ordinary way, manually, which I had problem in cleaning up the overspilling mess every time I missed the window to turn from high to medium and lower heat. Until I discovered cooking barley with the AMC Secuquick (pressure) Lid put onto an AMC Pot unit, I could cook them automatically without overspilling. So, this makes a great lot of a different in my day to day kitchen chores.

Instead of cleaning up cooking mess after mess caused by food that may easily overspill, takes a long time to cook to tender and require much of my attention for heat control, I now cook them fully automatically with my AMC Cooking System where I make full use of time on other chores without having to worry about overspilling. I no longer dread cooking up barley drinks. It is just a matter of managing my time as and when my little girl asks for it. May you like a plain version of barley drink too.

Plain Barley Drink Recipe (Serves 5) :

1. 200 grams of Pearled Barley
2. 1 litre Water
3. 80 grams Candied Winter Melon Strips (optional)
4. 1/2 Lemon Juice (optional)

AMC Healthy Cooking Method :

1. Rinse the pearled barley in an AMC 24cm 3.5 litre Shallow Pot unit. Add water. Add candied melon strips into pot, if desired.
2. Cover pot with AMC 24cm Secuquick Softline unit. Switch on Navigenio to automatic “A”. Turn on Audiotherm, place on knob, indicating “Turbo” (108°C to 118°C) and set on 15 minutes to cook.
3. When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm. Set pot aside to depressurised. Serve warm or cold. Add lemon juice before serving, if desired.

Tips :

1. As the AMC Secuquick Lid cooks with pressure under the temperature range of 103°C to 113°C (Soft pressure) and 108°C to 118°C (Turbo pressure) in an enclosed Pot environment, steam generated from the liquid do not rise to the cooled wall which causes overspilling, like an ordinary cooking method. Hence, cooking up food like barley drink is so conveniently easy!
2. You may blend the cooked pearled barley to make a thicker drink and consume just like a smoothie too. Just ensure that you neither have too much nor too little barley for a great texture.
3. Balance of pearled barley from the drink can be added to any thick soup of choice. I typically add them to make soups more fibrous. When the pearled barley drink is cooking automatically, you may chop up some vegetables for soups without worrying about over-spilling. By the time the pearled barley drink is ready to be served, the ingredients for a soupy meal will be ready too. For soup with barley grains recipe, click here!

 

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