Lemon barley drink
Ingredients for home-brewed barley drink
Lemon barley drink 柠檬薏米水
- Serves: makes about 4 glasses
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 30 mins
This is an easy, healthy and cooling Chinese herbal drink which is great for combating the tropical heat.
Ingredients
- 2.5 litres water
- 200 grams raw barley rinsed until water is clear; if eating the barley, use pearl barley or holland barley
- 100 grams winter melon sugar to taste
- 2 pandan leaves tied in a knot
- lemon juice and lemon slices
Instructions
- Bring a pot with 2.5 litres of water to a boil. Add washed barley and pandan leaves to the pot. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the water is slightly milky.
- Drain and discard the pandan leaves and barley (you can leave behind a small amount if you like to eat them).
- In the last 5 minutes of simmering, add winter melon sugar to taste. Note that the winter melon will not dissolve - you can eat the winter melon for the crunchy sweet taste or you may discard it.
- Drink warm or chilled. If making lemon barley, add a few drops of lemon juice and garnish with a slice of lemon.
Cooking Notes
1. If you will like to eat the cooked barley, use pearl barley or holland barley as they are softer after cooking, compared to other varieties of barley.
2. A little lemon juice goes a long way. Add a few drops, to taste, at a time.
3. If the drink becomes too thick during simmering, add some hot water.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a standard at my home too. My son loves it! I skip the pandan, use melon sugar and sometimes wolfberries.
I agree – great photo!
I like your teacup too! Love the blue foral print in the last photo.
It’s been some times since I boiled some barley water. Adding lemon makes the drink even more refreshing.
This drink is so exotic to me. I’ve never had a barley drink before. It looks refreshing!
absolutely love this! a must try! :)
Ooh I love barley and you have just reminded me I should be boiling this now that its so hot here. Lovely pictures btw!
ooo. I love this drink as well. Esp ice cold! Home made is always nicer as u can adjust the level of sweetness.
I have not tried a barley drink before. But with pandan and wintermelon sticks, I’m sure this tastes good. I love your teacup!
Can we add winter melon together with the barley and pandan?
I agree. Putting the lemon just brightens up the entire picture :)
Singapore is so hot that I need to drink more of this.
Hi everyone, thank you for the nice comments :XO:
Dee – wow wolfberries, sounds interesting … I shall try this next time :)
PP: Yup isn’t the weather unbearable? No amount of cooling drinks is enough :o
Hi juhuacha, I usually add sugar at the last step because after boiling for half hour, the water will evaporate and you may cause the drink to be over-sweetened ;) If I’m using rock sugar (instead of melon sugar), I add them only during the last 5 minutes. :-)
First time here, nice blog you have here! :)
I really should make this drink for my family since my mom gave me some sweet winter melon. Thanks for the reminder! ;)
I am going to try your recipe this morning. I have always been intrigued by barley but have not used it very much at all.
Dear noobcook,
Thanks for visiting, too! I left a comment on the radish with leave soup for you. Do check it out!
Btw, I have a query on your tempting barley lemon drink. May I know is there any other particular reason for choosing Chinese barley instead of pearl barley for this recipe, beside for its EXTRA cooling effect?
Thanks in advance.
Hi MWL! The guy at the Chinese medical hall told me that this particular type of Chinese barley is more cooling and suitable for our warm weather, hence ideal if you are using one type of barley. However, I think it’s ok to experiment with different types to see what’s your favourite ;)
Vegeyum: I hope u like it! Let me know if you have any suggestions ;)
LCOM: Thank you!! :XO: :-)
Yes, I think I will try it with pearl barley. I have also never added with pandan leave in barley water before.
Must give it a try. I have confidence that the taste is really good one. Will keep you posted once I tried. Thanks for sharing!
Healthy refreshing drink for this scorching summer..Thanks for sending it in..
I made it with ordinary barley with some lemongrass and ginger and it was delicious! I think it will be a staple in our house now.
MWK: Hope u like it! Let me know if you have any feedback after trying it ;)
Divya: Thanks for hosting :)
Vegeyum: Glad u like it! ah, the addition of lemongrass and ginger sounds great! :up:
i have never had raw barley tea, only roasted, but i am sure this is just as delicious and refreshing!
Good to the last kernel! I could go for a pot of that right now. I have a bit of a sore throat today.
A barley based drink sounds interesting. I have never had pandan either. That drink looks really good!
Wow, I have never seen anything like this. It sounds healthy and refreshing.
cindy: I love roasted barley as much as I love raw barley too :D
Nate: Thanks! :-) Hope you’re feeling better now …
Kevin: Thanks! :-)
Natashya: Thanks and welcome :wink:
Looks so refreshing. What a cute set of pictures!
hihi, can I know when to add lemongrass and ginger? After which step?? thanks ^_-
Mmm, this looks so good, I’ll have to make it once we get some barley :-)
Hi,
I tried the Lemon Barley Drink and the Chrysanthemum Tea recipes. They tasted great! The wintermelon reminded me of how my mom used to homemade water chestnut, sugarcane and wintermelon drink for us. =)
Hi Ann, thanks for your feedback, I’m happy to hear that you liked the recipe :)
erms can i ask how much lemon juice to add?
Just a little will do. A few drops to a tablespoon because pure lemon juice is very sour. Start small and adjust the amount to your liking.
Thank you for this wonderful receipe! Very refreshing.
My mum used to cook this but it was purely barley & candied melon. I tried your recipe and my hubby loves it – the pandan fragrance and the slice of lemon makes him happy! Tks for sharing. :)
Hi, I’m glad your hubby likes the addition of pandan and lemon. I went to your blog and there is lots of delicious foods there, thanks for your comment :)
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