Bites · Everyday TCM · Pain & Injuries · Tea · About 40 minutes, plus soak
Chinese barley (薏米, Yi Yi Ren), also called Job’s tears, is a cool-natured kitchen grain used to drain damp-heat. This is barley water, not pearl barley, and not the mung-bean dessert or winter-melon soup.
In brief
Chinese barley tea (薏米水) is educational food therapy when damp-heat sits with gout flares. Use Chinese barley / Job’s tears, not pearl barley. Soak, simmer about 30 minutes, and drink two or three times a week. It is cool-natured, so people who feel cold easily should not drink it often.
Recipe
Rinse the Chinese barley. Soak for a few hours so the grains soften.
Bring the barley and water (and candied winter melon, if using) to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the grains are soft. Add more water if needed.
Strain the barley water.
Add honey to taste if you like.
Try today Rinse a cup of Chinese barley, soak it, and simmer one pot this week.
Next step
Read the matching guide or pathway next. Book when you are ready for personalised care.
Kitchen recipes are educational, not personal medical advice. Book a consult for recurrent gout, kidney disease, or if cooling drinks leave you chilled.
FAQs
No. This recipe needs Chinese barley / Job’s tears (薏米). Pearl barley is a different grain and is not the cool-natured drink taught here.
Two or three times a week is the kitchen habit on this page. It is not a daily medicine dose. Ease off if you feel cold easily, or if stools loosen.
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