Lemon Barley Drink (柠檬薏米水)

What a shame – never knew barley drink is so easy to prepare.  I bought a packet of barley and I remember asking my colleague how to do it but no action and the packet of barley was left to expire in the fridge! :(

To my surprise, this home-cooked barley drink taste so much better than those sold at coffee shops who claimed it‘s home cooked barley!   Its so easy and yet I have to ‘copy’ someone’s recipe.  Wiffy, if you are reading this, I would like to thank you for sharing this great lemon barley drink – really, I have not tried such refreshing, satisfying lemon barley drink!!

What's your preference? Chilled or warm?

Recipe source: Noobcook
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

Method:

1. 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.
2. Drain and discard the pandan leaves and barley (you can leave behind a small amount if you like to eat them).
3. 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.
4. Drink warm or chilled. If making lemon barley, add a few drops of lemon juice and garnish with a slice of lemon.