Warm salad · Coix / Job’s tears 400 g
Toss fully tender coix with roasted squash and red onion, wilted spinach and fresh tomato, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Use 120 g dried coix from the Xianyitang 400 g pack. Coix, also called Job’s tears, is not pearl barley; short barley cooking times do not transfer directly.
Times are estimates and include soaking and preparation; some tasks can overlap. Check hydration and doneness as described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Pick over and rinse 120 g dried coix. Cover with about 1 litre cold drinking water, cover and refrigerate at 5°C or below for 1–2 hours. Discard that water and rinse again. Soaking helps hydration but does not cook the grain. Keep refrigerated if cooking is delayed rather than leaving it out overnight.
Add about 1.2 litres fresh drinking water to the coix. Bring to the boil, then gently simmer for about 60–90 minutes or longer, partly covered. Stir occasionally and maintain sufficient water with hot-water top-ups. Taste a grain: it should be easy to chew with no hard or chalky centre. Continue cooking if necessary, then drain. Do not stop at a short pearl-barley timing.
About 40 minutes before the coix is expected to finish, preheat the oven to 200°C conventional / 180°C fan. Toss squash and onion with 10 ml oil, about half the salt and some black pepper. Spread in one layer and roast for 30–40 minutes, turning halfway, until squash is soft through the centre with lightly golden edges. Extend for larger pieces or your oven as needed; avoid burning the onion.
Wilt spinach in a separate small pan with a little boiling water for about 1–2 minutes until cooked, then drain. Toss warm tender coix with roasted vegetables, cooked spinach and washed tomatoes. Add the remaining 10 ml olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then adjust with the reserved salt and pepper. Serve warm. All coix must be tender before mixing.
Balsamic vinegar may contain sulphites; check its label. This recipe is not presented as allergen-free or guaranteed gluten-free. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Best freshly tossed and warm. Cool leftover cooked coix and roasted vegetables promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 24 hours. Reheat only once until hot throughout. Add fresh tomato just before serving where possible. Refrigerate soaked grain and cook promptly.
