ISO help/advice cooking barley

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cloa513

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Messages
4
I am an Australian in Japan with my Japanese wife. I bought some barley and looks a bit like oats so what sort of Barley is it and what can cook with it. I bought for the special purpose of cooking it with rice for accompanying shake (salted salmon) but if I don't use it all for that purpose what can I cook with the rest?

Thanks in advance.
 
Are these barley flakes (like oatmeal)? If so, you can use them in recipes instead of oatmeal. If you mean pearl or pot barley, you can add it to soup, make a "risotta" of barley and mushrooms, etc.
 
Last edited:
Many forms of barley

None of the threads so far mention the different forms of barley and how to vary the cooking but without pictures for each I wasn't sure what I have let alone how to use it especially in an tasty way.


I assume most people are referring the pearl barley which I have seen in soups before.

from:
homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/barleytypes.htm
What is barley?

Barley (also called groats) is botanically known as Hordeum vulgare, and is believed to originate in western Asia or Ethiopia. Dating back to the stone age, barley is still considered one of the top five cereal grains in the world. Only ten percent of barley is used as human food, while a full third is used for brewing malt beverages, including beer and whiskey. However, the majority of harvest barley is used for livestock feed. Barley is also a prime ingredient in the making of one variety of the popular Japanese condiment called miso.
Barley Types - Forms of Barley

Pearl barley is by far the most popular form of barley in the United States. Extensive processing removes the two outer hulls along with the bran layer resulting in uniformly-sized, ivory grains with very little fiber. This processing makes it less chewy to the bite, but it also removes a vast majority of the barley's inherent nutrition. Its flavor is mild and nutty, and it cooks in 30 to 45 minutes.

Rolled or flaked barley is similar to rolled oats and is used as a cereal.

Barley flour (also known as barley meal) has a low gluten content which results in a low-rise, so it is often combined with higher-gluten flours when used for leavened breads that need to rise.

Barley grits are toasted, ground barley grains used as a cereal or cooked side dish.

Hulled barley (also known as whole-wheat barley) has only the outer layer removed, leaving the bran layer intact. It is extremely high in fiber and nutrition, with a pronouced flavor that makes the toothy workout worthwhile. This form requires the longest cooking time.

Scotch barley has been husked, then coarsely ground. It takes a long cooking time to become tender.

Quick barley is pearl barley that has been steamed and dried. It will cook up the fastest, usually in less than 15 minutes.
 
The recipe I referred to

kyotofoodie.com/home-cooking-shake-gohan-salmon-rice/

home cooking: Shake Gohan (Salmon Rice)

November 20th, 2007 by Kyoto Foodie
home cooking: Shake Gohan (Salmon Rice) 鮭ご飯

This is a dish that is truly delicious beyond mere words.
If there is no shake gohan in heaven, do you really want to go?

Simple, super simple. Delicate. Complex. Natural. Healthy.
To die for!

Ingredients: Rice, *barley, dried kombu (kelp), salmon steak, ikura (salmon roe), shiso leaf, *citrus (sudachi preferred)
*optional
Salmon: Grill or broil some salmon steak (with skin), salted is best.
Rice: Mugi Gohan (barley rice). Rice to barley ration is 2:1 to 3:1. More barley goes well with the salmon, according to Peko. Japanese short grained white rice is best. Mix in some brown rice (genmai) if you like. These flavors go well with a really earthy rice base, so the more brown rice, mugi, and other grains the better. Cook the rice with dried kombu.
Place the grilled salmon and dried kombu atop the rice, cover and cook.
If possible, cook the rice in a ceramic gohan nabe, a regular electric rice cooker (suihanki) is fine too.
Serving: De-bone the salmon after cooking with the mugi gohan and mix with chopsticks, rice paddle, etc. Leave the skin if you like.
Serve in a large ‘donburi‘ bowl.
Eating: At the table, add ikura and chopped shiso leaves to your liking. If sudachi is available in your region, squeeze some on, if you like. Sudachi is a bit closer to lime than lemon in taste, but you can substitute either.
This dish goes REALLY well with beer!
Can you get tsukemono in your region? Tsukemono goes well with any rice dish.
The ingredients and gohan nabe
shake_gohan-1.jpg

A heavy, ceramic pot is preferred, but again, any electric rice cooker or covered metal pot will do for the rice.
Rice, salmon and kombu after cooking
shake_gohan-2.jpg

This particular gohan nabe is very thick and heavy and cooking is done with a very high flame and the rice at the bottom and edges should be just slightly burned.
Serve in a large bowl and mix in the salmon
shake_gohan-3.jpg

Shake gohan is a feast for eyes and the palette!
shake_gohan-4.jpg

Stir around and eat with chopsticks or large spoon
 
The recipe I referred to

kyotofoodie.com/home-cooking-shake-gohan-salmon-rice/

home cooking: Shake Gohan (Salmon Rice)

November 20th, 2007 by Kyoto Foodie
home cooking: Shake Gohan (Salmon Rice) 鮭ご飯

This is a dish that is truly delicious beyond mere words.
If there is no shake gohan in heaven, do you really want to go?

Simple, super simple. Delicate. Complex. Natural. Healthy.
To die for!

Ingredients: Rice, *barley, dried kombu (kelp), salmon steak, ikura (salmon roe), shiso leaf, *citrus (sudachi preferred)
*optional
Salmon: Grill or broil some salmon steak (with skin), salted is best.
Rice: Mugi Gohan (barley rice). Rice to barley ration is 2:1 to 3:1. More barley goes well with the salmon, according to Peko. Japanese short grained white rice is best. Mix in some brown rice (genmai) if you like. These flavors go well with a really earthy rice base, so the more brown rice, mugi, and other grains the better. Cook the rice with dried kombu.
Place the grilled salmon and dried kombu atop the rice, cover and cook.
If possible, cook the rice in a ceramic gohan nabe, a regular electric rice cooker (suihanki) is fine too.
Serving: De-bone the salmon after cooking with the mugi gohan and mix with chopsticks, rice paddle, etc. Leave the skin if you like.
Serve in a large ‘donburi‘ bowl.
Eating: At the table, add ikura and chopped shiso leaves to your liking. If sudachi is available in your region, squeeze some on, if you like. Sudachi is a bit closer to lime than lemon in taste, but you can substitute either.
This dish goes REALLY well with beer!
Can you get tsukemono in your region? Tsukemono goes well with any rice dish.
The ingredients and gohan nabe
shake_gohan-1.jpg

A heavy, ceramic pot is preferred, but again, any electric rice cooker or covered metal pot will do for the rice.
Rice, salmon and kombu after cooking
shake_gohan-2.jpg

This particular gohan nabe is very thick and heavy and cooking is done with a very high flame and the rice at the bottom and edges should be just slightly burned.
Serve in a large bowl and mix in the salmon
shake_gohan-3.jpg

Shake gohan is a feast for eyes and the palette!
shake_gohan-4.jpg

Stir around and eat with chopsticks or large spoon

That looks superb!

BRB......Getting plane tickets now!
 
If they're flat they're probably barley flakes. I'd use them in a hot cereal for breakfast. Maybe this one: Mollie Katzen Online
Thanks for your reply especially the picture. Could well be- do they have a dark band in the middle? I thought they could be rolled oats when I first looked at them so I checked the name a few times (Japanese). I think they are thicker and tougher than rolled oats which I eated raw a few hundred times.
 
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