How to Incorporate Barley into Your Diet Deliciously? Crispy Barley

 

Just 3 ingredients: Barley, vegetable oil and a dash of salt

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup barley
2. 3 cups water

Directions:

1. In a pot, boil 3 cups of water and 1 cup of barley.

2. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed (or mostly absorbed) and the barley is tender with a slightly chewy texture (about 25 to 30 minutes for pearl barley and up to 1 hour for hulled barley). 

3. Drain.

4. In a frying pan, add 1 layer of cooking oil sufficient to cover the barley.

5. When the oil is hot, add barley and fry until crispy. Test with a few barley first. It will bubble, if the oil is hot enough.

6. Season with salt.

7. Serve with salad or sprinkle on fish or eat it on its own as a snack.

Additional Information:

Growing up in Singapore, I used to dislike eating the barley that my mom cooked. But my mom asked me to eat them and I really can't stand them.

But these barley were really crispy and tasted heavenly :-) I fell in love with them :-)

On Saturday, Daddy FECS and I went on a romantic date and we went to Restaurant Sletten, a Nordic Danish gourmet restaurant that is featured in the Michelin Guide.

The food there tasted super delicious, although a bit on the salty side. I asked them what they have added to their dishes with this crispy, chewy and crunchy thing. To my surprise, the waiter told me they are barley. I took the courage to ask him how they make it so delicious. To yet another surprise, he shared with me the recipe!!! He said after cooking the barley, drain them and fry them. Then season with salt. So today I am trying it out and sharing it with you guys. This is another way we can add healthy and wholesome and yet delicious whole grain into our diet :-) The waiter told me that they use these fried barley in many of their dishes.

The Danes are so humble and so willing to share. This won't happen in the restaurants in most countries. Kudos to the Danes for inventing this dish, that is used in many other dishes in this restaurant.

Next time, I will see if I could make this fried barley using my air-fryer and reduce even further the amount of oil :-)

It has been worth it visiting this restaurant, I have learned a new dish :-) Warmly recommend Restaurant Sletten :-)

Barley

In a pot, bring to boil 1 cup of barley and 3 cups of water. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed (or mostly absorbed) and the barley is tender with a slightly chewy texture (about 25 to 30 minutes for pearl barley and up to 1 hour for hulled barley). 

Drain

Here is how the cooked barley look like.

In a frying pan, add 1 layer of cooking oil sufficient to cover the barley.

When the oil is hot, add barley and fry until crispy. Test with a few barley first. It will bubble, if the oil is hot enough.

When the oil is hot, add barley and fry until crispy. 

Now it is done :-)

Drain. This small metal net is from IKEA. Season with salt. Serve with salad or sprinkle on fish or eat it on its own as a snack.

Restaurant Sletten https://formelfamily.dk/sletten/

Very cozy fireplace atmosphere.

Since we don't drink alcohol, we cheers with a glass of water each :-)

Can you see the delicious crispy barley in this dish? The fish is below the vegetables.

Can you see the delicious crispy barley in this beef tartare dish?

We also tried some other dishes.

28 September 2024, Restaurant Sletten with Daddy FECS

Mixed Whole Grain Oats (Rye, Oats, Wheat, Barley & Spelt)

Wholesome meal for babies from 8 months after major solids have been establish, for toddlers and for adults.

Ingredients:
1. Mixed whole grain oats (oats, rye, wheat, barley and spelt) (1 cup)
2. Milk (2 cups)

Directions:
1. Cook 1 part mixed oats with 2 parts formula milk or milk under weak heat (no. 4 on our electric stove) and stir until it is soft and tender. (Adjust the amount of milk accordingly for desired consistency)

2. Stir in 1 teaspoon olive oil for babies (optional)

Tips:
This makes an excellent wholesome breakfast for adults too. You can cook it with low-fat fresh milk under low fire (no. 4 on my stove). Heat 500ml of milk under low fire, and then add 8 TBS of oatmeal. Cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Storage:
1. Cool down, pour into ice cube tray and freeze.

2. Once frozen, knock the cubes out and store them in freezer bags (makes 2-3 ice cube trays, can store up to 8 weeks)

Nutritional Value:
Oats are an excellent source of soluble fibre, protein and the B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin, B6 and vitamin E. They also provide iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus and zinc.

Rye is a very good source of manganese and a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, copper, pantothenic acid, and magnesium. It also contains lignan phytonutrients.

Barley is a very good source of fiber and selenium. It also serves as a good source of the minerals phosphorus, copper and manganese. A cup of cooked barley will give you 23.0% of the daily value for phosphorus.

One cup of cooked spelt has 246 calories, 11 grams protein, 1.6 grams fat, and 51 grams carbohydrates, and 7.6 grams fiber. Spelt is also a good source of calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron, and manganese. It has vitamin E and B-complex vitamins (especially niacin).

Additional Information:
I spotted this in the "Spotsvare" section of Netto Supermarket. It seems that good oatmeal and whole grain products are still not as readily available in Singapore and I have received requests when I visit Singapore. For readers in Singapore and overseas, do contact me if you wish to get hold of this.

Since fresh milk is very affordable in Denmark, I usually cook it with fresh skimmed milk, but you can use long life milk as while.

Top it with nuts, blue berries, goji berries or raisins or eat it on its own and you have a delicious breakfast.

You do not have to add any salt or sugar to taste. The natural grains are salty enough. J tried it and he usually lets me know if food is not salty enough, and he likes it as it is.

References:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=65

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=127

http://nutrition.about.com/od/grainsandcereals/p/spelt.htm

Mediterranean Barley Salad with Chicken

Adapted from www.retnem.dk

Serves 2-3

Preparation and Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts
- ½ TBS cooking oil
- Salt and pepper

Salad of pearl barley:
- 175g pearl barley
- 400ml water
- 250g broccoli chopped into small florets
- 25 g pine nuts
- ½ clove of garlic squeezed
- ½ TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS lemon juice
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 2 TBS raisins
- 2 TBS dried apricots
- 2 TBS or 10g sundried tomatoes chopped
- a few fresh mint leaves chopped

Directions:
1. Rinse barley well under cold water and boil in lightly salted water for 20 minutes until cooked and depending on how much crunch you want in them.

2. When the barleys are cooked, pour off excess water.

3. Blanch broccoli with boiling water for 2 minutes and drain them into bowl.

4. Heat pan, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and fry for 1 minute until brown on each side.

5. Reduce to medium heat (no. 4 on my stove) and fry until cooked for 3 minutes on each side.

6. Toast the pine nuts golden in a dry pan.

7. To make the barley salad, in a mixing bowl, add barley, crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped onions, raisins, apricots and sun-dried tomatoes and mix well. Add broccoli florets, pine nuts and chopped mint, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

8. Cut chicken breast into slices and serve with the barley salad.

Additional Information:
My best friend, J, was just talking about how she is feeling resentful having to cook for the family everyday. I thought I was the only one who suffers from cooking fatigue. It was not the cooking actually for both of us, we analyzed, but having to plan the menu for each dinner. We decided to both try out the home ingredient delivery www.retnem.dk, which was recommended by my friend Merete Knudsen.

Today was the first delivery, and I was very excited. It was very fun to try out the ingredients and the recipe that comes with it. Florian gave a 4-5 out of 5, but Joshua wasn't so fond of it, and he gave a 2 out of 5. I gave a 4-5 points too.

This is the first time I made barley this way, and it is a very healthy and tasty recipe to make barley. I adapted the recipe a little to suit us. I did not use the stock they provided and it turned out very tasty too, without it.

The Blessedly-rich Barley Porridge/Økologisk Byg Grød/有机大麦粥[yǒu jī dà mài zhōu]

For babies from 6 months.

If the baby gets tired of brown rice, and potatoes, why not give baby barley for a change. It is more nutritious than brown rice.

Directions:
1. Place a cup of water on the stove to boil.

2. While water is heating, grind ¼ cup of barley into powder for 2 minutes or less.

3. Sprinkle the barley powder into the boiling water and let it sit over low heat for 10 minutes. (Whisk frequently to prevent burning and lumps).

4. Add 3 teaspoons of olive oil and 3 teaspoons of formula milk powder (optional).

Storage:
1. Cool down, pour into ice cube tray and freeze.

2. Once frozen, knock the cubes out and store them in freezer bags (makes 2 ice cube trays, can store up to 8 weeks)

Tip:
Mixed with 1/2 mashed banana, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon flaxseed or brewer's yeast and serve it as breakfast :-)

Nutritional Value:
Barley is a very good source of fiber and selenium. It also serves as a good source of the minerals phosphorus, copper and manganese. A cup of cooked barley will give you 23.0% of the daily value for phosphorus.

The phosphorus provided by barley plays a role in the structure of every cell in the body. Copper, another trace mineral supplied by barley, may also be helpful in reducing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Selenium is an essential component of several major metabolic pathways, including thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function. A cup of cooked barley provides 52.0% of the daily value for selenium. Accumulated evidence from prospective studies, intervention trials and studies on animal models of cancer has suggested a strong inverse correlation between selenium intake and cancer incidence. Several mechanisms have been suggested to explain the cancer-preventive activities of selenium. Selenium has been shown to induce DNA repair and synthesis in damaged cells, to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, and to induce their apoptosis, the self-destruct sequence the body uses to eliminate worn out or abnormal cells.

For people worried about colon cancer risk, barley packs a double punch by providing the fiber needed to minimize the amount of time cancer-causing substances spend in contact with colon cells, plus being a very good source of selenium, which has been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer significantly. Phenolics, powerful antioxidants that work in multiple ways to prevent disease, are one major class of phytonutrients that have been widely studied.

Research reported at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) International Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, by Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Cornell University shows that whole grains, such as barley, contain many powerful phytonutrients. His team measured the antioxidant activity of various foods, assigning each a rating based on a formula (micromoles of vitamin C equivalent per gram). Broccoli and spinach measured 80 and 81, respectively; apple and banana measured 98 and 65; and of the whole grains tested, corn measured 181, whole wheat 77, oats 75, and brown rice 56. Dr. Liu's findings may help explain why studies have shown that populations eating diets high in fiber-rich whole grains consistently have lower risk for colon cancer.

In many studies, eating whole grains, such as barley, has been linked to protection against atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, and premature death. A new study and accompanying editorial, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition explains the likely reasons behind these findings and recommends at least 3 servings of whole grains should be eaten daily.

Avoid using the quick-cook barley as it contains less soluble fiber or protein, than does the Hulled Barley.

References:
Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=127

Use pressure cooker for cooking meat and beans

I re-discovered this time-saving tip from my friend Jenny, who uses it to cook beans for her toddler. You can use any beans and grains, but the below is what I usually use:

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup red beans or kidney beans

- 1/2 cup mung beans

- 1/2 cup black beans

- 1/2 cup barley

- 1/2 cup millet

- 1/2 cup quinoa

- 6 cups water (as a general rule, 2 parts water to each part of beans/grains)

Directions:

1. Soak them overnight (optional, I tried without soaking and it worked well too)

2. Bring to pressure on high heat. Once the pressure cooker reaches pressure, cook on the second setting for 15 minutes (no. 2 on my stove).

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Additional Information:

It made me recall that my mum used pressure cooker to cook food very often when I was a child. I started using the pressure cooker to cook long-cooking items such as beans, grains and meat such as osso bucco or Chinese beef stew. It especially reduces the cooking time for meat from 3 hours to 30 minutes (excluding preparation time) plus the meat cooked from pressure tends to be very tender.

Pressure-cooking also helps to minimize vitamins loss during cooking.

I love my WMF pressure cooker which I bought from amazon. It is considered the rolls-Royce of pressure cookers, but I really like the safety features and the durable German quality. I have been so happy with it that I have also bought more WMF pots after that.