A Crock Pot based revised version of a
traditional Chinese soup. Rather than
relying on candied watermelon, this recipe
uses cranberries and rock sugar as
sweeteners. The final thicker consistency
comes from using almond milk rather than
water. Both almonds and Chinese barley
(also known as “Job’s tears”) are nutritious
as they come with proteins, fibre,
magnesium and vitamins. It also
contributes to reducing blood sugar levels.
Details
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cooking Time: 4 h. 30 min.
Serves 4
Kcal per serve: 380
Ingredients
• ½ cup of Chinese barley/ Job’s tears
• 100 grams of blanched almonds (3.5 oz)
• 2 cups of plain almond milk, no sugar added
• 1 cup of water
• 20 grams of white snow fungus (0.7 oz)
• ¼ cup of dried cranberries
• 50 grams of rock sugar (1.8 oz)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds, toasted
Preparation
1. Soak the snow-white fungus in water for 20 minutes.
Drain and then cut into small bite-sized sections. Discard the
hard stems.
2. Pulverize the blanched almonds and Chinese barley in a
food processor (or the dry mill of a regular kitchen blender)
to resemble coarse crumbs. Pound or crush the rock sugar
into smaller pieces, not bigger than 1-inch pieces as smaller
rock sugar dissolves faster in warm liquid.
3. Prepare your Instant Pot to slow cooker mode. Into the
bowl, add the pulverized Chinese barley and almonds,
almond milk, water, rock sugar and sea salt. You can use
regular kosher salt if you like.
4. Set the pot on Low for four hours. Stir once or twice
during cooking time. The Chinese barley should double in
size, approximately the size of cooked beans. The milk
should be thickened by the starch that is in the barley pearls.
5. After four hours, add the fungus and dried cranberries.
Cook on Low for another 20-30 minutes. Stir to combine and
serve in individual bowls, sprinkled with some toasted sliced
almonds.
Cooking Tips
Be sure to select high-quality snow white fungus, which is
light yellow and looks fairly clean (no dark or brown spots).
To get a thicker texture, include one cup of almond milk. To
get a consistency more like porridge, add a half cup of water
or a quarter cup of the Chinese barley.