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| Coix lacryma-jobi L. |
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Coix agrestis Lour. |
Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to East Asia and peninsular Malaysia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. Job's Tears is also commonly, but misleadingly sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, despite the fact that C. lacryma-jobi are not of the same genus as barley (Hordeum vulgare).
Two varieties of the species are grown. Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi has hard shelled pseudocarps which are very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.
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Etymology
Job's Tears are called many different names in different cultures:
- Chinese: The plants are called chuān gǔ (川谷) or yì yǐ (薏苡). The grains are called yì mǐ (薏米) or yì rén (薏仁).
- Vietnamese: bo bo, hột bo bo (hột meaning "seed"), cườm gạo, or ý dĩ (derived from the Chinese 薏苡)
- Japanese: juzudama (数珠玉 or ジュズダマ) or hatomugi (鳩麦 or ハトムギ)
- Korean: yulmu (율무) in [1]
They are sometimes also referred to as Coix Seeds.
Uses
Throughout East Asia, Job's Tears are available in dried form and cooked as a grain. The grains are generally spherical, with a groove on one end, and polished white in color, though in Japan unpolished yuuki hatomugi, which is unpolished and brown in color, is also available.
In Korea, a thick drink called yulmu cha (율무차, literally "Job's tears tea") is made from powdered Job's tears. A similar drink, called yì mí shǔi (薏米水), also appears in Chinese cuisine, and is made by simmering whole polished Job's Tears in water and sweetening the resulting thin, cloudy liquid with sugar. The grains are usually strained from the liquid but may also be consumed separately or together.
In both Korea and China, distilled liquors are also made from the grain. One such example is the South Korean liquor called okroju (hanja: 玉露酒), which is made from rice and Job's tears. In Japan, an aged vinegar is made from the grain.[2]
In southern Vietnam, a sweet, cold soup called sâm bổ lượng has Job's Tears as one of its ingredients. This dish derives from the southern Chinese tong sui called qīng bǔ liáng (清補涼; Cantonese: ching1 bou2 leung4).
It is also used alongside other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.
References
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11892.
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 6 January 2009, at 16:51.
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