Red Bean and Barley Sweet Soup (Liquidised) | IDDSI Level 3 Recipe

IDDSI Level 3 (Liquidised) | 90 minutes | Easy

Red bean and barley sweet soup (紅豆薏米糖水, hung dau yi mai tong seui) is one of the most beloved summer dessert soups in Hong Kong — a staple of dessert shops, home kitchens, and Cantonese tong sui culture throughout the humid months of May to September. In traditional Chinese medicine, Job’s tears barley (薏米, Coix lacryma-jobi) is prized for its ability to eliminate excess dampness (祛濕) from the body — a concept deeply embedded in Cantonese wellness philosophy for managing the heavy humidity that characterises Hong Kong summers. Red adzuki beans (紅豆) are attributed with blood-nourishing and mild diuretic properties and give the soup its characteristic deep burgundy-red colour. Together with rock sugar, the soup is simmered until both beans and barley are completely soft, yielding a sweet, warming (or chilled) soup with a rich, earthy flavour. For individuals on IDDSI Level 3 Liquidised diets, whole cooked red beans and swollen barley grains both present unacceptable choking risks — even when very soft, their solid structure cannot be safely swallowed as whole pieces. This adaptation simmers the beans and barley to complete softness, then strains the soup through a fine-mesh sieve to yield a smooth, particle-free, flowing red-tinted liquid that carries the full flavour profile of the classic sweet soup while meeting Level 3 requirements.

Ingredients (3–4 servings)

• 80g dried red adzuki beans (紅豆; soaked overnight or minimum 4 hours before cooking)
• 60g Job’s tears barley (薏米 / 生薏米; soaked overnight or minimum 2 hours; avoid pre-roasted varieties for medicinal soups)
• 1.2 litres water
• 50–70g rock sugar (老冰糖; adjust to taste — add after straining)
• 2 dried tangerine peel strips / chen pi (陳皮; optional; adds a citrusy, mildly bitter note that balances sweetness and aids digestion)
• 3 pitted red dates (optional; adds sweetness and deepens colour)

Method

1. Soak red beans overnight (or minimum 4 hours) in cold water. Soak Job’s tears barley for at least 2 hours. Drain and rinse both before cooking.
2. Combine soaked and drained red beans, Job’s tears barley, tangerine peel (if using), red dates (if using), and 1.2 litres of fresh water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over high heat.
3. Reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 75–90 minutes, until both red beans and barley are completely soft and beginning to break down. The soup will have turned a deep burgundy-red. Check water level occasionally and add 100ml more hot water if the soup reduces below the beans.
4. Remove tangerine peel and date skins if used. Add rock sugar and stir until fully dissolved.
5. Pour all contents through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot. Press the cooked beans and barley firmly against the sieve to extract the starch and flavour into the liquid, then discard all solid material — red bean skins and flesh, barley grains, tangerine peel, date flesh.
6. The resulting liquid should be a smooth, deep reddish-brown flowing soup. If particles remain, strain a second time through muslin cloth.
7. Return to low heat to keep warm. Taste and adjust sweetness.
8. Serve warm. Can also be chilled and served cold in summer — re-confirm absence of particles after chilling, as starches can cause slight gelation on cooling that should be checked.

Texture Test

IDDSI Level 3 (Liquidised) confirmation: Tilt a loaded spoon — the red bean soup should flow slowly and continuously, leaving a thin, slightly tinted film on the back of the spoon. Using the IDDSI syringe test at 45 degrees, 1–10ml should be expelled over 10 seconds. The liquid must be completely clear of bean skins, barley grains, or any particulate matter.

Particle-free confirmation: Rub a small amount between clean fingertips — there must be no gritty or textured sensation. Note: starch from pressed beans will give the liquid a very slightly viscous, silky feel — this is expected and acceptable for Level 3, as it remains a flowing liquid without solids.

Cold serving check: If chilling for summer consumption, the liquid may become very slightly thicker due to starch gelation. If it no longer flows freely, warm briefly and retest before serving cold.

Safety Notes

⚠️ All solids must be strained out — even fully cooked and very soft red beans and barley grains are solid foods (IDDSI Level 7) that pose a real choking and aspiration risk for Level 3 Liquidised diets. The pressing step extracts maximum flavour while ensuring all solid matter is removed.

⚠️ Red bean skins are particularly hazardous — cooked red bean skins can slip through coarser sieves and remain in the liquid as thin, papery pieces that are difficult to detect visually. Use a fine-mesh sieve and inspect the strained liquid carefully, or strain through muslin for maximum safety.

⚠️ Sugar content — this is a sweet soup; for diabetic individuals, reduce rock sugar significantly or substitute with a small amount of stevia. The natural sweetness of red beans and dates may be sufficient without added sugar.

⚠️ Serving temperature — confirm below 60°C before serving; chilled version must be confirmed particle-free before service.

Sourcing in Hong Kong

• Red adzuki beans (紅豆): Supermarkets (dried goods aisle) and wet market grain stalls; choose whole, uniformly red beans with no mould or off-smell; avoid pre-soaked or pre-cooked versions
• Job’s tears barley (薏米 / 生薏米): Supermarket dried goods, Chinese herbalists, and grain stalls; choose raw (生) Job’s tears rather than roasted for medicinal soups; pale cream-white colour; rinse thoroughly before soaking
• Dried tangerine peel (陳皮): Chinese herbalists; aged varieties (5+ years) are preferred for more complex flavour; supermarket versions are acceptable
• Rock sugar (老冰糖): Supermarket condiment aisle; traditional yellow crystal rock sugar is preferred

Nutrition

Approximately 80–110 kcal per 200ml strained serving. The pressed and strained liquid retains significant water-soluble starch from both red beans and Job’s tears barley, providing a thicker, more nutritionally dense flowing soup than a simple water extract. Red bean broth carries meaningful levels of potassium, iron, folate, and antioxidant anthocyanins (which give the characteristic red colour). Job’s tears barley contributes water-soluble fibre, amino acids, and compounds associated with anti-inflammatory properties in traditional practice. Rock sugar provides accessible carbohydrate energy — valuable for elderly individuals with poor appetite during humid summer months.

Cultural Note

紅豆薏米糖水 is the quintessential Hong Kong summer dessert soup — as culturally embedded in the city’s hot-season rhythm as mango pudding and cold milk tea. Cantonese wellness culture treats 薏米 as an essential counter to the damp-heat (濕熱) that intensifies through the summer months, and serving red bean and barley soup is as much a seasonal ritual as a nutritional choice. For elderly residents, this soup carries memories of post-dinner tong sui outings, of family gatherings in the heat of summer, of the particular comfort of a warm or cold bowl after a difficult day. Providing a Level 3-compliant version allows individuals with dysphagia to participate fully in this seasonal tradition, maintaining connection to cultural rhythm and communal memory rather than being set apart by a medical dietary restriction.