Introduction: Coix seed, also known as Job's tears, is one of the common medicinal herbs used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. The earliest medicinal record of coix seed appears in "Shennong Ben Cao Jing" (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica Classic), which states that coix seed is effective in treating rheumatic arthralgia, promotes qi circulation to eliminate dampness, and long-term consumption can also lighten the body and replenish qi. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that coix seed is sweet and bland in taste, cool in nature, and targets the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians. It has the effects of promoting urination to drain dampness, strengthening the spleen to relieve arthralgia, and clearing heat to expel pus. Therefore, many Cantonese households keep coix seeds to make congee and soups to strengthen the spleen and drain dampness.
Chi Xiaoling, Chief Physician of the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says that coix seed, with its bland nature that both drains dampness and gently tonifies, can both promote urination to reduce swelling and strengthen the spleen to support the middle jiao. It is most suitable for conditions caused by spleen deficiency, such as diarrhea, edema, and beriberi-related swelling. It can be used alone to make congee or cooked rice, or combined with herbs like Codonopsis root, Atractylodes macrocephala root, Astragalus root, and Poria to make medicinal diets, such as Coix Seed and Poria Congee, and Coix Seed, Codonopsis, and Poria Lean Pork Soup. Meanwhile, due to its cool nature, coix seed can clear heat and drain dampness, making it an excellent dietary remedy for summer heat and dampness. It can be paired with winter melon, dried tangerine peel, and lotus leaf to make medicinal diets, such as Coix Seed and Winter Melon Soup. Coix seed can clear lung heat and large intestine heat. For patients with cough accompanied by yellow or purulent phlegm, it can be consumed with winter melon and almonds. For diarrhea accompanied by anal burning, abdominal pain, vexation, and thirst, it can be combined with hyacinth bean, kapok flower, and plantain leaf to make medicinal diets.
In addition, coix seed also has the effect of relaxing the muscles and collaterals and relieving arthralgia, making it a common medicinal herb and dietary remedy for arthritis. It can be used alone or combined with Atractylodes lancea and chaenomeles fruit to make medicinal diets, such as Coix Seed and Chaenomeles Drink.
It is worth noting that for people with spleen deficiency and diarrhea, it is better to stir-fry the coix seed before consumption for enhanced effects. As coix seed is proficient at draining dampness, it should be used with caution by individuals with body fluid depletion after a febrile illness, or those with a naturally yin-deficient or yin-deficient fire-flourishing constitution.
Dietary Remedies:
1. Coix Seed Congee
Ingredients: 15g coix seed, 50g japonica rice. Wash both ingredients, place them in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until it becomes congee.
Effects: Has the effect of strengthening the spleen to eliminate dampness. Suitable for spleen deficiency diarrhea, spleen deficiency edema, joint pain, and summer health preservation.
Red Bean and Coix Seed Soup
2. Coix Seed and Plantain Leaf Drink
Ingredients: 10g coix seed, 15g plantain leaf (30g for fresh). Wash the two ingredients, place them in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the dregs and keep the liquid, which can be consumed as tea.
Effects: Suitable for people with summer heat-dampness diarrhea, urinary tract infections, etc.
3. Coix Seed, Winter Melon, and Pork Soup
Ingredients: 10g coix seed, 10g hyacinth bean, 5g dried tangerine peel, 500g winter melon (with skin), 400g pork, and an appropriate amount of fresh ginger. Wash the pork, cut it into pieces, and blanch it to remove blood water for later use. Wash the coix seed, hyacinth bean, and dried tangerine peel. Wash the winter melon (with skin) and cut it into pieces. Slice the ginger. Place all the ingredients in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours, and season with salt to finish.
Effects: Has the effect of strengthening the spleen to eliminate dampness. Suitable for summer heat-dampness health preservation.
Coix Seed and Winter Melon Pork Rib Soup
4. Coix Seed, Red Bean, and Crucian Carp Soup
Ingredients: 30g coix seed, 30g red bean, 5g dried tangerine peel, 3 slices of ginger, and 1 crucian carp (about 400g). Remove the scales and intestines from the carp, wash it, and pan-fry it in a wok until cooked for later use. Wash the coix seed, red bean, dried tangerine peel, and ginger. Place them with the carp in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1-1.5 hours. Add an appropriate amount of cooking wine, bring to a boil for a moment, and it is ready to eat.
Effects: Has the effect of strengthening the spleen, eliminating dampness, and reducing swelling. Suitable for people with spleen deficiency edema and beriberi-related swelling.
5. Coix Seed Eight-Treasure Congee
Ingredients: 10g coix seed, 5 red dates, 10g hyacinth bean, 10g lotus seed kernel, 10g walnut kernel, 10g longan pulp, 100g glutinous rice, and an appropriate amount of brown sugar. Wash all the ingredients and place them in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until it becomes congee. Stir in brown sugar to finish.
Effects: Has the effect of strengthening the spleen to whet the appetite, and replenishing qi and nourishing blood. Suitable for people with a spleen-deficient constitution, weak spleen and stomach, poor appetite, vexation, and insomnia.
Mung Bean, Lotus Seed, and Coix Seed Pudding
Porridge toad soup
Green Bean Lotus Rice
Caramel banana pie