Job's Tears-yì mí

Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, Tear Grass, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to Southeast Asia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment it is grown in higher areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Vyjanti beads 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).

There are two main varieties of the species. (1)Wild type Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa and var. monilifer has hard shelled pseudocarps which are very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. (2)Cultivated type Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.

Uses

Besides the use for ornamental purposes, Job's tears grains are useful as source of food (cereals) and folk medicine.

Throughout East Asia, Vyjanti beads 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 (옥로주; hanja: 玉露酒), which is made from rice and Job's tears. In Japan, an aged vinegar is made from the grain.

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).

In Thailand, it is often consumed in teas and other drinks, such as soy milk.

It is also used alongside other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.
(source from wiki)

Author's Input:
 My mom uses this to make herbal soup, congee, and sweet dessert.  I love making the dessert kind.  Like most of my family members, I too have a sweet tooth.  Usually, I boil this with rock sugar or cane sugar, foo chuk, lotus seed, and dried longans.