Coconut Barley Pilaf With Corn, Chicken and Cashews Recipe (2024)

I'm guessing the reason this recipe has a three-star rating is because 2 cups of barley in 2 cups of coconut milk is WAY too much grain for the liquid. Had to keep topping up liquid to prevent scorching on the bottom. Also one chicken breast for the quantity of barley you end up with is not enough. Flavors are wonderful, just adjust the amount of dry barley you put in-- probably by half.

I really enjoyed this! Added frozen peas and carrots because it was what I had on hand and it still turned out great. Did have to add about another cup of water about halfway through cooking the barley, but no big deal. I agree that you might want to add more chicken or cut down the barley. I'd say it's probably closer to six servings.

I halved the barley and doubled the chicken, per everyone’s recommendation. It was serviceable but not great. Would not make again.

Everything about the amount of ingredients in this recipe for 4 servings seems correct EXCEPT the amount of barley. One cup of dry barley requires about 3 cups of liquid and results in about 3 ½ cups of cooked barley. For the amount of liquid in the recipe, ⅔ cup of dry barley would be about right. Maybe the recipe writer was thinking of 2 cups cooked barley, or about ½ cup cooked barley per person, which is what you should get from cooking up ⅔ cup of dry barley.

I agree - Way too much barley for the liquid. Have added 1&1/2x ups more water and still :10 minutes needed for the corn step so may have to add even more water! Chicken isn’t enough for this amount of barley.

Comments here were really helpful in making this dish successful!- 1 cup barley with 1 can of coconut milk 1 cup of water made PLENTY - added about a teaspoon of grated ginger with the onions and jalapenos- didn't shy away from the salt, prob added a 1/2 - 1tsp with onions- I wanted this to be a side dish, so ommited the chicken and added a cup of frozen peas which made the end result much more colorful. Used frozen corn as wellMy result was a tasty, Thai inspired risotto like dish.

I adjusted the recipe according to the comments and it was delicious! I used 3x as much chicken as the recipe called for, and used half the amount of barley. Before adding the liquid to the barley, I toasted it a little bit so it got more of a nutty flavor. Instead of using a whole can of coconut milk, I used 1 cup of coconut milk and 2 cups of chicken broth, it gave the pilaf a very rich flavor. Overall, it was a good meal.

Agree with other comments about liquid to barley ratio. I also added a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger just after the onions were translucent, some additional fresh cilantro while it was simmering, and a little bit of red curry paste. This is a nice basic dish that benefits from some improvisation.

I would add more coconut milk because it was too much grain. Also, I'd say some chicken broth would be better than just water. Otherwise is fine and tasty.

Def use all the jalapeno, plenty of salt. Need more mint. Very easy to be bland due to strong taste of barley. Maybe more green in it....parsley, green pepper? LIke to overall concept of using barley as a base, but it needs lots of flavoring! Oh - and use 3:1 liquid:barley ratio.

This recipe worked for me as written, including adding the 1 1/4 cup liquid when adding the corn. At 40 minutes or a little before, the barley had begun sticking to the bottom, but was fine once the additional liquid was added. The coconut milk is a nice flavor with barley, and something I would never have thought of. In the end, a simple, warming, comforting grain dish. Don’t forget the cilantro at the end.

Really good once you add curry to it. So either curry powder or curry paste (and half the barley). Cook it like risotto.

Liquid to barley ratio should be 2:1. Reduced barley to one cup and used 1 cup coconut milk and one cup water. The results were bland, monochromatic, and gooey.

This was tasty. I only had 1 3/4 cups of barley but still had to add extra water during the cooking process. I used an entire rotisserie chicken, so there was plenty of meat in mine. I think I would use peppers next time instead of corn to get a little more flavor and color. I would probably also double the number of cashews as the bites that had cashews were really good.

Use peanuts, not cashews. Also, the dish is so boring-looking it's unappetizing. It's basically white mush. It needs color. I chopped and roasted some broccoli, red pepper and green pepper and added them at end when the whole dish comes together. That makes it a slam dunk.

I think that 2 cups of barley is way too much for 4 servings. Not enough liquids to get it cooked without scorching.

I really enjoyed this! Added frozen peas and carrots because it was what I had on hand and it still turned out great. Did have to add about another cup of water about halfway through cooking the barley, but no big deal. I agree that you might want to add more chicken or cut down the barley. I'd say it's probably closer to six servings.