Job's tears is the hard, bead-like grain of Coix lacryma-jobi, a tall tropical grass of the same family as maize and sorghum. Hulled and polished, the white, barley-like kernels — known as adlay or hato mugi — cook to a chewy, mildly nutty, faintly sweet grain eaten in soups, porridges, teas and tonics across East and Southeast Asia.