I thought the soy sauce overpowered the other flavors. If I make this again, I'll use half the soy sauce.

Reviewed On: May 6, 2009

This was excellent. I made the vegetarian version, using 2 cans of garbanzo beans instead of one. I also skipped the recommended spices and seasoned it with ras al hanout, a Moroccan spice blend. The ras al hanout gave it a rich, complex flavor. This was a great easy, inexpensive and healthy meal.

Reviewed On: Nov. 16, 2008

With a few additions, this was great--really tasty and filling. Because other reviewers said the soup lacked some flavor, I used a whole onion and added 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. I also added a package of fresh spinach a few minutes before serving, along with a generous amount of freshly grated pepper. I topped each serving with parmesan cheese. The only barley I could find in my supermarket was quick-cooking barley. I wasn't sure how that would work, so I added it after the beef, onion and stock had cooked for about 2 hours. It came out great. I used a whole box (around 10 ounces?) of the quick cooking barley, and the soup was really thick and flavorful.

Reviewed On: Nov. 15, 2008