It would be a waste to throw the cooked barley away after taking the barley water only..
To reuse, strain out the barley grains as soon as the barley water comes off the heat to prevent them from being too soggy.
*Important*: Sweeten the barley water only after the barley grains are removed.
You can add cooked barley to soups and stews. Note that it can soak up flavours and release little starch. Best suited for Asians and Western soups and stews.
It's robust texture combine well with deep flavours such as duck, beef, chicken, mushrooms, lamb and caramelised vegetables.
Use cooked barley as grain salad base with rice, bulgur wheat or mix it with sweetcorn kernels and fry up fritters.
Combine with brown rice to make as stuffing based for roast chicken.
Puree cooked barley in blender to make a paste to stir in cream soups, stews or even curries to add body. You can even stir into Asian pudding type desserts such as pulut hitam, bubur terigu, Indian Kheer or payasam, black sesame cream and more, to add texture and flavour.
lastly, there's a Taiwanese-style dessert using soft barley grains on shaved ice with lightly sweetened fresh milk. It's plain & delicious.