The Chinese Five Spice blend is a staple in Chinese cooking, and is often used in a technique called “flavour potting”, where meat is steeped in a rich sauce and cooked for long hours. The spices included here are the most commonly used in five-spice powder, with the sweet tones of star anise , cloves and cinnamon with the bite of Szechwan pepper , all married together wtih ground fennel seeds. Some recipes use them in equal proportions, others use more of one to heighten a specific flavor. Generally though, Chinese five spice is dominated by the aroma and flavour of star anise . It is used in many Asian recipes, its sweet tangy flavour goes well with greasy meats like pork and duck. Stir-fried vegetables are enhanced by sprinkling about a teaspoon of Chinese five-spice over them when cooking. Add a little salt and it makes an excellent spice rub for chicken, duck, pork and seafood.
To Order Chinese Five Spice
if you prefer to order ready-made Chinese five spice you can order through the Epicentre.
Recipe for Chinese Five Spice
Blend the following ground spices:
1 1/2 tbsp star anise
2 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp cassia
or cinnamon
1/2 tsp Szechwan pepper
1/2 tsp cloves
optional
: 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and/or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
.
Both will give added bite and depth of flavour.
Photo by Tim Sackton / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Five_spices_detailed.jpg ..
