To make Chinese five-spice, toast four whole star anise, a tablespoon of fennel seed, a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns, a teaspoon of whole cloves, and a two-inch piece of cassia cinnamon in a dry pan until fragrant, cool, and grind to a fine powder. Use it by the half teaspoon, it is one of the strongest blends on any shelf.
What is five-spice?
Five-spice is the licorice-and-warmth blend of Chinese cooking: star anise in charge, fennel doubling down on the anise note, cassia cinnamon and clove bringing the warmth, and Sichuan peppercorn adding its citrusy hum and faint tingle. The name is often tied to the ideal of balancing the five flavors, and whatever the truth of the etymology, the blend does read as complete, sweet, warm, sharp, and fragrant at once.
Its territory is pork and duck above all. Five-spice is the backbone of char siu barbecue pork, the seasoning under crisp roast duck skin, and the aromatic in red-braised dishes where soy, sugar, and wine simmer for an hour. It is also brutally concentrated, the standing mistake with five-spice is using it like paprika. Half a teaspoon flavors a pound of meat, a full tablespoon flavors a week.
What goes in five-spice?
- ·4 whole star anise
- ·1 tbsp fennel seeds
- ·1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- ·1 tsp whole cloves
- ·1 two-inch piece cassia cinnamon, broken up (or 2 tsp ground)
- ·Optional: some traditions add ground ginger or white pepper as a sixth voice
Star anise and fennel form the licorice front, roughly two thirds of the blend by weight, with clove, cassia, and Sichuan peppercorn sharing the rest. If clove leads your batch, it will lead every dish, hold it to the teaspoon.
How do you make five-spice?
- Toast all the whole spices in a dry pan over medium heat, two to three minutes, until the star anise smells loud and the fennel turns golden.
- Cool completely on a plate.
- Grind to a fine powder and sift out any woody bits of the star anise pods.
- Jar it sealed and dark. Strong for three months, alive for six.
- Start with half a teaspoon per pound in rubs and marinades, it escalates quickly.
What should you know before making five-spice?
- Sift after grinding. Star anise pods leave splinters that no one wants to meet in a bite of pork.
- Five-spice plus salt at four to one makes the dipping salt served with crispy chicken and roast squab.
- It has a sweet career too, a pinch in a spice cookie, over roasted pears, or in the sugar for a doughnut.
Where did five-spice come from?
Five-spice powder is an old fixture of Chinese cooking, especially the barbecue and braising traditions of the south, with the exact five varying slightly by region and shop. Star anise, native to southern China, anchors nearly every version, and the blend traveled the world with Cantonese roast meat shops and their lacquered ducks in the window.
What can you make from five-spice?
Common questions.
What are the five spices in Chinese five-spice?
Most commonly star anise, fennel seed, cassia cinnamon, clove, and Sichuan peppercorn. Regional versions swap in ginger, white pepper, or licorice root, the number stays at five more reliably than the roster does.
What do I use five-spice on?
Pork and duck first, char siu, roast duck, braised belly, ribs. Then chicken wings, beef braises, roasted squash and carrots, and in small pinches, baked goods. Use half a teaspoon per pound to start.
Why does my five-spice taste like medicine?
Too much, or a clove-heavy blend. The fix is proportion: keep the dose small and keep clove to a supporting role when you mix your own. When balanced and measured, it reads as warmth, not cough drop.