Five-spice

[Damaris]

Fivespice powder (Chinese: 五香粉; pinyin: wǔxiāng fěn) is a spice mixture of five or more spices used predominantly in almost all branches of Chinese cuisine. The five flavors of the spices (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and savory) refers to the five traditional Chinese elements.[1] The addition of eight other spices creates thirteen-spice powder (十三香), which is used less commonly.

In Southern China, Cinnamomum loureiroi and Mandarin orange peel are commonly used as substitutes for Cinnamomum cassia and cloves respectively. These ingredients collectively produce southern five-spice powders' distinctive, slightly different flavor profile. In one study, the potential antioxidant capacities of Chinese five-spice powder (consisting of Szechuan pepper, fennel seed, cinnamon, star anise, and clove) with varying proportion of individual spice ingredients was investigated through four standard methods. The results suggest that clove is the major contributor to the high antioxidant capacities of the five-spice powder whereas the other four ingredients contribute to the flavor.[3]

Five spice may be used with fatty meats such as pork, duck or goose. It is used as a spice rub for chicken, duck, pork and seafood, in red cooking recipes, or added to the breading for fried foods.[2] Five spice is used in recipes for Cantonese roasted duck, as well as beef stew. Canned spiced pork cubes is very popular as well. Five spice is used as a marinade for Vietnamese broiled chicken. The five-spice powder mixture has followed the Chinese diaspora and has been incorporated into other national cuisines throughout Asia.

In Hawaii, some restaurants place a shaker of the spice on each patron's table. A seasoned salt can be easily made by dry-roasting common salt with five-spice powder under low heat in a dry pan until the spice and salt are well mixed.

Most published mentions focus on the number five, even though you do not have to include five spices. In general, Chinese five-spice powder involves blending star anise, cassia (cinnamon), cloves, fennel and Sichuan peppercorn. You could describe those spices as offering sweet, savory, zingy, bitter, earthy notes.

The formula for discussing each food is, first, to indicate to which of the five flavors it belongs. Those are: sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty; related respectively to the five agents or five elements, earth, wood, fire, metal and water. Although not made explicit and this work, one medical theory holds that the flavors relate to the five viscera, through their corresponding agent: the stomach (earth), the liver (wood), the heart (fire), the lungs (metal) and the kidney (water).

Beyond the foundational five spices, you may add different kinds of cardamom; I favor sweet and menthol green pods or smoky menthol black cardamom. Black peppercorns are also a potential addition, as is ground ginger.

For the blend I created this time, I focused on eight spices and included wonderful cassia, star anise and peppercorns cultivated in Vietnam. (Note that many of the spices for Chinese five-spice are also used for brewing pho broth; see this pho spice primer.) The black cardamom I purchased for making Hanoi-style pho and a pho spice blend may have come from Vietnam too. (Not familiar with black cardamom? Check out the National Geographic story on trekking for the spice.)

I tinkered with the blend to include two more spices, but I have to admit to you that things got a bit muddled. Eight seemed enough for me this time. The cool thing about DIY Chinese five-spice powder is you can experiment with it. You can start with the basic five spices, and if you don't like it, add more spices and re-blend!

In using the homemade five-spice powder in dishes, I noticed that they had extra sparkle. That may have been because of the freshly ground spices and the blend itself, but gosh, it took little effort to add zip to my Asian food. I don't think I'll go back to buying the spice blend again.

Hi I just ran across this article. I have a wonderful 13 year old daughter from Hanoi. I have done little to immerse her in her culture. Where do I begin introducing her to cooking so that she does not continue with Mac n cheese or chicken nuggets!! Thank you!!

- Into the Vietnamese Kitchen is full of history and great techniques.

- The Pho Cookbook includes photos of Vietnam and all kinds of traditional and modern recipes. It includes a great history of pho.

- Vietnamese Food Any Day is easy, casual cooking.

- The Banh Mi Handbook is fun and easy going.

I was planning to make this as a Christmas gift for my family. They typically buy the package with the deer while I typically blend my own from whole spices. Sadly I have procrastinated and will send this as a new years gift instead. I'm super excited to be getting my spices from burlap and barrel. We use them at the restaurant I work at and everything has such amazing aroma. However, they don't have black cardamom. I've scoured the grocery stores and haven't found it here in the bay area. Where do you get yours?

How cool! For the black cardamom, try a Chinese or Viet market. It's normally just called "cardamom" and there's about 5 of them to a package. I just checked Amazon and it's available but would arrive after Christmas:

Thanks for the five spice recipe. Did you make your own ground ginger? Another mysterious Chinese spice mix is the kind used for Hu mi/ X muội (preserved plums). I serious don't know what's in it!

I didn't grind the ginger myself. Your surely could from dried ginger pieces, but they're not as readily available. Hu mi/ X muội (preserved plums) is indeed a tough one to crack! Maybe some day....?

One of my favorite items to use during the fall season is pumpkin. I'm not talking about the creamy puree you buy in a can but rather the actual pumpkin. In fact, it's easy to roast as you would any other winter squash. In this roasted pumpkin soup, pumpkin is combined with aromatic five-spice powder from Frontier Co-op, parsnips, and ginger. The result is a creamy and flavorful soup that is perfect for those cooler fall nights. Look for smaller sugar pie pumpkins next to the butternut and acorn squash at farmers' markets or at your local co-op (it's national co-op month after all)!

Tips & Tricks: Add about 1 tablespoon of fresh minced ginger when you puree the soup if you want a bit of a kick. For a very smooth soup, pour through a sieve before heating on the stove.

I love recipes that only have a few ingredients. It's easier to swap out an ingredient without changing the flavors too much from the original recipe. With this roasted pumpkin soup, both the pumpkin and the parsnip can be swapped depending on what you have on hand or what you can find.

I'm excited to be partnering with my favorite spice company during national co-op month. I love being able to go to one of my local co-ops and grab spices from the bulk area because I know they will always be the most fresh. Plus, my co-ops carry Frontier, so I know I'm getting good quality. Once you pick up five spice powder for this recipe, you can also make:

One of my preferred products to use during the fall season is pumpkin. I'm not talking about the luscious puree you buy in a can but rather the actual pumpkin. In fact, it's simple to roast as you would certainly other winter months squash. I'm in total love with this idea, and your pictures are regularly fantastic. Many thanks for sharing this tasty recipe.

The great thing about the dish is that you broil the salmon and the green beans on the same baking sheet so there is little clean up. I would suggest using haricot vert instead of regular green beans as they are thinner and will cook more quickly.

In a small bowl, whisk the honey, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and garlic. Put the salmon skin side down on a large plate and pour the honey mixture over it. Flip the fillets so they are skin side up. Let the fish marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.

In a large bowl, toss the green beans with the canola and sesame oils. Arrange the beans on one half of the prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the salmon skin side down on the other half of the baking sheet. Brush the salmon with any remaining marinade from the plate.

Broil the salmon and green beans for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, toss the green beans with tongs, and reposition the salmon pieces as needed so that they cook evenly. Continue to broil until the salmon is just cooked through and the beans are crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Toss the green beans with the sesame seeds and lemon juice and serve.

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An old friend from England contacted me yesterday via Facebook with a couple of questions about Five Spice Powder.

Thought there me be some interest here, too.

Is there anything more typically Chinese than five spice powder (五香粉 - wǔ xiāng fěn)?

I'm not suggesting that FSP shouldn't be used outside of Chinese food. Please just don't call the results Chinese when you sprinkle it on your fish and chips or whatever. They haven't miraculously become Chinese!

Like my neighbours and friends, I very rarely use it at all.

In fact, I'd be delighted to hear how it is used in other cultures / cuisines.

According to my battered and beloved hard copy of "The Joy of Cooking" (and I can't really tell you the correct copyright date because it has 22 of them ranging from 1931 to 1997) this is their take on the recipe for Five Spice Powder:

"The first three ingredients in this licorice-scented brown powder are star anise, Szechuan pepper, and fennel or anise seeds. Cinnamon and cloves bring the number to five, but two more may be added, chosen from licorice root, cardamom, and ginger."

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