Authentic Chinese Five Spice
Authentic Chinese five spice is simple to make at home. Chinese five spice has a warming flavor with hints of licorice and is common in Chinese cuisine.
Ingredients
- 5-6 star anise pods, 2 tablespoons ground
- 1 cassia cinnamon stick, 2 tablespoons ground
- 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns, or ground
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves, or ground
Directions
- Take any spices you have that are whole and place them into a small skillet. Set over medium heat and toast them, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Remove them from the pan and allow them to cool to room temperature.
- Using a spice grinder, or coffee grinder, add the whole spices and blend for 3-5 seconds. Shake the container and blend again for 3-5 seconds. Add any ground spices you’re using and pulse the grinder a few times to mix thoroughly.
- Optionally, you can sift the spices through a fine mesh strainer to remove any small chunks that weren’t fully blended.
Equipment Used
Notes
- Toasting & Grinding – The reason for letting the ingredients cool after toasting, and not just grinding everything until it’s a powder, is so that you don’t accidentally give everything a burnt flavor. Toasting and grinding hot spices until powdered can make them too hot and turn the flavors bitter. It can also burn out some of the flavor compounds you want in the seasoning.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5 teaspoonCalories: 2kcalCarbohydrates: 0.3gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 10mgPotassium: 6mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.003gCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
