Chinese 5 Spice Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Chinese 5 spice made of? ›

Five spice is a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. If you don't have Sichuan peppercorns to hand, you could substitute them for black peppercorns – the flavour will still be nice, although it won't have the same heat.

Star anise, allspice, garam masala, sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon sticks are all worthy replacements – but the real stuff is always best!

Although it's not spicy-hot, it is rather intense. “Less is more” is a good rule of thumb to use when cooking with it. With that in mind, feel free to experiment. It's such an easy way to add complex flavor to a dish, it's almost like cheating!

In the culinary arts, five spice (also known as Chinese five spice) is a blend of ground spices used in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking.

At first glance seven spice powder may sound like a variant on Chinese five spice powder, but they couldn't be more different. Or rather, they're exactly as different as their native cuisines. Five spice, fragrant with sweet and spicy anise flavors, is the perfect compliment to meaty Chinese braises and barbecues.

The Health Benefits of Five-Spice:

Szechuan peppercorns contain capsaicin which creates a feeling of heat which helps boost the digestive system. It is a rich source of vitamin A, carotenes, and pyridoxine.

Blended especially for chefs, McCormick Culinary Chinese Five Spice is a culinary-grade blend of authentic spices to give recipes made-from-scratch flavor and aroma. McCormick Culinary Chinese Five Spice is kosher and made with no added MSG.

The warm, spicy-sweet flavor of allspice is very similar to that of five-spice powder, a blend of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cloves, and ginger or pepper. Use equal parts of five-spice powder in place of the ground allspice called for in a recipe—it's great for both savory and sweet applications.

To start with, Chinese five spice is Chinese in origin. Seven spice powder is Japanese, and also called shichimi togarashi.

Ingredients. A common mix for ground five-spice powder (center) is (clockwise from top left) cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and cloves. While there are many variants, a common mix is: Star anise (bājiǎo 八角)

Does Chinese 5 spice taste like licorice? ›

The blend generally consists of five spices - star anise, fennel, cinnamon (cassia), Sichuan pepper, and clove. The blend should be balanced, but many versions are dominated by the flavor of licorice because of the heavy handed use of star anise and fennel.

While you're unlikely to eat enough Chinese 5 Spice to derive great nutritional benefits from it, the spices included in this mix are rich in antioxidants and are also a terrific source of minerals such as copper, iron, and manganese.

Allspice is the dried, unripened berry of the myrtle pepper tree, or pimento, which is native to Jamaica and much of Central America. The berries are briefly fermented, then sun-dried until brown. Often mistaken for a blend of spices, allspice is a single-ingredient seasoning with loads of unique flavor.

McCormick Culinary Chinese Five Spice is kosher and made with no added MSG.

It is like an upgrade version of Five Spices, meaning it has a deeper, profound flavor profile. Thirteen Spices has similar function as Five Spices, but it works better to remove stronger odor from meat such as lamb or deer, or for a cuisine that requires stronger seasonings e.g. a Sichuan spicy hot pot.