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Five-spice powder () is a spice mixture of five or more spices—commonly star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds—used predominantly in almost all branches of Chinese cuisine. The five flavors of the spices reflect the five traditional Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) and flavors (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and savory). The addition of eight other spices creates (), which is used less commonly.
Ingredients
thumb|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)
- Fennel seeds (xiǎohuíxiāng 小茴香)
- Cloves (dīngxiāng 丁香)
- Chinese cinnamon (ròuguì 肉桂)
- Sichuan pepper (huājiāo 花椒)
Other recipes may contain anise seed, ginger root, nutmeg, turmeric, Amomum villosum pods (shārén ), Amomum cardamomum pods (báidòukòu ), licorice, Mandarin orange peel or galangal.
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 powder's distinctive, slightly different flavor profile.
Use
Five-spice powder is used as a spice rub for chicken, duck, goose, pork, and seafood, in red cooking recipes, or added to the breading for fried foods.
It has a traditional use as an antiseptic and a cure for indigestion.
See also
- Curry powder
- List of culinary herbs and spices
- Mala (seasoning)
- Ngo hiang
- Panch phoron
- Shichimi