Five-Spice Powder
Five-spice powder is a fragrant Chinese spice blend typically combining star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seed, used to season roasted and braised meats across Chinese and Vietnamese cooking.
How to buy
Check that the blend includes true Sichuan peppercorn for its characteristic tingling quality, rather than a substitute of plain black pepper. Look for a fragrant reddish-brown powder, and buy in small amounts since the blend's aroma fades over time.
How to store
Keep it airtight in a cool, dark pantry, and use it within about 6 months to a year, since the volatile aromatics from star anise and Sichuan pepper fade fairly quickly.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Warm, sweet, and licorice-forward from star anise and cinnamon, with a peppery tingle from Sichuan pepper and a faint bitterness from cloves. It's designed to balance sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty elements all at once.
- Texture
- A fine, dry reddish-brown powder that disperses fully into marinades and dry rubs.
- Aroma
- Strongly aromatic, dominated by star anise's sweet licorice scent layered with warm cinnamon and clove.
How to prepare
- Rubbed dry onto meat — Pressed into skin or flesh before roasting for a fragrant crust.
- Mixed into marinades — Blended with soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine for braised or roasted dishes.
- Dusted into batters — Added to fried items for a fragrant background note.
- Simmered into braising liquid — Used in red-cooked braises for deep aromatic flavor over long cooking times.
Classic dishes
Chinese
- Char siu — Cantonese roast pork marinated with five-spice powder alongside hoisin and honey.
- Siu yuk — Crispy roast pork belly seasoned under its skin with five-spice powder.
- Hong shao rou — Red-braised pork belly simmered in soy sauce, sugar, and five-spice powder.
- Five-spice chicken wings — Fried or roasted wings seasoned with a five-spice dry rub or marinade.
- Lo mei — Meats and offal braised together in a five-spice-infused soy broth.
- Lu rou fan — A Taiwanese braised pork rice bowl seasoned with five-spice powder and shallots.
- Yan su ji — Taiwanese popcorn chicken seasoned with five-spice powder before frying.
- Five-spice braised duck — Duck slowly braised in a soy and five-spice liquid until deeply flavored.
- Five-spice spare ribs — Ribs marinated with five-spice powder before roasting or braising.
- Five-spice beef noodle soup — A Taiwanese noodle soup whose braised beef broth is seasoned with five-spice powder.
- Five-spice tofu — Firm tofu braised in a five-spice and soy sauce liquid until deeply seasoned.
- Five-spice candied walnuts — Sugared walnuts dusted with a touch of five-spice powder for warmth.
- Five-spice beef jerky — Dried, marinated beef seasoned with five-spice powder for a fragrant, savory snack.
Vietnamese
- Vietnamese five-spice roast chicken — A whole roast chicken rubbed with five-spice powder, garlic, and fish sauce.
- Vietnamese grilled pork — Grilled pork marinated with five-spice powder, lemongrass, and fish sauce.