Five spice powder has been called a “natural MSG” due to its ability to transform food from bland to wow / complex and vibrant. It is an essential element in Chinese cooking, but cooks should consider incorporating this into other cuisines as well. Let's dive into what it is and how to make it.
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What is Five Spice Powder (wǔxiāng fěn, 五香粉)
Origins of five-spice powder
Like many legendary foods, the exact story of how Chinese five-spice was created is not known. It is thought that it has roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since the five spices correspond to the five basic elements in Chinese: earth, fire, water, metal, and wood.
The five elements align with the five key flavors in Chinese cuisine, sweet, sour, spicy/pungent, bitter, and salty, which are also present in five-spice powder. This alignment positively effects all organs in the body.
Whatever the exact origins of 5-spice powder, it likely stood the test of time because it creates a harmony of flavors when added to all types of dishes. It’s not called the natural MSG for nothing!
What it’s made of
With a name like five-spice, you would expect that five-spice powder is made with only five spices – that is not always the case.
While there is a core list of ingredients, many Chinese chefs and families have their own variations, made with slightly different ingredients and different proportions. Fennel seeds, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon are the most common ingredients, with the fifth, Sichuan peppercorns, more likely to be varied and substituted.
We think that Sichuan peppercorns are the perfect fifth ingredient because they provide their famous and addictive mouth numbing tingle. You can read more about Sichuan pepper and how to grind it in our popular Sichuan pepper article.
Dried orange peels, dried ginger, galangal root, white pepper, or black pepper can be used in place of Sichuan pepper. Orange peels are more common in Southern regions of China.
While you can use any type of cinnamon, we recommend using Chinese cinnamon. Read our article on how to grind Chinese cinnamon to find out about its ancient origins and what makes it unique.
Taste and Aroma of Five-Spice Powder
Chinese five spice powder encompasses the five flavor profiles of Chinese cuisine: sour, sweet, pungent/spicy, bitter, and salty.
Sometimes the aroma and flavor of licorice from star anise is one of the first noticeable traits, but we prefer a mix where all ingredients balance each other.
Cinnamon and fennel provide sweet and warming effects while the cloves are sweet and slightly bitter. Sichuan pepper brings a mild citrus flavor with of course their famous electric tingle.
Chefs and home cooks combine these ingredients in different ratios to get their preferred flavor.
It is difficult to describe the complex flavor that arrives from combining these spices, although once you taste five-spice, you’ll understand why it is so common in Chinese cooking.
Similar to Sichuan pepper, we believe five-spice powder will begin to find its way into Western cooking once cooks experience its versatility and the way it compliments dishes.
How It's Used
Five spice powder is ubiquitous in Chinese cuisine. It is often used to remove unpleasant flavors from meat. It is found in dumping fillings (jiao zi), Chinese BBQ pork (char siu), steamed buns (bao zi), tea eggs (cha ye dan), and braised meat dishes.
We use the whole spices that make up five-spice powder in our classic Sichuan pickled vegetables.
It is so good we even use it along with spicy red Sichuan chilis to season our Chinese Spicy Fried Peanuts.
In non-Chinese dishes you can try rubbing it on cuts of meat before roasting. Just be sure not to use too much or it can be overpowering.
Where to Buy Five-Spice
Five spice is available at all Chinese markets and many Korean or Japanese markets. It is making its way into all types of grocery stores and can sometimes be found in Western markets as well.
Below is a picture of five-spice sold at whole foods.
Of course, you can easily find it on Amazon as well.
Even if you can find five-spice we recommend grinding your own because freshly ground spices are so much more aromatic and flavorful than pre-ground spices. The only spice you may not find at non-Chinese markets is Sichuan peppercorns and star anise (not to be mistaken for anise seeds). You can buy both of these online, or you can substitute white peppercorns for Sichuan pepper.
How to Make 5-Spice at Home
What you’ll need
- fennel seeds
- star anise
- cloves
- either whole or our fresh ground cinnamon
- Sichuan peppercorns
- or whatever spices you want to use for your variation
- powerful blender or spice grinder
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
We used our freshly ground cinnamon, but if you are starting with whole cinnamon sticks break them into approximately ½ inch sections.
Break star anise into small pieces.
Add all spices to a pan and roast on low heat until you start to smell the fragrance of the spices and the fennel begins to lightly brown.
Be careful not to overcook. Roasting is not absolutely necessary, but roasting the spices heats up their oils and brings out the flavor.
Allow the spices to cool completely before placing in your spice grinder or blender. We use a personal size Ninja blender because it is more powerful than our spice grinder.
Grind/blend your spices until your desired grind size is achieved. We like our five-spice powder to have a smooth consistency, but also don’t mind if there are some courser pieces.
Substitutions and Variations
While there are no great pre-made substitutions for five-spice, there are several substitutions you can make if you do not have access to one of the individual spices in the recipe.
If you cannot access Sichuan peppercorns, or just want to try something different, substitute white peppercorns. You can also substitute black peppercorns if you cannot find white peppercorns, but white peppercorns have a more complex and earthy flavor that pairs well with five-spice. If you cannot find star anise you can substitute aniseed.
While star anise and aniseed are two different spices, they share licorice-like flavors. Aniseed has a milder flavor than star anise so you may need to increase the proportion.
These are the boxes of star anise and aniseed sold at Whole Foods.
Storage
Store ground five spice powder in an airtight container.
According to experts on Healthline, ground spices such as cinnamon and cloves have a shelf life of 2-3 years.
PLEASE, do not keep ground spices for 2-3 years. After grinding, spices quickly begin to lose flavor.
We recommend keeping ground five spice powder no more than 2 months to ensure it retains maximum flavor. The great thing about grinding your own five spice powder is that you can grind just enough to use within the next few days.
📖 Recipe
Five Spice Powder Recipe: The "natural MSG."
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground Chinese cinnamon (5 grams / 0.18 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds (5 grams / 0.18 ounces)
- ½ tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (2 grams / 0.07 ounces)
- 5 pieces whole star anise (5 grams / 0.18 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves (1 gram / 0.03 ounces)
Instructions
- We used our freshly ground cinnamon, but if you are starting with whole cinnamon sticks break them into approximately ½ inch sections. Add all spices to a pan and roast on low heat until you start to smell the fragrance of the spices and the fennel begins to lightly brown.Be careful not to overcook. Roasting the spices is not absolutely necessary, but roasting the spices heats up their oils and brings out the flavor.
- Allow the spices to cool completely before placing in your spice grinder or blender. We use a personal size Ninja blender because it is more powerful than our spice grinder.
- Grind/blend your spices until your desired grind size is achieved. We like our five-spice powder to have a smooth consistency, but also don’t mind if there are some courser pieces.
- Place spices in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition disclaimer
malaeats.com is created for informational purposes only. Although we do our best to provide nutritional information to our readers as a general guideline, we are not certified nutritionists and the nutritional values provided should be considered estimates. Numerous factors such as variations in fresh ingredients, brands purchased, etc. will alter the nutritional values in any recipe. Different online calculators also provide different results depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, please use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities you used.
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (less than 2 hours is recommended by the CDC).
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website.
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