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Chinese five-spice powder is a mixture of five dry ground spices that is used extensively in Chinese cooking. Known in China as “Five Fragrance Powder,” it is the most well-known spice mixture of China and is also used in various other parts of Asia, including Vietnam. In Mandarin, five-spice powder is called wu xiang fen, and in Cantonese it is ngh heung fan. The five spices in five-spice powder are generally star anise (ba jiao), Szechuan peppercorns (hua jiao), fennel seeds (xiao hui), cinnamon (rou gui), and cloves (ding xiang). The proportions of the spices are given below.
General Recipe for Five-Spice Powder
- 5 parts star anise
- 5 parts fennel seeds
- 4 parts cinnamon
- 3 parts cloves
- 1 part Szechuan (Sichuan) pepper
Star anise, then, is the dominant flavor, and it is also the dominant smell you will notice when you open a container of the powder. Cinnamon is the second-most dominant ingredient. Either Cinnamomum loureiroi (Saigon Cinnamon, cassia) or Cinnamomum aromaticum (Chinese Cinnamon) might be used for the cinnamon, depending on the region.
In Southern China, mandarin peel might be used in place of cloves. Other ingredients are sometimes included, such as ground ginger and licorice. McCormick brand 5 Spice Blend uses ginger, but no Szechuan pepper. There are even versions that include nutmeg. Commercial preparations often include 2 or 3 additional spices, although the basic five are the foundation of the traditional mixture.
To make the powder, the whole spices are normally dry roasted to bring out their aromas before being ground together into a fine powder.
Uses of 5-Spice Powder
Five-spice powder is generally used in braised (red-cooked) and steamed dishes, and in marinades for barbecues, as well as deep-fried and roasted meat and poultry dishes. It can be rubbed onto pork, chicken, or duck, or mixed with a sweetener such as syrup or honey and spread over the meat before cooking. It may be added to cornstarch batters for coating and deep-frying meats and vegetables.
Due to being so well-known in the West, it tends to be thought of as the principal Chinese seasoning. This causes it to be overused in dishes that would be overwhelmed by this pungent and aromatic mixture. It is used in a relatively small number of dishes and always quite sparingly.
Why Five Spices?
Although some versions of the mixture might contain more than 5 spices, the original blend contained five spices because the Chinese believe that five is a special number, with healing powers. It is also said that the five spices represent the five elements of Chinese cosmology: fire, earth, metal, wood, and water.
The five flavors of this spice mixture also represent the five basic flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, hot, and salty.
See also: Are Szechuan Peppercorns and Black Peppercorns Related?
