Chinese Five Spice Powder

An essential element of many Chinese dishes, this Chinese Five Spice Powder is fragrant and so much more flavorful than store-bought mixes. Freshly grinding the spices makes all the difference!

I’ve bought Chinese five spice powder many times but I guess I don’t use it often enough because it seems to lose its potency and flavor by the next time I need some.

The answer, of course, is to grind the spice mix in smaller amounts and store it, like all spices, in a sealed jar away from the light. You can use a mortar and pestle for this or a spice grinder. 

If you search for a recipe for five spice powder, there are tons of recipes online, many starting with already ground spices, just mixed together. While that would do in a pinch, it’s not going to give you the same punch and flavor of freshly ground spices. 

Chinese Five Spice Powder

Many recipes suggest that if you cannot locate Szechuan peppercorns, you can substitute black peppercorns. You can, of course, but it won’t have the same mouth tingling effect as the traditional recipe. 

Ingredients

6-7 small star anise

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 piece (about 2 in or 4cm) cinnamon bark 

1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon cloves

Method

Grind all the spices together with a mortar and pestle or a coffee bean grinder reserved only for spices.

It’s that easy. 

Store in an airtight container in a cool place. 

You might like to try my soy braised pork with eggs dish, especially if you’ve got leftover boiled eggs from Easter. Motivation to make the Chinese five spice powder! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing homemade spice mixes. Many thanks to our host, Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures. Check out the links below.

• Chinese Five Spice Powder by Food Lust People Love
• DIY Country Gravy Mix by Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Garam Masala by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Homemade Taco Seasoning by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Italian Herb Blend by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Sicilian Pesto by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Fried Fish With Homemade Fish Masala by Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join. 

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