five spice
Also known as: 5 Spice
A Chinese spice blend, typically star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn, and fennel seed, ground together into one powder that balances sweet, savory, warm, and slightly numbing flavors in a single pinch. Common in Chinese roasted meats, marinades, and braises.
Buying guidance
Because it's a blend, brand matters more than for a single spice -- the ratio of anise to clove to pepper varies, so smell it if buying loose or in bulk. It's strong: start with less than the amount of other spices would suggest and add more only after tasting, since it's much easier to add than to remove.
Substitutions
- Homemade blend -- combine roughly equal parts ground star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, and Sichuan pepper; adjust to taste.
- Ground allspice plus a pinch of black pepper -- not a true match, but gives some of the warm, clove-forward character in a pinch.
Tips & common mistakes
Star anise is usually the most dominant flavor in the blend, and it's easy to add too much and have a dish taste like little else -- start with a small pinch, since an overpowering anise flavor is much harder to balance out once it's in the pot than it is to add more.
Storage
As a blend of several ground spices, five-spice fades unevenly -- the lighter, more volatile notes like star anise and Sichuan pepper fade faster than the heavier cinnamon and clove, so an older jar tends to taste flatter and more one-note rather than simply weaker across the board.