Get to Know about Chinese Five Spice Powder: A Simple Guide
Image by NYT Food from Pinterest
Do you ever wonder what makes Chinese food different from other regional cuisine in the world? Yes, you are right! The spices. With strong taste and aromatic cuisine, Chinese restaurants always get the spotlight among the fancy restaurants in every continent in the world. Not only it is used as a dish seasoning, but the spices also take a big part in Chinese traditional medicine.
These are the famous Five Spice Powder that you need to know before you take it as an additional seasoning on your dish. Keep scrolling and do not miss any information!
- Sichuan Pepper
This is the most famous Chinese spice that is mostly used by Chinese chefs to get the spicy flavour in their dish. This is a dried berry from the prickly ash tree which brings burning sensation once it touches your taste buds and mouth. Almost every spicy Chinese dish uses this pepper such as Kung Pao Chicken and Dan Dan noodles.
- Cinnamon
In western cuisine, cinnamon is commonly known as a sweet spice. But in Chinese cuisine, cinnamon is used to bring savoury flavour to every cuisine. Chinese cinnamon is also well known as cassia. So, you have to make sure that this spice is different from Mexican cinnamon by flavour. Fun fact, some people frequently add cinnamon into their infuse water or coffee to get a healing sensation.
- Star Anise
The most beautiful shape among the other Chinese spices is Star Anise. You can find this spice in many authentic Chinese and Asian cuisine recipes. This pretty spice can also be found in sweet dessert and cocktail for aromatic taste and beautiful garnish.
- Cloves
Cloves is easy to find in any sweet dish such as in traditional baked goods like pie, cake, muffin, and of course cinnamon rolls. It has aromatic and has a unique flavour that cannot be replaced with other spices. This spice is also found in Malaysian meat-based dish called Rendang.
- Fennel
Fennel seed is famous for its liquorice flavour and commonly found in the meat-based dish. This spice is the newest Chinese spice that has a grassy flavour with spicy-sweet on it. Fennel is also good for digestion and Fennel tea is famous among traditional Chinese medicine.
All of those five spices above are well known as Five Spice Powder which you can easily find in almost every Chinese cuisine and some of the authentic Asian cuisine. Besides those five famous spice, there is also another Chinese spice which has strong and unique flavor such as Black Cardamom, Bay Leaf, Cumin, and many more.
Have you ever had a bite of orange chicken from your beloved Chinese restaurant? If yes, your taste buds already had an unusual experience by tasting dried orange peel as the main spice.
Nowadays, all of those spices are easily found in every corner of supermarkets in the world. As the Chinese food going global, there are so many chefs and food enthusiasts who add some Chinese spices into their recipes to develop a new character in the dish.