NEW RSS feed! | Wed 03.05.08 |
Five-Spice Powder |
So I've found a pretty awesome spice shop: fairly close to the house lies a Healthway Natural Foods, a seller of organic vegetables, health supplements, and assorted "natural products." More importantly, they have a huge variety of nuts, grains, teas, and spices; and even more importantly, you can actually buy these from bulk bins, which is not only much less expensive and wasteful (you're not buying dozens of little jars), but also more convenient since you're able to buy exactly the amount you want. (Incidentally, the phrase "bulk bin" is a bit of a misnomer, no? I only ever see people using them to buy rather small quantities, and certainly in smaller amounts than would be sold pre-packaged.)
My first use of this newfound spice bounty was in making five-spice powder, a pungent mix of roughly equal amounts of star anise, fennel seed, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and pepper. One thing I learned: if you don't have a spice grinder, and are left to choose between a mini-food processor and a mortar and pestle, go with the low tech method. While more time-consuming, it actually achieves a finer grind and is a lot more fun than holding a button for ten minutes.
The mix I used was loosely based on Chinese five-spice powder, which instead of the stick cinnamon includes cassia bark (what usually makes up ground cinnamon), and instead of the black pepper includes Szechuan peppercorns, which happen to be unrelated (botanically anyways) to black or white pepper. I've also seen recipes for Chinese five-spice powder that include ginger, cardamom, and/or coriander seed, though these bring the spice count to six or seven and I'm not sure what to think about that.
Chinese heritage notwithstanding, the spice mix is pretty accomodating to other cuisines, remarkably so considering how distinctive its flavor is. I think it'd be equally good on roasted meat, a creamed vegetable soup, french toast, or mixed with ricotta in ravioli. But then I suppose that combinations and variations of cinnamon, clove, pepper, and anise appear all over the place, in masalas and tajines and sausages and pies and a lot of other tasty stuff. I used mine on steak.
Five-Spice Powder
4 whole star anise
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seed
4 small sticks (about 12 inches) cinnamon
Set a skillet over medium-high heat. Toast the spices in the dry skillet, shaking constantly, until fragrant. You can grind the spices in a spice grinder, pulverize them in a mortar, or try to use a food processor. Sift the grounds and regrind and sift the coarser pieces that didn't pass through the sieve. Your house will be smelling pretty good at this point.
This recipe only makes a few tablespoons, so multiply as you wish. It's rather powerful though, so you'll only need a little at a time. Store the spice mix in an air-tight jar in a dark place and use over the next few months.
4 whole star anise
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seed
4 small sticks (about 12 inches) cinnamon
Set a skillet over medium-high heat. Toast the spices in the dry skillet, shaking constantly, until fragrant. You can grind the spices in a spice grinder, pulverize them in a mortar, or try to use a food processor. Sift the grounds and regrind and sift the coarser pieces that didn't pass through the sieve. Your house will be smelling pretty good at this point.
This recipe only makes a few tablespoons, so multiply as you wish. It's rather powerful though, so you'll only need a little at a time. Store the spice mix in an air-tight jar in a dark place and use over the next few months.
