Make Your Own Five-Spice Powder for Authentic Chinese Recipes (2024)

Liv Wan is a former professional chef who has published three cookbooks about Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine.

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Updated on 06/30/22

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Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.

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Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 3 mins

Total: 13 mins

Servings: 48 servings

Yield: 1/4 cup

251 ratings

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Five-spice powder (五香粉) is a common ingredient in Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine. It encompasses all five tastes—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami—and uses five different spices. This Asian seasoning is a mixture of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan (Szechuan) peppercorns, and fennel seeds, and it's easy to make at home.

The recipe makes about 4 tablespoons of the spice mix—feel free to double or triple the recipe so you have extra on hand for future recipes. Store it in an airtight container for up to a month. While it will not go bad, it will lose its potency over time.

You can use the five-spice powder in many different ways. In Chinese and Taiwanese cooking, it's added to stew meat or poultry, incorporated into marinades, used as a spice rub for roasted foods, and seasons the breading for fried foods. Add this homemade spice mix to your cupboard and you're sure to find lots of uses for it.

Make Your Own Five-Spice Powder for Authentic Chinese Recipes (2)

"All you need is a coffee grinder to make this easy Chinese spice blend—the fragrance is amazing. I had to grind some fennel seeds but was able to find all of the other ingredients. It is nice to know that black peppercorns may be used instead of the Sichuan." —Diana Rattray

Make Your Own Five-Spice Powder for Authentic Chinese Recipes (3)

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
5 to 6 whole star anise
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground Chinese cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
In a dry skillet or wok, toast the Sichuan peppercorns by shaking the pan overlow to medium heat until the aroma of the peppercorns is released. This will take around 3minutes.
Grind the toasted peppercorns and the star anise in a blender, pepper mill, or spicegrinder.
Pass the blended seasonings through a fine-mesh strainer so you are left with an even consistency.
Mix in the ground cloves, ground cinnamon, andground fennel seeds.
Place the mixture back into the blender, mill, or spice grinder and grind the spices until very fine.
Store in an airtight container and keep in a dark, cool space until use.

How to Use

Always use five-spice powder sparingly as it can be quite strong. Several Chinese recipes, including princess chicken and five-spice pork, feature five-spice powder as an ingredient. Not every recipe has to be Asian in nature, though. For instance, the average roasted chicken or glazed carrotstake on a whole new life when seasoned with this flavorful mixture.

What Is Chinese Cinnamon?

The most common type of cinnamon found at North American grocery stores is actually cassia, which is also called Chinese cinnamon. In many other countries, it must be labeled "cassia." There are many varieties of true cinnamon that come from a related but different tree. Each has its own flavor profile that will affect the taste of five-spice powder.

Recipe Variations

In southern China, five-spice powder usually includesSaigon cinnamon and orange peel instead of the traditional Chinese cinnamon and cloves. If you happen to come across this version, it will taste different compared to this recipe and those from other regions of Asia.
Substitute black peppercorns if you don't have Sichuan peppercorns on hand. It won't have the same heat, but it will still taste good.
Ground anise can also stand in for star anise. The equivalent of one whole star anise is 1/2 teaspoon of ground anise; use 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons ground anise for this recipe.
Five-spice powder can also include anise seeds, ginger root, nutmeg, turmeric, Amomum villosum pods, cardamom pods, licorice, orange peel, or galangal.

What Is the Difference Between Five-Spice Powder and Garam Masala?

Garam masala is a blend of spices that is as integral to Indian cuisine as the five-spice powder is to Chinese and Taiwanese foods. The two seasonings have cinnamon and cloves in common and roast at least a portion of the whole spices. Garam masala typically uses black peppercorns rather than Sichuan peppercorns and most often includes around 10 spices. For both spice mixes, the actual ingredients can vary by region and family tradition.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1	Calories
0g	Fat
0g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 48
Amount per serving
Calories	1
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 4mg	0%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 5mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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