While it’s commonly believed that it gets it’s name because it contains 5 spices, the number actually refers to the 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In traditional Chinese medicine, these elements manifest themselves in various parts of the human anatomy and imbalances in these elements are said to be the cause of disease.
Various herbs and spices have been used for thousands of years to restore balance to these elements which is how 5 spice powder came into being. Today it’s used in a variety of roasted and braised meat dishes, but it’s probably most recognizable in the west as the main seasoning in Char Siu (Chinese barbecued pork).
I’ve been thinking about making my own 5 spice for some time, but the catalyst that got things going was Todd and Diane from White Rice on Couple sending me some Vietnamese Cinnamon. It’s incredibly fragrant, sweet and spicy and unlike regular cinnamon it’s from the bark of a certain species of Cassia tree.
I’ve seen many blends containing everything from fennel to celery seed, but I had a specific flavour in mind and went about toasting and grinding the spices until I hit the right balance.
While most of the ingredients in the spice blend are widely available and familiar to western chefs, Sichuan pepper is a little less common. Despite its name it actually has no relation to black pepper or chili peppers. Both the leaves and berries are edible and it’s a popular spice in Asia known by many different names. In China it’s known as Huajiao, in in Nepalese it’s called Timur and in Japan there’s a related spice called Sansho.
Sichuan pepper has a slightly citrusy, pine-like flavor that has a tingly numbing effect on your tongue when eaten fresh or in larger doses. When dried the shiny black seeds inside the brown husks have a distinctly gritty texture like sand, and since the husk is the part with the flavor I strongly recommend you pick out all the black seeds (labour intensive, but worth it).
Units
Ingredients
- 3 pods star anise
- 20 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick (crumbled)
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan pepper (husks only, remove any black seeds)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon white peppercorns
Instructions
- Toast all the spices either in a hot pan or in a toaster oven being careful not to burn them. You'll know they're done when they start giving off a wonderful aroma.
- Put the toasted spices in a spice grinder, a blender, or a food processor and blitz until it's ground into a fine powder.
- Pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any big pieces and store in an airtight container until you're ready to use it.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Phil, western supermarkets won’t have Sichuan pepper. You’ll need to go to a Chinese supermarket or a spice shop. As for the blend every brand has their own formula so it’s a bit like curry powder or garam masala in that there’s huge variation.
Lisa Sapp says
Hi Marc, do you know the ingredient which Japanese call “weipa-“? (ウェイパー)
(comes in this thing)
(https://blog-imgs-53.fc2.com/2/c/h/2chnokakera/uleipa-00.jpg)
I don’t know the chinese name for it/ english name equivalent for it?
A chef I know used some to use when making yakisoba and it’s difficult to come across in US (I was told).
Thanks! 🙂
~Lisa
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Lisa,ウェイパー is a powdered “Chinese” soup-base that’s filled with MSG and other synthetic flavor enhancers. I’ve never used it personally because I like to make my stocks from scratch. You could probably make something similar by mixing chicken bouillon granules with MSG, or if you live near a Japanese grocery store, they probably carry it.
Lisa Sapp says
Oh, okay
Thank you for the reply!! I live near an Oriental market but it’s a little big to see if they had something similar to it (and it’s a little difficult to communicate with the workers)
I don’t really like synthetic stuff and try to opt for more natural. Thank you so much Marc! Probably won’t try this stuff now knowing what it is!!
Kathy Stroup says
Finally getting around to looking at this, after many years of making your Char Siu. Since I adore the Japanese Curry recipe, I thought, what the heck? This looks so simple! Especially compared to the Japanese Curry! What about a video? You could make this and use it in a dish, and it would still be a fairly short video. Five Spice is one of my all-time favorite seasonings!
Marc Matsumoto says
Wow this takes me waaay back and this is a great idea. I’m adding it to the list!