Chinese Five Spice
from Feasting at Home
The ingredients and amount of spices vary greatly from region to region and even from household to household depending on personal tastes and preference, but these are most common.
Ingredients
6 whole  star anise pods
1 ½ tsp whole cloves (or 1 1/4 teaspoon ground)Â
1Â cinnamon stick or two tablespoons ground
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns ( or sub 3 tsp regular peppercorns)
Method
Toast any dry whole spices in a dry skillet, until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
Place all ingredients in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) Â and grind until smooth.
Store in a sealed, airtight spice jar -and for best flavor use within 6 months.
Notes
Interestingly, Chinese Five Spice is based on the five elements – fire, water, wood, earth and metal. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the five elements are manifested in different parts of the body and when there are imbalances in these elements, illness can result. For thousands of years, herbs and spices have been used to restore balance in the body and that is why Chinese five-spice powder came to be.