Five-spice powder
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Five-spice powder (五香粉, wǔxiāngfěn in hanyu pinyin) is a convenient seasoning for Chinese cuisine, particularly Cantonese cuisine. It incorporates the five basic flavours of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, , and salty. It consists of China Tung Hing cinnamon (actually a type of cassia), powdered cassia buds, powdered star anise and anise seed, ginger root, and ground cloves. Another recipe for the powder consists of cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, fennel seed, and star anise. Szechuan pepper can also be used. It is used in most recipes for Cantonese roasted duck, as well as beef stew.
The formulae are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food. A pinch of the powder goes a long way.
Although this spice is used in restaurant cooking, many Chinese households never use it in day-to-day cooking. In Hawaii some restaurants have it on the table.
A versatile seasoned salt can be easily made by stir-frying common salt with five spice powder under low heat in a dry pan until the spice and salt are well mixed.
See also
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