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How To Make Five-Spice Powder

By Rhonda Parkinson, About.com

Five-spice powder encompasses all five flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. This recipe is reprinted with permission from Raphael Meyer, American Kashrus Services.
Difficulty: N/A
Time Required: 15 minutes

Here's How:

  1. In a dry skillet, roast 2 teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns by shaking the pan over low to medium heat until the aroma of the peppercorns is released (about three minutes).
  2. Grind the roasted peppercorns and 8 star anise in a blender or pepper mill.
  3. Strain the blended seasonings.
  4. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds.
  5. Grind the seasonings until very fine.
  6. Store in an airtight container.

Tips:

  1. Use five-spice powder sparingly, as it can be quite pungent.
  2. If desired, you can substitute black peppercorns for the Szechuan peppercorn, and ground anise for the star anise (use 4 teaspoons of ground anise).

What You Need:

  • Spices
  • Skillet
  • Blender or a Spice Mill
  • Airtight Container
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