5 Ways to Cook with Five Spice Powder
One of the special spice blends that you will find in Taiwanese and Chinese cooking is the five-spice powder. It has a warm and sweet taste and offers a distinct, tangy flavour to most of the east Asian-inspired meat recipes. It is a great spice blend that must be compulsorily present in your kitchen rack.
Quite obviously, this blend is made from five spices – cassia cinnamon, which is a Chinese form of cinnamon, fennel seeds, cloves, Szechuan peppercorns and star anise. There are numerous ways to use this spice powder
Hoisin Roasted Brussels Sprouts
The days of having soft and squishy Brussels sprouts are passed. Check out the new crunchy and crispy sprouts that have a kick of five spice powder. Add a little sweetness with the hoisin juice. This can easily be found at any local grocery store and has a long shelf life. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes if you want it hot. If not, you can toss it with salted peanuts and green onions.
Use olive oil for tossing and ensure that the sprouts have a uniform coating. A large baking tray can be used for holding the cut sprouts. Season it with some salt and cook it in the oven for about 27 minutes. Once done, transfer these sprouts back to a bowl and add hoisin sauce at the end.
Crispy Pecking Duck in Pancakes
Pecking duck is one of the most popular five spice recipes. There are several ways in which you can cook a duck – roasted, steamed or pumped. But, simply put, you need to rub the bird with five spice, ginger and salt for adding a rich flavour. Place it in a roasting tray and into the oven.
Spoon away the excess fat to make the skin ultra-crispy. Use palm sauce with pecking duck for a richer taste. Take de-stoned plums with sugar, a pinch of five-spice, soy sauce, chilli powder, and water. Bring it to boil until you get a nice pulp. Take a pancake, put in the cooked duck, spring onion, cucumber, and plum sauce. Roll it up and enjoy your dish.
Glazed Carrots
You can use this as a nice side dish for holidays or family dinner. Add the chopped carrots with water, sugar, soy sauce and set it aside. Add carrots to melted butter on a frying pan. Add the five-spice, water, sugar and soy sauce mixture. Boil until carrots are tender and can be easily picked with a fork. Turn on the heat and cook until the excess water is burned off.
Oven Roasted Pecking Chicken
This is for those days when you are craving for pecking duck but all you have is chicken. Dust the chicken with five-spice and combine marinating ingredients like soy sauce, sugar, and ginger in a large bowl. Marinate the chicken overnight and cook it in the oven the next day. Prepare a basting sauce with honey or maple syrup. Add this at the end for slightly thickening and sweetening your recipe.
Five-Spice Cashews
This appetizer is perfect for quick preparation during a party. Warm up your holidays by combining the perfect spice blend with the sweetness of the cashews. Take some unsalted cashews and oven-roast them for about 10 minutes. Add five-spice to melted butter along with salt and mix well. Add the roasted nuts to this mixture and enjoy this simple yet addictive snack in your holidays.
The fragrant blend of 5-spice powder adds a distinctive flavour to any recipe it is used with. Making dishes with this blend is easy and delicious. This internationally used spice mix makes a fun and flavour-packed addition to desserts and cocktails.
