Five Spice Powder Food

FIVE-SPICE POWDER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in blender or coffee grinder.
• Blend until finely ground.
• Store in airtight container.
• Keeps up to 2 months.
• Note: You could"roast" the whole spices a bit for a more intense flavor in a dry frying pan-- Watch closely to prevent spices from burning.

FESTIVE GOLDEN FIVE-SPICE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk together the marinade ingredients, put the chicken into a dish, then pour over the marinade, mixing to coat. Cover, then chill for at least 20 mins, or up to a day if you have time.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, and lift the chicken out of the marinade into a roasting tin. Roast for 40 mins, pour over the remaining marinade, then cook for a further 30 mins until golden and sticky. Sprinkle with the spring onion, then serve.

FIVE-SPICE MIX

Steps:

• Toast the whole spices in a small pan until they are aromatic and have turned a shade or two darker. Don't be tempted to skip this stage, as it really enhances the flavours.
• Tip into a spice grinder (or use a pestle and mortar), then add the ready-ground spices and dried herbs if required, and crush to a fine powder. Store in a sealed jar for up to six months.

HOW TO MAKE FIVE-SPICE POWDER

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a dry skillet or wok, toast the Sichuan peppercorns by shaking the pan over low to medium heat until the aroma of the peppercorns is released. This will take around 3 minutes.
• Grind the toasted peppercorns and the star anise in a blender, pepper mill, or spice grinder .
• Pass the blended seasonings through a fine-mesh strainer so you are left with an even consistency.
• Mix in the ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and ground fennel seeds.
• Place the mixture back into the blender, mill, or spice grinder and grind the spices until very fine.
• Store in an airtight container and keep in a dark, cool space until use.

CHINESE FIVE-SPICE POWDER

Steps:

• Mix the spices together and store in an airtight jar.

FIVE-SPICE POWDER

Steps:

• Toast cassia, star anise, cloves, sand ginger (if using), Sichuan peppercorns, licorice root, black peppercorns, and white peppercorns (if using) in a small skillet over medium, tossing once, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool; grind to a powder in spice mill or coffee grinder.
• Do Ahead: Five-Spice Powder can be made 1 month ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

FIVE-SPICE GINGERSNAPS

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Whisk together flour, five-spice powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
• Pulse ginger with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
• Add syrup, butter, egg, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar to processor and blend until mixture is thick and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add flour mixture and pulse just until a dough forms. Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 8 hours to allow flavors to develop.
• Bake and ice cookies:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Quarter dough. Keeping remaining 3 pieces wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled, roll out 1 piece of dough on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper with a lightly floured rolling pin to 3/4 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on wax paper until firm.) Cut out rounds with cutter and transfer to 1 lined baking sheet, arranging cookies about 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies until slightly puffed and a shade darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on sheet. If desired, make holes with piping tip near edges to hang cookies, then transfer cookies (still on parchment) to a rack to cool completely. (Cookies will flatten slightly as they cool.)
• While first batch is baking, roll out and cut another batch, arranging cookies on second lined sheet. Bake in same manner, then gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 15 to 20 minutes. Make more cookies with scraps (reroll scraps only once) and remaining pieces of dough, cooling sheets and lining them with fresh parchment before using.
• If using icing and coloring it, transfer small batches of icing to small bowls, 1 for each color, and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color of icing into a separate pastry bag, pressing out excess air. Twist bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before serving or storing cookies.