MAKES ¾ CUP
The classic Chinese seasoning known as five-spice powder is probably the stuff of antiquity. Blessed with the mystic cosmological designation of five—a scheme the Chinese used over and over in their culture to designate propitiously harmonious aspects of a complete whole—it is comprised of flavors that gather in a sultry union. Orange, cassia (cinnamon), anise, Szechwan peppercorn, and clove are the usual congregants in the mix, a mélange that was probably designed to preserve or mask as well as to flavor foods.
Unfortunately, there is little cosmic or culinary harmony to most commercial blends of five-spice. Cheaply and poorly made for the most part, they usually contribute little but a strident cinnamony taste.
Enter the do-it-yourself blend! Complex though it might seem if you have never before roasted and ground your own spices, it is actually very easy. In addition to perfuming your home evocatively for several hours, no more than 15 minutes of simple work will endow your cupboard with a novel, versatile spice.
So why ten-spice instead of five? I can’t say, except to suggest that the result is doubly good.
The answer to this question is to have fun; to make something that tastes fabulous; and to save money in the process. How many things in life can make these three promises in combination?
Making your own hot chili oil is a great example. For about 20 years I have been trying commercially infused Chinese chili oils as each new brand has emerged, and most are junk—pressed from cheap oils with poor-grade aromatics while someone was sleeping on the job and not watching the oil thermometer. There is no range of flavor, just a sharp, cutting jab to the tastebuds and nothing to linger but the taste of burnt or rancid oil. You go to the store, you purchase the bottle, and that’s what you wind up with: a lot of oil, a lot of bucks, and no flavor except searing hot. This is a gyp, made all the worse if you’ve bought a fancy bottle at a fancy price.
Instead imagine this scenario: You jot down the brand names of the corn and sesame oils I give you along with the tips on the properly flavorful varieties of black beans and dried red chili flakes. You go to the market, have some fun scouting for the ingredients, then come home and get to play junior scientist with a deep-fry thermometer and a small potful of bubbling oil. Cool it, taste it, and there’s an explosion of flavor on your palate. All of this for a slim several dollars.
A similar tale could be devised for pickled ginger, which sits on most Chinese grocery shelves in a bath of red food dye and harshly acidic vinegar. Or for commercially blended five-spice powder with scents that only an exterminator could love. Or a mustard sauce that tastes like poison.
No, if you’re going to cook well, you need great blended ingredients, and these (at least in the Chinese realm) are most easily made at home. Out there in the market, you can buy something, but quality is rarely what’s for sale.
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
10 star anise, broken into points
2 tablespoons Szechwan peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
¾ teaspoon whole cloves
¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns
GROUND SPICES:
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
1. Toast the whole spices together in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring and adjusting the heat so that the spices toast without burning. Stir until the spices are fully fragrant and the fennel seeds and lighter-colored spices are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground spices.
2. Using a spice grinder or a clean coffee grinder, grind the mixture finely. Store in a tightly covered jar.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: We use this seasoning in many of our marinades and sauces. It is equally useful, however, in mayonnaises, chopped meat mixtures, sautéed vegetables, and pastas.