Chinese Five Spice

Five spice or Wuxiang powder (wǔxiāng fěn; literally means: "powder of five fragrances) is the philosophical approached to the balance of flavors, the Yin and Yang that brings equilibrium to a dish.

The five spices are representing the five basic fragrances in the Chinese cuisine; these perfumes are; sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty; they are basically; star anise, fennel seed, cloves, cinnamon and Szechuan pepper but they can have different compositions in different regions of China

The blend can also have more than five spices in some cases, in some southern parts of China the “tung hing” cinnamon is replaced with the berries from the Ceylon cinnamon tree (cinnamomum verum).

The five-spice powder mixture has followed the Chinese Diaspora and has been incorporated into other national cuisines throughout Asia.

Somme regions in china add dried white ginger and green anise also called seven spices, but it presents the same philosophy of five perfumes, in these cases the proportions of star anise and fennel seeds are less to avoid an overpowering anise flavor.

Ingredients basic blend (5 to 6 spices);

10gr star anise (badiane), 10gr cloves, 10gr cinnamon (cinnamomum cassia), 10gr fennel seed, 10gr Szechuan pepper.

Ingredients enhanced blend;

10gr star anise, 10gr cinnamon leaves (Cinnamomum verum), 10gr Fennel seed, 5gr Ceylon cinnamon, 5gr cinnamon berries, 10gr Andaliman pepper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_xqzgieeAc