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Chinese Five-spice

If a food can be called magical, five-spice powder might be that food. Also called "five heavenly spices" and "five fragrance powder," this spice blend taps into the symbolic power of ancient Chinese lore, echoing the five elements: fire, water, wood, earth and metal.

Five-spice powder balances sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty tastes. Once prized for medicinal properties, this harmonious mixture has flavored Chinese dishes for centuries.

Today's healthful vegetables and fish need piquant, salt-free seasonings to perk them up, so we borrow from this tradition.

For me, one whiff of five-spice brings memories. The first dish I cooked for my husband (not quite in ancient-China days, but almost that long ago) was a baked chicken with a five-spice fragrance that filled our tiny cottage. Though the recipe is forgotten, the aroma is still magical.

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Basics: Five-spice usually contains cloves, Szechwan peppercorns, cinnamon, fennel and star anise. Most recipes use equal parts of each.

Roasting the peppercorns in a dry skillet over medium heat two to three minutes improves their flavor. Cool, then grind with the star anise, strain, then stir in ground fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves.

You'll also find seven-spice blends (with ginger and cardamom) and Tunisian five-spice incorporating black and malagueta pepper, but the above formula is the classic.

Selecting: Look for finely ground spices with a fresh, woodsy scent.

Storing: Keep your ground spice in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Uses: A little goes a long way, so use sparingly in marinades or rubs for meats, poultry and fish. A sprinkle over stir-fried vegetables and rice dishes adds intriguing flavors. Many Chinese duck recipes include five-spice, and so do such modern restaurant dishes as Warm Five-Spice Kumquat Compote and Shanghai Five-Spice Beef.

Foodland supermarkets' "Maikai Favorites" recipe book includes Chinese Five-Spice and Plum Glazed Ham, and its September mailer featured Keoni Chang's Southern Five-Spice Chicken.

Where to buy: Packaged blends are available in the Asian food sections of supermarkets. Even Longs Drug stores sells a blend, for 69 cents per ounce. Fresh, authentic mixtures can also be found in Asian specialty stores.

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