DIY Five Spice Blend

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Have you ever used Five Spice Blend also known as Five Spice Powder in your cooking? If you like making Chinese cuisine, there’s a good chance you have! I’ve seen Five Spice Blend listed as an ingredient in everything from Chinese Chicken Salad, to duck and pork dishes… even cookies.

It’s a very versatile blend with a distinctive flavor that adds a lot to any dish. You can buy this blend at some grocery stores and at asian markets. But you can also make your own, and there’s a neat hack involving a plastic Parmesan Cheese Container.

There are many variations, but here’s what I used: anise seed, ground white pepper, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and fennel seed. Instead of white pepper, you can use roasted Szechaun peppercorns.

Step 1: Measure equal parts of the spices (I used 1/4 of each spice and the mixture fit perfectly in the 8oz jelly jar).

Step 2: Use a coffee grinder to grind them up, combining them.

3. Use a funnel to add them to a jelly jar.

4. Time to put a lid on it! Ok, here a useful kitchen hack. Don’t toss those plastic lids! You can use the lid from a Parmesan Cheese Container on an 8 oz glass jelly jar. It’s a perfect fit.