What Is Chinese five spice powder and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about chinese five spice powder and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 95 recipes to cook tonight.

What is chinese five spice powder?

Five spice powder is used extensively in chinese cooking.

This pungent mixture of five ground spices usually consists of equal parts of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise, and szechuan peppercorns.

Prepackaged five-spice powder is available in Asian markets and most supermarkets.

You can easily make your own from whole spices which results in a much fresher and significantly more flavourful spice mixture.

The five spices used in five spice powder

See this: Homemade Five Spice Powder recipe for details on making your own five spice blend.

Quick facts

Where to find chinese five spice powder: Chinese five spice powder is usually found in the spices section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 中国五香粉
British (UK) term: Chinese five spice powder
en français: chinois poudre aux cinq épices
en español: chino polvo de cinco especias

Recipes using chinese five spice powder

There are 95 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Five Spice Roast Chicken

Five spice roast chicken rubs cut-up chicken with garlic and warm Chinese five-spice, then roasts it over potatoes, carrots, and onion so the vegetables soak up every drop of the spiced drippings. A complete one-pan dinner.

Cabbage & Shiitake Pot Sticky Buns

After a few potsticker recipes, I finally made my very first bunch of pot sticky buns (another popular food in China). They came out soft, and quite delicious. Nicely browned and crispy at the bottom. It's an excellent way to use up some of our fresh veggies.

Oriental Rhubarb Jam

Rhubarb jam with Chinese five-spice, crystallized ginger, and a whisper of hot sauce. Tart-sweet preserve with warm spice and gentle heat, perfect on toast or alongside roast pork.

Moo Shu-Style Grilled Chicken

Fantastic. I cooked it for my parents. My mother said it was very aromatic, my father just finished before I started to eat. It was a fun lunch. Thanks!

Comfy Winter Squash & Apple Soup

Vegan winter squash and apple soup with butternut squash, sweet potato, apples, and a Chinese five-spice kick. Eight ingredients, naturally creamy, perfect fall comfort food.

Potstickers (??)

Making pot stickers are pretty much as same as making dumplings, the only thing different is how to cook them. Instead of boiling in the water, we fry them in a nonstick skillet with a bit oil, which really develops a layer of golden, brown and crispy bottoms with great texture. Serve these yummy pot stickers with a mixture of rice vinegar, a little bit soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil and splash of hot pepper oil.

Budget: Asian Spiced Orange Pork Ribs

Side ribs are cheaper than back ribs - there is lots of bone, but you can still get nice portions of meat.

Cola Barbecued Ribs

These delicious cola barbecued ribs will for sure satisfy your tummy.

California-Style Flank Steak

Grilled flank steak rubbed with garlic paste, chili powder, Chinese five spice, and ginger. Marinate for 2 hours, grill for 18 minutes, and serve up bold, smoky slices.

Kung Pao Tofu

This kung pao tofu was very tasty. I used two green bell peppers and 1 red bell peppers. Didn't have oyster sauce, so I used housin sauce, and it worked deliciously well.

Wok-Seared Mahi Mahi with Stir-Fried Vegetables

Wok-Seared Mahi Mahi with Stir-Fried Vegetables recipe

Crispy Chicken Wings

These crunchy chicken wings are great to entertain friends or have as a side during dinner!

P.F. Chang's Roasted Chicken Cantonese Style

A copycat recipe of a popular chinese chain in the US. The method used creates a super crispy skin for this roast chicken.

Anise Chicken for Two

A very easy and fairly quick one pot meal that's perfect when you're in a hurry. Chunks of chicken and rice seasoned with star anise and Chinese five spice powder. Yum.

Chinese: Stir-Fry Pork & Peppers

Quick Chinese pork stir-fry with bell peppers, mushrooms and water chestnuts in five-spice marinade, finished with cornstarch-thickened sauce over rice.

Chinese Five Spice Tilapia

Quick to prepare, great flavor. The fish takes on a caramel color on the outside, and stays flakey white on the inside, which creates a nice appearance.

Hoisin-Sesame Sauce

Rich and dense sauce that's perfect for shrimp, scallops or salmon.

Chinese Country Beef Short Ribs

Slow cooked beef short ribs that simply fall off the bone in a delicious Chinese style barbecue sauce. Packed with flavor and nearly hands-free preparation using your slow cooker or Crockpot.

Crisp Roasted Pig's Head

Crisp roasted pig's head, Chinese-style: rubbed with five-spice, brown bean sauce and bourbon, then slow-roasted and basted with honey until the skin lacquers into shattering crackling.

Chinese Beef Stew

Chunks of beef slowly braised in an authentic Chinese manner. Nearly any tough cut of beef can be made magically tender and flavorful with this technique.

Barbecued Pork Strips

Chinese-style char siu pork strips marinated in soy sauce, hoisin, five spice, rice wine, and red bean curd, then oven-roasted and glazed with honey. Serve as a main course or slice thin for appetizers.

Pork-Ribs in Delicious Sauce

Chinese-style pork ribs marinated in five-spice, soy, and sesame, then deep-fried until crispy and glazed with a sweet-savory tomato-laced sauce. A takeout classic worth making at home.

Five Spice Plum Sorbet

Five spice plum sorbet purees canned plums with dry sherry and Chinese five spice powder, then churns into a fragrant Asian-inspired summer sorbet. Five ingredients, no added sugar.

Harbor Village Bbq Pork

Harbor Village BBQ pork is char siu done right: pork shoulder marinated in five-spice and soy, roasted, then brushed with a glossy maltose glaze for that sticky, sweet-savory dim sum classic.

Northern Beef

Northern Chinese-style beef stir-fry with bok choy, sherry, five-spice, and a honey-soy gravy. A 25-minute wok dinner with real Northern provincial flavors.

Red Cooked Bean Curd.

Red cooked bean curd marinated in soy sauce, sherry, five spice, and brown sugar, then wok-cooked until the liquid absorbs into the tofu. A classic Chinese braising technique that gives tofu deep, savory-sweet flavor.

Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Ground Pork & Oysters

Stir-fried bean curd with five-spice ground pork in a glossy oyster sauce with garlic, ginger, scallions, and chili. A classic Chinese wok dish ready in 30 minutes.

Favorite Rumaki

Rumaki wraps bacon around chicken liver and water chestnut, then broils until crisp. The classic 1960s tiki-bar appetizer that deserves a comeback.

Spicy Smoked Spareribs

Spicy smoked spareribs with a 10-spice dry rub featuring five spice powder and ginger, parboiled then smoked over hickory with a peach preserves basting sauce.

Carribean Crock

This slow simmering stew is full of flavor and will fill you up and warm you up.

Spiced Plum Salad Dressing

Asian-inspired plum salad dressing made with plum baby food, soy sauce, five spice powder, and garlic. A fat-free, no-cook dressing ready in minutes.

Spicy Beef Lettuce Cups

Spicy beef lettuce cups loaded with sirloin stir-fried in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and Chinese five spice. A crispy, low-carb appetizer that comes together in just 20 minutes.

Pickled Mangos

Pickled green mangos in a sweet-sour brine with vinegar, sugar, Hawaiian salt, and Chinese five spice powder. A tangy island-style preserve that's ready in 2 to 3 days.

Warm Sweet Potato Salad

Roasted sweet potato salad with five-spice, watercress, toasted almonds, and tangy goat cheese for warm vegetable sides ready in 60 minutes.

Sesame Shrimp Toasts

Sesame shrimp toasts are crispy Chinese appetizers with minced shrimp, ginger, and five-spice pressed onto bread, coated in sesame seeds, and pan-fried until golden.

Braised Chicken Drumsticks

Chinese red-cooked chicken drumsticks with chestnuts braise crispy fried chicken in dark soy sauce, sherry, five-spice, and rock sugar until glossy mahogany. A classic hong shao technique for festive Chinese dining.

Mu Shui Tofu

Vegetarian mu shu tofu with shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, five spice, and plum sauce, rolled in whole wheat chapatis. A plant-based spin on mu shu pork.

Chicken Barbecue,

Chicken skewers marinated overnight in curry, five-spice, ginger, soy, and honey, grilled with pineapple and green pepper, then dunked in a creamy peanut-coconut dipping sauce. Southeast Asian street food at home.

Five-Spice Beet Soup

Tangy Glazed Drumsticks

Baked chicken drumsticks coated in a sticky honey-ketchup glaze with five spice powder, Worcestershire, and chili sauce. Finger-licking glazed drumsticks great hot or cold.

Chinese Chicken...Fournier

Chicken wing drumsticks soaked in a soy sauce, white wine, and five-spice marinade with garlic and ginger, baked until tender, then crisped on the grill. A family-style Chinese chicken recipe with big flavor.

Chinese: Chicken Wing Drumsticks

Chicken wings reshaped into mini drumsticks, marinated in five-spice and rice wine, sealed with egg white, coated in cornstarch, and double deep-fried until shatteringly crispy. An authentic Chinese technique for the crunchiest wings.

Apricot Relish Steak

Broiled sirloin steak sliced thin and topped with fresh apricot relish simmered with red onion, rice vinegar, and Chinese five spice.

Litchi Five Spice Ice Cream

Litchi five-spice ice cream: a silky custard ice cream perfumed with Chinese five-spice and blended with sweet, floral lychees. An elegant, exotic frozen dessert that's a favorite for Chinese New Year.

China Sam's Chicken Wings

Broiled chicken wings seasoned with five-spice powder, dipped in a sticky teriyaki-oyster-BBQ sauce, then broiled again until glazed and crusty. Finger-licking good in under 35 minutes.

Five Fragrant Spice Pork

Five fragrant spice pork is a quick Chinese stir-fry of marinated lean pork strips tossed with soy sauce, sherry, and aromatic Chinese five-spice powder. Ready in 25 minutes.

Coriander Chicken Salad

Pan-fried chicken tossed with fresh cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, and scallions in a punchy sesame-soy dressing spiked with five spice. A cool, crunchy salad with serious depth.

Barbequed Beef Short Ribs

BBQ beef short ribs marinated in soy sauce, dry sherry, brown sugar, ginger, and five-spice powder, then grilled low and slow until fall-off-the-bone tender. Asian-inspired barbecue.

Oriental Pasta Salad

Asian-style pasta salad tosses cheese tortellini with sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, and five-spice dressing alongside snow peas, red pepper, scallion, and shredded carrot over cabbage. East-West fusion that works.

Roast Beef with Blackberry Ketchup

Five-spice-rubbed roast beef served with a homemade spiced blackberry ketchup, sweet, tart, and gently fiery with cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. An elegant roast with a surprising fruit condiment.

All 95 recipes