I’m late. I know.
I set out to write a special edition of The Weekly Menu this week. After a handful of ingredient questions from readers, I had planned to write a longish guide to stocking a pantry.
That didn’t happen.
Well, it happened. Mostly. Then most of it disappeared into the digital void.
My fault. I wasn’t saving regularly, and I was distracted. And playing a train game in the background and … well, it doesn’t really matter. I’d been struggling a little with it anyway. There’s something distinctly depressing about photographing piles of flour.
At 11:00 AM on Tuesday I’m starting from scratch.
Instead of focusing on the whole pantry, I’m going to focus on one ingredient that I’d planned to write about, one that if you’re a regular reader you know I use a lot: Chinese Five Spice Powder.
Chinese Five Spice is a mixture of warm spices that’s used in a lot of southeast Asian cuisines and depending on where what culinary tradition the particular cook or producer is from, the recipe varies slightly. It’s wonderful on roasted meats, and a key ingredient in a few classic dishes you’re probably familiar with.
The thing is, I don’t just use it in dishes from that part of the world. I’m talking about fusion or re-invented dishes. I use Five Spice Powder in traditional European dishes like Sauerbraten and Bourguignon. I often use a little in whatever spice/herb rub I throw together for a roast chicken. And, I pretty much always use it in cooked charcuterie like Chicken liver pâté or Pâté de Campagne. See, there’s a spice ingredient used in a lot of classical European recipes that we tend to leave out. Depending on the tradition, “sweet spice” or quatre epices or other similar blends added a bit of warmth and mystery to braises, forcemeats, and other dishes. Other than the stick-the-cloves-in-the-onion thing, that seems to have disappeared from a lot of recipes. You can still, of course, make or find sweet spice, quatre epices, etc. But I’ve found Five Spice makes a great replacement not just because it mimics those flavors – but it adds a little extra.
I’ve even used it in sweets. It makes a wicked strange wonderful take on spice cake – though I’m not sure I’d use it in breakfast rolls.
Next week we’ll be back to a more … normal never feels like the right word these days … a more familiar The Weekly Menu. Right now i’m planning on something Mardi Gras-ish but of course, if today has taught me anything, that might all go out the window at a moment’s notice.
Thanks again to all of you who’ve supported my work here by sharing The Weekly Menu, but joining as paid subscribers (which you can do now for 20% off - as little as $4 a month and also so I don’t go broke buying ingredients) and by reading and providing feedback! Without you i’d just bee cooking alone in my kitchen making up slightly ride songs and confusing the house robot.
Chinese Five Spice Powder
As I mentioned above, there are variations on the recipe for Five Spice Powder depending on the region and traditions of the cook or producer. Some recipes call for ginger, some for fennel seed. Some trend sweeter, others spicier. Some mass produced versions use black pepper in place of Szechuan peppercorn, and while that means it misses out on the wonderful strange numbing floral characteristic of that spice – they’re just fine for a lot of cooking.
I’ve taken to making my own blend. That’s in part because I’ve already got all the components in my pantry (you see, I finally come around to how I went from a build-a-pantry newsletter to a screed about Five Spice Powder) and partially because it allows me to accentuate the flavors I like. In my case, that means it’s heavy on the cinnamon and star anise, and that I make it a little spicy with white peppercorn instead of sweet fennel or ginger.
5 whole star anise pods
1 2-inch piece cinnamon
2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
2 tsp white peppercorns
4 whole cloves
Add the whole spices to a dry pan over medium heat.
Toast, stirring constantly and being carefully not to burn the spices, until they’re very fragrant.
Allow to cool slightly, then process in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle until very fine.
Chicken thighs cooked with red wine, olives, mushrooms, figs, and garlic
I’ll be honest. This recipe - which I originally developed for The Chicken Thigh Guy - came about when I was struggling to figure out what to make for dinner. I scrounged in the fridge and cooked with what I had. But I accidentally came up with something that mimics flavors used in Europe before the European conquest of the Americas.
Before trade between the Americas and Europe, many of the fruits and vegetables we think of as key to European cuisines weren’t available. No potatoes, no peppers, no tomatoes.
Cooks prior to that era relied on a different set of spices and flavors. This dish utilizes some of that. This is essentially an agrodolce – a traditional Mediterranean sweet and sour. In this case, the sour element is red wine, and the sweetness is imparted by the addition of dried fruit – figs. Mushrooms add depth, a salty funky brightness from the olives, and garlic brings in a savory note. I add just a pinch of five spice powder (standing in for the more traditional quatre epices or similar blends) which is sort of a je ne sais quoi spice element. You don’t really taste the spice in the final dish, but you would notice its absence.
Completely accidentally, it’s a well-rounded dish
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
8 oz white button mushrooms
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups red wine
1 head garlic
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp five spice powder
12-16 firm green olives
8 dried figs
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Peel, and trim the garlic (or use 10-12 cloves pre-peeled)
Clean and slice the mushrooms.
Slice the dried figs in half lengthwise.
Preheat an oven proof pan over medium heat.
Season the chicken thighs with the salt and cook, skin side down at first, over medium heat until the skin is crisped and most of the fat is rendered.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Drain all but 1 tbsp of the fat.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt and cook until softened.
Add the five-spice powder, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves to the mushrooms and cook 1 minute.
Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up.
Add the stock and red wine.
Arrange the figs, olives, and garlic closed around the pan making sure they’re between the chicken pieces and will be fully submerged once cooking.
Bring the pan to a simmer and transfer to the oven to cook uncovered until the chicken is nearly falling from the bone – 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the thighs.
Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta, or other starchy sides.
Five Spice Roast Pork with Cucumbers and Onions
This is a quick and easy dinner that feels far fancier than it really is. The preparation is simple, and the actual cooking is … possibly even simpler. Also – for pretty much the first time in this newsletter I’m bowing to the superiority of a gimmicky kitchen tool.
That’s right. This is an air fryer dish. You can make it with a traditional oven – it simply takes a little longer – so don’t worry if you don’t have an air fryer, but the gimmicky little thing does something wonderful to small pieces of pork shoulder.
It makes them crispy and brown and luscious like a fryer would while still allowing you to coat them with spices and flavoring that would be lost in a real fryer.
I serve this with a simple salad of cucumbers, onions, and herbs – spiked with a little lime juice, chilis, and of course – a pinch of five spice powder.
Air Fryer Five Spice Roasted Pork
1 lbs pork shoulder meat cut into 2 inch cubes
2 tsp fish sauce
juice of one lime
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
Combine the combine the fish sauce, lime juice, five spice, honey, and oil in a bowl and whisk together.
Add the pork to the bowl and toss well to coat. Allow to the pork to rest in the marinade for 15 minutes.
Set your air fryer to 400°F
Arrange the pork in the air fryer, and cook for 15 minutes, or until crisp and browned on the exterior and the interior has reached 165°F.
Remove from the fryer and allow to stand five minutes before serving.
Serve with steamed rice and Cucumber, Red Onion, and Herb Salad (below)
Cucumber, Red Onion, and Herb Salad
1 English or 2-3 Persian cucumbers
½ red onion
Juice of ½ lime
2 tbsp. minced cilantro
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tbsp. chopped peanuts
1 tsp kosher salt
pinch of five spice powder
Trim the ends of the cucumbers and cut into 2-inch chunks. If you’re using an English cucumber, you may want to remove the seeds.
Peel, trim, and cut the onion from end to end into thin slices.
Cut the onion slices into 2-inch lengths.
Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and toss well.
Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.