The Homestyle

How in the world did I neglect to mention my favorite seasoning in my post about my Favorite Things a couple of weeks ago??

Well, in case you were wondering my favorite seasoning to bring flavor to my dishes is Chinese Five Spice:

                              Photo Credit

Chinese Five Spice is an amazingly aromatic blend of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ground anise seed, and ginger root. Some varieties might also include white pepper or fennel seed.

While many of these spices sound like they belong in a dessert, I have been blown away by using Chinese Five Spice to season various meat dishes. My absolute favorite is to use it to coat chicken wings and grill them. I also like to drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, sprinkle Chinese Five Spice on top, and bake my chicken in the oven.

Chinese Five Spice also adds an amazing depth to pork dishes. Seasoning pork chops with the seasoning before baking and then serving with warm applesauce is a perfect combination. I’ve also added a teaspoon to the herb rub I put on top of my Herb Crusted Pork Roast.

We have also occasionally seasoned our steaks and even our hamburgers with a sprinkle of Chinese Five Spice.

Have you tried Chinese Five Spice? What is your favorite way to use it?