After making this recipe for Honey Glazed Five Spice Chicken with Leatherwood honey several times, I found myself intrigued by five spice powder. I had never really cooked with it much prior to the chicken recipe, but loved how the spice combination led to a warm, savory, and yet slightly exotic dish. So a few weekends back, Mr. B and I decided to cook up a five spice feast, creating five different dishes all using five spice powder in different ways. The lineup included:

Sweet Potato Star Anise Soup with Ginger Cream
Recipe from Chowhound – with slight modification noted below
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Firecracker Sugar Snap Peas with Five Spice
Recipe Below

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Apple Pie (with five spice of course!)
Add about 2 teaspoons of five spice to your favorite apple pie recipe

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Five Spice Ice Cream
Recipe from Gourmet, Oct. 2008

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It was a wonderful way to explore the different uses and attributes of a spice, and I think I’ll attempt something similar in the near future with other under appreciated spices in my kitchen.
The soup had a nice blend of savory and sweet flavors, with the ginger keeping it bright and interesting. I did add about 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to give it a bit more heat, because Mr. B and I both enjoy soups with a little kick.

Roasting a chicken added to the “comfort food” aspect of the meal, and the recipe from Wholefoods is one of my favorites for roasted chicken.

The Firecracker Sugar Snap Peas with Five Spice complemented the rest of the dinner nicely. Here’s my simple recipe for the peas:
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Firecracker Sugar Snap Peas with Five Spice
1 bag of sugar snap peas (about 3 cups) – rinsed, strings and ends removed
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon five spice powder
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is warm, add sugar snap peas and 1/2 cup of water. Cover skillet with a lid and let cook two or three minutes until the snap peas are steamed through. Remove skillet and let water evaporate. Add oil and stir peas to coat. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir fry until garlic is golden and peas are slightly browned. Remove from heat and serve.
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The pie and ice cream were delicious. I loved how the creamy cool ice cream contrasted with the warm flavors of five spice. The five spice apple pie was a good twist on an original that would still satisfy those who love classic apple pie. The ice cream recipe doesn’t call for five spice powder, but rather you make your own with, among other things: dried tangerine peel, star anise, pink Szechuan peppercorns. (You can mail order from Penzey’s – one of the best spice stores on the planet.)

So if you’re looking to explore five spice powder or just to cook up a weekend feast, here are several great recipes to get you started. Five spice is a perfect flavor for fall!