Are you a fan of Five Spice Powder? I am. It's one of my favorite seasonings. But I no longer buy it because...I now make my own Ten Spice Powder! If you're a fan too, do yourself a favor and take 15 minutes out of your life to make a batch of this. You'll never do store-bought again.
Use it anywhere you'd use five spice, but I guarantee you the aroma of your own fresh made spice blend fills the kitchen with will have you dying to do something more. Blended with salt and sugar, it makes an exceptional rub for chicken, duck or babybacks. Another favorite use is to season a panko crumb coating for a good white fish like halibut that I'll top with a pureed pan sauce made from lightly cooked fresh tomatoes.
From The China Moon Cookbook by Barbara Tropp (I've doubled the recipe to make about a cup, and added more ginger).
Whole Spices:
4 tblsp fennel seeds
20 star anise
4 tblsp Szechuan peppercorns
" coriander seeds
1.5 tsp whole cloves
" cumin seeds
1 tblsp black peppercorns
Ground spices:
1 tsp cinnamon
" turmeric
" ground ginger
Toast the whole spices together in a small dry skillet over low heat, stirring so that the spices toast without burning. Stir until the spices are fully fragrant and the fennel seeds and lighter colored spices start to change color, about five minutes. Stir in the ground spices, then grind the mixture finely using a coffee mill/spice grinder. Store in a tightly covered jar.
