This recipe makes about ½ cup -- plenty to gift one or two friends. Halve it for single household use.
Ingredients
2tablespoonsfennel seed
8star anise,broken into individual petals
2tablespoonsSichuan peppercorns
1cinnamon/cassia stick,broken into small pieces (use your fingers)
½teaspoonwhole cloves
Optional additions (choose all, some or none)
12green cardamom pods or 1 medium Chinese black cardamom,gently crushed open with the broad side of a knife of meat mallet (discard the tough black skin of the black cardamom; keep the green skin on the other kind)
1tablespoonblack peppercorns
¼teaspoonground ginger
Instructions
Toast the spices. Combine the whole spices (everything but the ginger!) in a small skillet. Set over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until very fragrant, popping a tiny bit; some of the fennel seeds should be lightly browned. At that point, pull the skillet off the heat and pour the spices into a bowl to cool. Stir in any ground spices you may be using so may commingle well with the warm, toasted spices.
Cool, grind, and store. Let the spices cool to room temperature before grinding in 2 or 3 batches in a clean electric grinder dedicated to spices or a spice grinder.
When done, clean the grinder by whirling up a tablespoon of raw rice, and discarding it. Store the Chinese five-spice powder in a jar for up to a year. You may push it to 2 years but if it’s faded in flavor and fragrance, definitely make a new batch.