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Chinese 5 Spice Substitutes & Alternatives
Looking for the best substitute for Chinese 5 spice? Well, you’re in luck! I have gathered the best spices and spice blends that I find are similar in taste, texture and colour.
Chinese 5 Spice
Chinese 5 spice has warm notes from the cinnamon, a little bit of heat from the Sichuan peppercorns and sweet liquorice flavours from the fennel seeds, star anise and cloves.
I always have a jar in my cupboard, and it’s an essential ingredient in many Chinese recipes (like this crispy salt and chilli chicken). Nowadays, you can find Chinese 5 spice in supermarkets and online at Amazon. However, if you can’t find it, you can recreate the taste in the comfort of your own home with these substitutes below.
The Best Chinese 5 Spice Substitutes
1. Allspice (My Favourite Swap)
I think Allspice tastes like a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper. Hence, the flavour profile is quite earthy, warm and slightly sweet.
For me, allspice is the best single swap alternative for Chinese 5 spice, as most of the flavours are covered apart from the fennel seeds.
You can buy allspice grounded into a powder or whole (similar to peppercorns). I prefer using the grounded powder as it’s less pungent than whole allspice berries.
Swap this spice equally in the recipe you are following, or you can use half the amount for a weeker flavour.
2. Garam Masala
Garam Masala is a grounded blend of spices used frequently in Indian cuisine. A typical garam masala spice mix includes cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cumin, fennel seeds, cardamon, black pepper and nutmeg. Though, versions vary depending on the area of origin in India.
I find the taste has warmth and floral notes with a little bit of heat from the black pepper, and the smell is quite fragrant. Though I like this swap, unlike Chinese 5 spice, Garam Masala has a lower sweet, cinnamon and nutmeg flavour. However, this can easily be fixed! Simply add in more cinnamon or nutmeg to suit your taste.
This spice can be used in a one-to-one ratio swap; the two spices are very similar, only that garam masala doesn’t have star anise.
3. Garam Masala & Star Anise
Star Anise is quite sweet in taste and is one of the main ingredients in Chinese 5 spice.
Mixing Garam Masala and star anise together is the simplest way to create your own Chinese 5 spice mix! Just make sure the garam masala you use has fennel seeds included too, as not all do.
For 1 teaspoon of your own Chinese 5 spice mix, I fill a teaspoon 3/4 full of garam masala and the remaining 1/4 with star anise.
4. Baharat (Lebanese 7 Spice)
Baharat is a popular spice blend used in middle eastern cooking. It’s made from a mixture of paprika, black pepper, cardamom, cumin, cloves, coriander and nutmeg. Some variations can have more than 7 spices and can include dried ginger.
Baharat has warm and earthy notes, it’s slightly sweet and is not too spicy. However, I would prefer using a mix of garam masala and star anise as the paprika in this dish creates a slightly different flavour.
5. Ras El Hanout
Ras El Hanout is a popular spice blend used in Moroccan cuisine; in Arabic it means ‘head of the shop’ as it’s considered one of the best spice blend shops can offer.
It’s made from grounded cardamom, coriander, ginger, cumin, mace, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper, white pepper, cloves and anise seeds.
A lot of spices are used to make Ras El Hanout, though I find ingredients to differ slightly. This is not my favourite Chinese 5 spice alternative, but it can work.
6. Cinnamon, Black Pepper & Star Anise
Mixing cinnamon, black pepper and star anise together is another way I like to make Chinese 5 spice. If you have these ingredients at home already, then it’s an easy swap to make.
This mix covers 3 out of the 5 ingredients used to make Chinese 5 spice. The sweet tones come from the star anise and cinnamon and a peppery flavour from the black pepper.
7. Dill & Cinnamon
Dill mixed with cinnamon is another homemade substitute you can make. It has a flavour like star anise with sweet notes, but it’s also citrusy and grassy in flavour.
Both ingredients are very easy to find and are common household ingredients. I prefer using dried dill seeds to fresh dill as they’re more pungent in flavour.
8. Fennel Seeds & Szechuan Peppercorns
Fennel seeds are fragrant, citrusy, warm and are slightly sweet in flavour. Szechuan peppercorns are dried berries from a type of ash tree and is indigenous to China.
Fennel seeds are easy to buy in supermarkets and so are Szechuan peppercorns, however I’ve noticed that Szechuan peppercorns are quite expensive in-comparison to other spices.
Avoid adding too much Szechuan peppercorns otherwise it can make the dish quite mouth-numbing.
9. Za’atar
I’ll start by saying Za’atar is not my best recommendation as a Chinese 5 spice substitute, but if it’s all you have, it can do.
Za’atar is a middle eastern spice usually containing dried oregano, thyme, sumac and toasted sesame seeds. As you can see from this ingredients list, the flavours aren’t exactly aligned with the ingredients in Chinese 5 spice.
However, some variations of this spice have fennel seeds within it. If you’re looking for a loose connection to Chinese 5 spice, then Za’atar could be an option.
10. Homemade Chinese 5 Spice
There’s nothing like making your own homemade Chinese 5 spice, after all, it is the best substitute. The flavour combinations in my suggestions above make a close match, but homemade spice blends create an exact copy.
If you want to know how to make your own Chinese 5 spice from scratch, then I’ve written my go-to recipe below!
Chinese 5 Spice Ingredients
TIP: I like to buy all these ingredients grounded, this way I only need to mix the powders together instead of grounding it.
- 1 Cinnamon Stick (1 tbsp grounded): Most cinnamon sticks sold in the UK are the Chinese Cassia cinnamon sticks.
- 8 Cloves (1/2 tsp grounded): Whole cloves are quite popular, but you can buy grounded clove powder.
- 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds (1 tbsp grounded): Fresh fennel seeds are green in colour, as it ages the colour fades.
- 6 Star Anise (1 tbsp grounded): Grounded star anise isn’t so common to purchase. However, you can buy it here on Amazon.
- 1 tbsp Sichuan Peppercorns (1 tbsp grounded): Traditionally, authentic Chinese 5 spice recipes use Sichuan peppercorns. You can buy this in many supermarkets however, black peppercorns is a great alternative.
How To Make Homemade Chinese 5 Spice
If you’re using grounded spices, simply mix the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and store it in an airtight container. The fresher the ground the better the flavour!
When I’m using whole spices and seeds, I like to use a spice grinder or coffee grinder to grind the whole spices into a powder. To aid this process, I always break larger spices (like cinnamon sticks) into small pieces before grinding.
If I want extra intensity, I toast the spices in a dry frying pan or in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, I leave the spices to cool down before grinding it.
Recipes To Make With Chinese 5 Spice
- Chinese Curry Sauce
- Salt & Pepper Chicken
- Salt And Pepper Chips
- Chinese BBQ Sauce
- Char Siu Pork
- Chinese Salt And Pepper Seasoning
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