So for a long time I had been intrigued by Chinese 5 Spice powder. After seeing it in recipes and hearing about it on cooking shows I really wanted to try it, but never had the opportunity...
Flash forward a few months - Hilary and I were looking for recipes to make and I remembered a recipe I had bookmarked when I was going through an obsession with Pumpkin recipes. It was from one of my favorite food blogs, Coconut and Lime.
(The recipe is here; we really didn't change it at all. We loved the subtle spiciness along with the pumpkin, as well as that beautiful yeasty flavor you can only get from good sweet rolls. As an added plus they reheat very well, so if you don't feel like overindulging....)
So since then... well, I've been trying to find more uses for it.
My most recent applications have been on the sweeter end. The other morning I made some oatmeal for breakfast, chopped up some peaches, and mixed in some five spice powder and sugar. Really, I was just using it instead of cinnamon...
The night before we made grilled peaches and ice cream for dessert and wanted a sauce of some sort. Not having the time or ingredients to make a caramel sauce, we started melting some brown sugar and butter. Then it hit me - 5 spice powder!
(sadly, no pictures, but here's the recipe!)
for the peaches:
2 white peaches, halved
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon butter
vanilla ice cream, slightly melted
for the sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of five spice powder
pinch of salt
tablespoon of butter
1/8 cup honey
- mix the sugar and ginger in a small bowl, set aside
- melt a tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a grill pan
- halve peaches and sprinkle cut sides with sugar/ginger mixture (if you're worried about it sticking, use a little butter. ours were pretty juicy so the sugar stuck on well) and place, cut side down, into grill pan
- in a small saucepan, place water, brown, and cane sugar, and put over medium heat
- when sugars melt, add five spice powder, pinch of salt, butter, and honey, and then stir until it comes to a boil; remove from heat
- peaches should take 5-10 minutes. flip them and grill the tops for just a few minutes (to soften them a little) then place them in a bowl, cut side up. top with 2 scoops of ice cream and drizzle with sauce.
My thoughts: a little goes a long way with the five spice powder. It accents the sweetness of the peaches very well, without killing or masking the ginger/sugar mixture on the peaches themselves.
Hilary's thoughts: Much better than typical ice cream sauce, as it not only enhanced the ice cream, but also had tons of flavor.
(The recipe is here; we really didn't change it at all. We loved the subtle spiciness along with the pumpkin, as well as that beautiful yeasty flavor you can only get from good sweet rolls. As an added plus they reheat very well, so if you don't feel like overindulging....)
So since then... well, I've been trying to find more uses for it.
My most recent applications have been on the sweeter end. The other morning I made some oatmeal for breakfast, chopped up some peaches, and mixed in some five spice powder and sugar. Really, I was just using it instead of cinnamon...
The night before we made grilled peaches and ice cream for dessert and wanted a sauce of some sort. Not having the time or ingredients to make a caramel sauce, we started melting some brown sugar and butter. Then it hit me - 5 spice powder!
(sadly, no pictures, but here's the recipe!)
for the peaches:
2 white peaches, halved
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon butter
vanilla ice cream, slightly melted
for the sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon of five spice powder
pinch of salt
tablespoon of butter
1/8 cup honey
- mix the sugar and ginger in a small bowl, set aside
- melt a tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a grill pan
- halve peaches and sprinkle cut sides with sugar/ginger mixture (if you're worried about it sticking, use a little butter. ours were pretty juicy so the sugar stuck on well) and place, cut side down, into grill pan
- in a small saucepan, place water, brown, and cane sugar, and put over medium heat
- when sugars melt, add five spice powder, pinch of salt, butter, and honey, and then stir until it comes to a boil; remove from heat
- peaches should take 5-10 minutes. flip them and grill the tops for just a few minutes (to soften them a little) then place them in a bowl, cut side up. top with 2 scoops of ice cream and drizzle with sauce.
My thoughts: a little goes a long way with the five spice powder. It accents the sweetness of the peaches very well, without killing or masking the ginger/sugar mixture on the peaches themselves.
Hilary's thoughts: Much better than typical ice cream sauce, as it not only enhanced the ice cream, but also had tons of flavor.
