Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works Hi brain
Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Voga bamb Here it's easy to take Chinese
Speaker 1: five spice powder for granted, you might even wonder if
Speaker 1: it's culturally authentic. But not only is this curious spice
Speaker 1: blend an important part of China's culinary tradition, it's an
Speaker 1: attempt to balance the crucial five flavors identified in Chinese culture.
Speaker 1: The spice blend itself is far from set in stone.
Speaker 1: You'll frequently find five spice powder that contains cinnamon, starnese, cloves, fennel,
Speaker 1: and schwan peppercorns, but these specific ingredients vary. They don't
Speaker 1: even have to total five. That's because it's less a
Speaker 1: matter of combining five sources of flavor, but rather the
Speaker 1: creation of a spice blend that provides a balance of
Speaker 1: the five flavors themselves bitter, sweet, spicy, sour, and pungent.
Speaker 1: According to chef and author of Stir Crazy Ching he Hung,
Speaker 1: these flavors are crucial for balanced dishes in Chinese cuisine,
Speaker 1: and their use is more complex than a Western branded
Speaker 1: bottle of five bice powder might suggest. Huang said, sometimes
Speaker 1: the West confuses Chinese five spice with allspice, which can
Speaker 1: contain liquorice, nutmeg, and black pepper. The spices and Chinese
Speaker 1: five spice, separately and sometimes together whole, are used in
Speaker 1: numerous dishes, from stir fries to braised and stewed dishes
Speaker 1: a wide range of recipes, whereas the West often uses
Speaker 1: it just in powder form and just for marinating. In
Speaker 1: her own cooking, Huang uses the powder for a variety
Speaker 1: of casseroles, spice rubs, marinads, roasts, stocks, and soy braised dishes.
Speaker 1: While she admits that store bought five spice works perfectly well,
Speaker 1: she prefers to make it herself. Huang said, I make
Speaker 1: my own with equal quantities of sechuan, pepper, star anie, cinnamon, fennel,
Speaker 1: and cloves. First dry toast it, place it in a
Speaker 1: spice grinder and grind until it's very fine. You can
Speaker 1: use a fine sieve to make sure there are no
Speaker 1: gritti or larger pieces. Huang also points to the deeper
Speaker 1: understanding of the five flavors, one based in traditional Chinese medicines,
Speaker 1: deep history of herbal medicine and body energy manipulation shan.
Speaker 1: According to Beijian University, of Chinese medicine, professor Dang Ye
Speaker 1: the five flavors ensure proper organ function and overall health
Speaker 1: in traditional Chinese medicine. The various ingredients in five spice
Speaker 1: powder factor into other herbal medicine traditions as well, though
Speaker 1: Western medical evidence tends towards the inconclusive. The doctrine of
Speaker 1: the five flavors became established in China around the fourth
Speaker 1: century b C, and tradition places its origin in the
Speaker 1: ancient myth shrouded Jiah dynasty of the second millennium BC.
Speaker 1: Whatever its exact origins, the concept proved pervasive enough to
Speaker 1: influence realms outside of medicine and cuisine, including philosophical discourse.
Speaker 1: As philosophy professor Spencer Wortz discusses in his book Food
Speaker 1: and Philosophy, Selected Essays. The ancient philosopher Laogi claimed the
Speaker 1: five flavors caused men to not taste at all. While
Speaker 1: this would seem counterintuitive to many modern readers, the Taoism
Speaker 1: founders point was that if you use any sense to
Speaker 1: its fullest, udult's ability. Other Taoist thinkers made a point
Speaker 1: of championing the simple tastes of foods like rice and
Speaker 1: konge tastes that are arguably annihilated by intense spices. Laugi's
Speaker 1: lesson on over indulgence is obvious, but other Chinese philosophers
Speaker 1: saw the value in a perfect balance of the five flavors.
Speaker 1: As Words points out, a simple bowl of soup served
Speaker 1: as a potent political metaphor in the fourth century b c. E.
Speaker 1: Text Zochuan. A harmony of spices in the soup, it
Speaker 1: was said, would result in both a harmonious flavor and
Speaker 1: a harmonious mind. Of course, you don't have to risk
Speaker 1: political unrest or sensory decadence in your use of five
Speaker 1: spice powder. The next time you reach for it, however,
Speaker 1: take a moment to consider the millennia's worth of tradition
Speaker 1: embodied in that tiny bottle of balanced flavor. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was written by Robert Lamb and produced by Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: You can hear more from Robert on his podcast Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, and of course, for more on
Speaker 1: this and other pungent topics, visit our home planet, tastaff
Speaker 1: Works dot com.