When mentioning the culinary culture of Asian countries, it is impossible not to mention the five flavors, the cooking spice with a delicious, attractive flavor and used in many traditional Vietnamese dishes.
With the identity of Eastern cuisine, many Westerners have admired and admired what this spice can do. They could not believe that, with just a little flour, meat, vegetables or seafood should become so stimulating and attractive. Made from precious herbs in nature, the five flavors not only bring delicious flavor to the dish, but are also good for health.
A spice made from 5 spices with sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter flavors. The five flavors are a symbol of the rich culinary culture of the East. Depending on each region and country, the five flavors of each region will be different. But overall, the traditional five flavors are a blend of clove, anise, fennel seeds, pepper and cinnamon.
Many people believe that China is the cradle of five flavors. However, since ancient times this spice has been used by many other countries in Asia. While the Japanese have a spice made up of 7 different ingredients called Shichimi Togarashi, the Bengalis have a five spice made from 5 different nuts. In Vietnam, many people use five spices for stocking, roasting or sauces. And the restaurants in Hawai, people left the table to eat a bottle of five flavors for arbitrary use.
What are the main ingredients of five flavors?
With traditional five flavors, ingredients include pepper, anise, clove cinnamon bark and dill. Specifically
Repatriation is the fruit of anise, with the shape of a flattened five-pointed, harvested when unripe, then exposed until it turns brown. Besides being used in making five spice flavor, repatriation is also used in cakes, bread or some drinks.
Clove: As the bud part of clove, this spice has a slightly yellowish-brown color, is rich in essential oils, and the scent after being dried. When used individually, cloves are used for marinating fish, ingredients for drinks or cakes. With a strong aroma, easily overwhelming the taste of other spices, so when using cloves one uses only a little bit.
Pepper: In order to have the right five flavors, Szechwan pepper will be the best choice. This type of pepper is a specialty of Sichuan region – China, with a strong taste, not spicy. After drying, people will grind the red outer layer into powder. However, due to scarcity, people will replace it with pepper.
Dill: Used by Indians and Chinese for a long time, such as cumin is an herb native to the Mediterranean region. With a soothing, stimulating aroma, dill is considered a remedy for improving digestive problems.
Cinnamon: A popular spice in Asian savory dishes, while Europeans use cinnamon primarily for cakes. To perfect the taste of five spices, imported cinnamon powder will certainly be an indispensable ingredient.
The above are 5 ingredients for traditional five flavors, however, in some other areas, the material can be changed to blow, such as cinnamon, star anise, anise, clove and pepper, or Other areas will have ginger or chili powder.
