In Honor of the Year of the Tiger

Chinese New Year begins on February 14th, 2010 and this is the year of the Tiger. In honor of the event, perhaps you'll choose to make a dish using a mixture of spices that is popular in Chinese cuisine. One common recipe for the mixture, Chinese Five-spice, includes equal amounts of the following ingredients ground into a powder: broken or crushed cinnamon sticks, Star anise, fennel seeds, Szechuan pepper-corns and whole cloves. The formula is based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food. It is used in most recipes for Cantonese roasted duck, as well as beef stew. It is also used as a marinade for Vietnamese broiled chicken. Be sure to store the spice in an airtight container.