What spices are there in Thirteen Spices

When it comes to thirteen spices, most people are familiar with it. There are many types of thirteen spices sold on the market. Thirteen spices are made of thirteen spices. Thirteen spices are a relatively common condiment. When you are cooking, mixing noodles or stewing soup, adding a little thirteen spices can make the food fresh and delicious, and make the food taste very delicious, but many people don’t know what spices the thirteen spices contain.

What are the spices in Thirteen Spices?

Generally, "Thirteen Spices" refers to 13 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines with their own distinctive aromas, such as costus root, angelica dahurica, aniseed, cumin, tangerine peel, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, galangal, amomum villosum, nutmeg, dried ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and other spices. The above formula is calculated based on 100g.

Although 13 incense is made of natural spices, you must also control the dosage when using it. Because spices are also a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, and all medicines are poisonous, we should follow the principle of "less is more".

Different spices have different uses. For example, fennel has a strong and fresh taste and is generally used to cook vegetables and soy products. Costus root is generally used in soups to make the soup taste fresh and delicious. Angelica dahurica, star anise, and cardamom are generally used to cook beef and mutton to remove the mutton smell and enhance the freshness. Cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, tangerine peel, and dried ginger are generally used to smoke meat to enhance the flavor and relieve greasiness. Nutmeg and cloves are used to smoke chicken, smoked duck, etc. to make the flavor more unique.

The ratio of "Thirteen Spices" should generally be: 5 parts each of Sichuan pepper and aniseed, 2 parts each of cinnamon, angelica, tangerine peel, ginger, and angelica, and 1 part each of the rest. Then put them together and you get the "Thirteen Spices". They can also be used separately. For example, fennel has a strong smell and is best used in making vegetarian dishes and soy products. Angelica dahurica can be used to remove the mutton smell, increase the flavor, and make the meat tender. Cinnamon can be used to smoke meat and boil intestines to make the meat and intestines fragrant and not greasy after eating for a long time. Tangerine peel and costus root can be used to make the soup to make the smell elegant and fragrant. Sanguisorba officinalis and ginger can be used to remove the fishy smell and make the fish crispy and tender with a strong aroma. Nutmeg and cloves can be used to smoke chicken, duck, and goose meat to make the smoked flavor unique, with a fresh and fragrant taste when chewed, filling the room with fragrance.

When making "Thirteen Spices", the raw materials must be fully dried in the sun or oven, crushed and sieved, and the finer the better. Each raw material should be crushed and stored separately. It is best to put them in non-toxic and odorless edible plastic bags to prevent the spices from "re-moistening" or losing their flavor. When using, the more is not necessarily better. It must be used in moderation. Although ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, fennel, ginger and pepper are natural condiments, they will have certain side effects and even toxicity and mutagenicity if used in excessive amounts. Therefore, it is better to use less rather than more.

Types and uses of thirteen-spice seasoning

⑴ Spicy and warm type: Star anise, cinnamon, fennel, pepper and cloves are called five spices. They are generally suitable for family snacks, melon seeds, sauce making, etc. They have a wide range of applications and suit the tastes of the general public. Generally, the five-spice powder sold on the market is mainly composed of fennel and crushed cinnamon, with very little star anise and cloves, so it has no taste. When making it in reality, star anise and cloves should be the main ingredients, with the others as supplementary ingredients.

⑵ Spicy type: Add green Sichuan pepper, longan, pepper, cardamom, dried ginger, grass fruit, galangal, etc. to the five-spice powder. During the cooking process, add appropriate amount of chili to achieve a spicy and numbing taste. The usages vary. Chili peppers and green Sichuan peppers can be fried in hot oil to achieve a fragrant taste, or they can be ground into powder or thrown into the pot to boil water. That is to say, every chef has his own opinions and preferences, which can all have a certain effect.

⑶ Strong aroma type: Add fragrant sand, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon and imported bay leaves to the general materials to make a unique aroma, such as sausages, roast chicken, braised chicken and high-end barbecue.

⑷ Strange taste type: add cardamom, nutmeg, costus root, galangal, green Sichuan pepper, Qiannianjian, acanthopanax bark, eucommia bark and other five spices to boil water. This taste gives people a refreshing feeling.

⑸ Nourishing type: such as Gastrodia elata, Momordica grosvenori, Angelica dahurica, Angelica sinensis, cinnamon as auxiliary ingredients, accompanied by soft-shelled turtle, hen, dog meat, etc. It is a tonic that can strengthen yang and kidney, replenish qi and strengthen the body's immunity.