Home/Home & Garden/Herbs and Spices/Star Anise Know Your Herbs and Spices

Star Anise Know Your Herbs and Spices

Cindy's Recipes and WritingsApril 6, 2014April 7, 20141 Comment

Star Anise is a star-shaped, dark brown pod that contains a pea-size seeds. Native to China, star anise comes from a small evergreen tree. The whole pod is dried before use.
Star anise gives a licorice flavor to savory dishes. It is widely used in Asian and Indian cuisine. Whole star anise is used to flavor tea, marinades, and soups. This spice is often used with pork and poultry. It’s available whole or ground and is an ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder. Remember that this spice is bitterer than common anise so use it sparingly.
It is also a major ingredient in the making of pho a Vietnamese noodle soup.
Here are some recipes for Pho:
Pho from Food Network Kitchen
Pho from Steamy Kitchen
Pho from Epicurious

Cindy's Recipes and Writings

As a professional cook, I love creating exciting new recipes on the job as well as at home. Assisting in teaching low-income families how to buy, store and prepare healthy food through Penn State’s alliance with Pennsylvania’s Supercupboard Program was very rewarding. During my 11 years with the Master Gardener program, I taught horticultural therapy to assisted living patients using healthful, fr
esh grown food as a focal point. . My hands-on programs and instruction helped hundreds of children and adults learn about where their food comes from and how important fresh food is for your body.
Currently I’m a cook at a college in Pennsylvania. We prepare everything we can from scratch, including our potato chips that tout the seasoning of the day!
Of course I write about food; it's in my blood!