It’s in your spice drawer.
Simply Recipes / Adobe Stock
Whenever I make pumpkin pie, I use canned pumpkin for the filling.
Once, I asked my mother to grab the spices from the pantry.
Simply Recipes / Adobe Stock
Instead, she grabbed the jar ofChinese five-spiceand dropped a pinch into the pumpkin filling.
Im trying something new, she said in Cantonese.
In the kitchen, my entire family is experimental with flavors.
Simply Recipes / Adobe Stock
When I tasted the filling, boy, did my tastebuds sing!
The flavor was incredible!
Thefive-spice powderadded cozy, layered flavor to the dessert.
While usually incorporated in savory cooking, lately Ive been using five-spice in my baking.
Five-spice snickerdoodles andbanana bread?
My moms spur-of-the-moment experiment was a definite win.
If youre new to five-spice, I recommend adding just a few pinches to the pumpkin puree at first.
The different flavors in five-spice can hit you all at once.
You wont need to add other spices, like extra ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice, when using five-spice.
Try adding a dab of miso to the pumpkin filling to further bring out the flavor of the five-spice.
Its a final touch that connects all the flavors.
Also, when serving, top each slice with a dollop ofwhipped creamand a light dusting of five-spice powder.
