Star Anise Uses: Braises, Pho, Five-Spice, Chili Oil and Mulled Drinks

Star anise is the dried, star-shaped fruit of Illicium verum, a tree in the Schisandraceae family.¹ Despite the name, it is unrelated to anise seed, which Britannica places in the parsley family, Apiaceae.² What the two share is a compound: America’s Test Kitchen says their licorice character comes from trans-anethole,³ which makes up 70 to 93 percent of star anise oil.⁴ Each fruit is an aggregate of usually eight follicles, sometimes five to thirteen,⁴ so not every star has five points. This page lists where star anise is used. For amounts, timing and whole versus ground, see cooking with star anise.

At a glance

Chinese cooking

Kew says star anise is generally used in pork and chicken dishes in China.¹ Katzer calls it indispensable for red braising, a technique he associates with Shanghai-style cooking.⁵ The Woks of Life’s red braised pork belly uses 2 stars.⁶

Five-spice powder. Britannica lists the usual components of Chinese five-spice powder as fennel seeds, cassia, cloves, star anise and Sichuan pepper, and notes that many variations exist.¹³ Star anise is often said to be the main spice in the blend. In The Woks of Life’s recipe it is one part (4 stars), while fennel is two,⁷ so the licorice comes from two spices, not one.

Chili oil. The Woks of Life’s Sichuan-style chili oil infuses 5 star anise in the oil.⁸

A common claim says star anise is especially used with duck. Kew’s pork and chicken are what the sources support; we found no reference that singles out duck.

Vietnamese pho and beef soups

Katzer says star anise is popular for beef soups in northern Vietnam.⁵ NPR’s one-day pho recipe adds whole star anise to the broth with cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns.⁹ Claims that pho dates to the 19th century, or that star anise is its dominant flavor, were not traced to a source; the NPR recipe treats it as one of several broth spices.

South Asian dishes

Garam masala. Katzer notes star anise in Kerala’s garam masala and as star-shaped fragments in local versions of the Mughal rice dish.⁵ It is far from universal: Gulf News food writer Karishma Nandkeolyar notes that star anise is not part of the garam masala used in Hyderabad.¹⁴ The name means hot spices, which Saveur ties to spices thought to warm the body in Ayurvedic medicine,¹⁵ and The Spice House says the blend is warming rather than chili-hot.¹⁶ See garam masala uses.

Chai. A widely repeated description says star anise is the most prominent spice in masala chai. The Culinary Institute of America says chai masala mixtures may include cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and peppercorns,¹⁷ and none of the three chai recipes compared on our chai spices page uses star anise.

Drinks

• Mulled wine. Katzer says that in the West, star anise is mainly a cheaper stand-in for anise in mulled wine, desserts and liqueurs.⁵ Jennifer Segal’s mulled wine on Once Upon a Chef uses 2 whole stars to a 750 ml bottle of red wine, with cinnamon sticks and cloves.¹⁰ European Union law defines Glühwein and Nordic vinglögg as flavored mainly with cinnamon and/or cloves,¹⁸ so star anise is a common addition rather than a defining one.
• Liqueurs and spirits. Kew lists star anise among the flavorings of Galliano, sambuca, pastis and some absinthes.¹
• Thai iced tea. Katzer describes it as black tea flavored with star anise powder.⁵
• Haitian cremas. Claudy Pierre’s recipe in Table Magazine uses 2 teaspoons of star anise extract.¹²

Baking and sweets

PROSEA lists baked goods, puddings and gelatins among the foods flavored with star anise fruit and oil.⁴ The Spice House’s apple pie spice includes star anise with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves.¹¹ Specific Western desserts such as gingerbread or pumpkin pie are often suggested, but we found no named recipe that uses star anise in them.

Safety: buy food-grade star anise

Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum) is a toxic relative, and PROSEA warns that star anise is sometimes adulterated with similar-looking fruits.⁴ In 2003, the FDA linked teas brewed from star anise to illnesses in about 40 people, including about 15 infants, and said Japanese star anise has long been recognized as toxic in many countries.¹⁹ Buy star anise sold as a food spice from a reputable supplier, and never cook with stars sold for decoration or potpourri. More on the star anise profile.

Not yet measured

• A typical amount of star anise per serving; amounts on cooking with star anise come from named recipes only.
• How often star anise appears in regional garam masalas outside Kerala.

Related

• Star anise and cooking with star anise
• Star anise substitutes and star anise vs. anise seed
• Cloves vs. star anise and Chinese five-spice powder