China Moon Ten-Spice

The classic Chinese seasoning known as five-spice powder is probably the stuff of antiquity. Blessed with the mystic cosmological designation of five—a scheme the Chinese used over and over in their culture to designate propitiously harmonious aspects of a complete whole—it is comprised of flavors that gather in a sultry union. Orange, cassia (cinnamon), anise, Szechwan peppercorn, and clove are the usual congregants in the mix, a mélange that was probably designed to preserve or mask as we