Steenbergs Organic China Five Spice (ngung heung or spices of five fragrances) is a blend of the core spices of Chinese cooking – star anise (baat gok), fennel (woof heung), with Sichuan pepper (faah jiu) substituted here for organic black pepper, cloves (ding heung) and cinnamon (yook gwuy). Steenbergs Organic China 5 Spice is dominated by anise flavours, led by the star anise spice. These are combined with the sweetness of cinnamon and cloves and brought together by the almost anise-like flavours of fennel seeds.

China 5 spice is used in many Asian recipes, great in stir fries and chinese noodle soups, and its sweet tangy flavours sit well with the greasy meats like pork and duck – just rub – a teaspoon of China 5 Spice on a duck breast then drizzle with honey and roast for 20 minutes in an oven at 180C. Just wonderful!