What Is Star anise and How Can I Use It?

About the ingredient star anise. Including 178 recipes with star anise, nutrition data, photos, and where to find it.

What is star anise?

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 tbsp, whole (6g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 20Calories from Fat 8

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 1.0g 1%

Saturated Fat 0.0g 0%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 0mg 0%

Total Carbohydrate 3.0g 1%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars ~

Protein 1.1g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 2%

Calcium 4% • Iron 12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Where found

Star anise is usually found in the spices section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group

Star anise is a member of the Spices and Herbs US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

How much does star anise weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 tbsp, whole	6 grams
1 tsp, whole	2 grams

Spices and Herbs

Allspice 904 Allspice berries 37 Star anise 178 Aniseed 23 Bay leaves 2049 Caraway seeds 321 Cardamom pods 100 Cardamom seeds 317 Celery seeds 283 Chervil 65

In Chinese:	八角
British (UK) term:
en français:	anis étoilé
en español:	anís estrellado

Recipes using star anise

There are 178 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Adam's Chai Latte Ice Cream

My brother Adam loves this ice cream so much that I asked him for the recipe. It's a Chai Latte with chunks of gingerbread cookies hidden within.

Pho Bac (Hanoi Beef & Rice-Noodle Soup)

A savory and hearty soup made with succulent beef, hot chili sauce and bean sprouts.

Classic Almond Biscotti

An impossibly delicious almond biscotti recipe; dip it into that hot cup of tea or coffee, it melts in your mouth, and you will swear it’s a perfect bite of food.

Chinese Broad Bean & Potato Stir-Fry with Noodles

This is a classic dish in Northern China, it's usually made with broad beans, potatoes, pork or beef chunks as you wish, and freshly made noodles. This is an easier version by using spaghetti, I also omit the meat to make it a meatless but still very tasty.

Star Anise Poached Pears In Red Wine

Poaching pears in red wine is a classic way to make pears into a dessert. Pears are poached in red wine with star anise, cloves and cinnamon sticks infused, which makes the pears tender, soft and tasty. Serve the warm pear with the syrup sauce and some good quality ice cream.

Sacramento Fruit Bowl

This fruity delicious dish is made with pineapple, honeydew melon, cantalope and nectarines.

Hanoi Beef & Rice-Noodle Soup (Pho Bac)

Authentic Hanoi-style pho bo with slow-simmered oxtail and beef bone broth, star anise, charred ginger, rice noodles, and paper-thin sirloin. This traditional Vietnamese beef noodle soup recipe takes 5 hours but rewards you with deeply aromatic, soul-warming bowls.

Spiced Cider with Cranberries (crockpot)

Slow cooker spiced cranberry cider, apple cider mulled low with cranberries, orange, and a generous mix of cinnamon, clove, star anise, and candied ginger. A fragrant, hands-off hot drink for fall and holiday gatherings.

Baked Butternut Squash

Easy baked butternut squash seasoned with the warmth of cardamom and star anise.

Five Spice Powder

A simple seasoning recipe that can add a kick to any of your meals.

Star Anise & Date Masala Spiced Chickpeas

An Indian inspired recipe is full of flavor, a great side dish with some grilled meat.

P.F. Chang's Roasted Chicken Cantonese Style

A copycat recipe of a popular chinese chain in the US. The method used creates a super crispy skin for this roast chicken.

Anise Chicken for Two

A very easy and fairly quick one pot meal that's perfect when you're in a hurry. Chunks of chicken and rice seasoned with star anise and Chinese five spice powder. Yum.

Anise Pillows/Pfefferneuse

The name translates to pepper nuts in German, Danish and Dutch, describing their spicy taste as well as the fact that the recipe calls for a small amount of pepper.

Italian Panettone Bread

Italian panettone bread baked in the bread machine: a Christmas yeast bread with raisins, currants, candied citron, honey, and a hint of star anise. The Milanese holiday classic made easy.

Sichuan Sticky Ribs

These Chinese sticky ribs are scrumptious.

Bulk Italian Sausage

Make your own bulk Italian sausage at home with ground pork, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and a bold garlic punch. Season it your way, skip the casings, and freeze in batches for pasta night, pizza, and more.

Shoyu Chicken

I omitted the parsley and scallions (had none) and used chopped onion instead. I also added some red pepper flakes for some heat. I treated this as a marinade for my boneless, skinless breasts, which cut cut into strips and marinated overnight. I skewered the strips and grilled for 5-6 min. per side. Excellent flavor.

German Christmas Cookies

German Christmas cookies (Anisplaetzchen style) flavored with anise seeds and rolled thin for cutting into shapes. A heritage holiday recipe that scales generously for a large cookie tray.

Scallops on Fennel Puree with Honey Balsamic Drizzle

Pan seared scallops served on a bed of fennel puree with a sweet Balsamic drizzle. This recipe was inspired by Masterchef New Zealand contestant Rob and I've modified the ingredients and instructions to match those that are commonly available in North America along with experimentation to make the recipe lower in fats yet every bit as flavorful.

A1 World's Best Tomato Sauce

This recipe is based on the one from Jean Christoph Novelli's grandmother Louise's recipe. He call's it "The Most Amazing Tomato Sauce on the planet" I agree. This is not the exact recipe (I tweaked it very slightly and made some educated guesses on the amounts of various ingredients but based upon the taste I believe it is probably very close.

Bread-machine Panettone

This recipe comes from Italy by way of Argentina. Maxwell Mowry of Charleston got this recipe when he lived in Buenos Aires in the early l970s. Since there are more people of Italian ancestry in Argentina than of Spanish ancestry, it is not surprising to find panettone there, where it is called in Spanish pan dulce, meaning 'sweet bread.' At Christmas in Argentina, pan dulce is eaten accompanied by sparkling apple cider. Houseware shops in Argentina sell special tall cylindrical springform pans to bake the pan dulce, but an empty, greased 1-pound coffee can may be used.