What Is Star anise and How Can I Use It?

If star anise has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 178 recipes to try it in.

What is star anise?

Star anise is the dried, star-shaped fruit of an evergreen tree native to southern China, and one of the most striking-looking spices in the rack. Each rust-brown pod has six to eight points, each holding a shiny seed, and the whole thing carries an intense sweet licorice aroma.

Despite the name and the flavor, it is not related to anise seed or fennel. They simply share anethole, the compound behind that licorice taste.

Star anise is the most powerful of the three, so a single pod flavors a whole pot.

Cooking With Star Anise

Star anise is at its best in long, slow, savory cooking. It is a defining note in Chinese five-spice powder, in Vietnamese pho broth, and in the soy-braised red-cooked meats of southern China, where it simmers for an hour or more and gives up its deep, warm sweetness.

Use it whole and pull it out before serving. A pod or two dropped into a braise or an Oriental Barbecued Ribs marinade does the work, then comes out so no one bites down on a sharp woody point.

It also crosses into sweets and drinks. It perfumes mulled wine and poached pears, and it carries the warm spice in Adam's Chai Latte Ice Cream and the blend behind a China Moon Ten - Spice.

You can grind whole pods for a blend, but measure carefully, since ground star anise is potent and easy to overdo.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Star anise pairs with soy sauce, ginger, cinnamon, clove, citrus, pork, beef, and duck. In sweets it loves pears, apples, oranges, and dark caramel. A little alongside cinnamon lifts a simple syrup or a braise.

The biggest mistake is using too much. One or two pods is plenty for a large pot; a handful turns a broth bitter and medicinal, and the licorice swamps everything else. When in doubt, use less and steep longer.

The second is forgetting to remove it. The hard pods and seeds are not meant to be eaten whole, so fish them out before the dish goes to the table, the same way you would a bay leaf.

Substitutes

Chinese five-spice powder is the handiest swap, since star anise is its lead flavor; use a small pinch in place of a pod and adjust. It already brings the supporting cinnamon and clove notes along.

Anise seed or fennel seeds cover the licorice character in a pinch, though both are milder, so use a bit more and accept a softer result. A few drops of anise extract work in sweets and drinks. None match the deep, slow-cooked warmth that whole star anise gives a braise.

Buying and Storing Star Anise

Buy whole pods, which keep their aroma far longer than ground and let you pull them from a dish cleanly. Choose intact, deep red-brown stars with a strong smell; broken or pale, scentless pods are stale.

Store them in an airtight jar in a cool, dark cupboard, away from heat and light. Whole star anise stays aromatic for two to three years or more, while ground star anise fades within a year.

A good pod smells boldly of licorice straight from the jar. If yours barely registers, it has lost its oils and you will need more of it or a fresh batch.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find star anise: 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.

In Chinese

八角

British (UK) term

Star anise

en français

anis étoilé

en español

anís estrellado

How much does star anise weigh?

Related

Spices and Herbs

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.

Chinese Beef Stew

Chunks of beef slowly braised in an authentic Chinese manner. Nearly any tough cut of beef can be made magically tender and flavorful with this technique.

Mole De Guajolote (Turkey in Mole Sauce)

Mole de guajolote is a traditional Mexican turkey in mole sauce made from scratch with ancho, mulato, and pasilla chilies, chocolate, sesame seeds, peanuts, and warm spices.

French Onion Soup - Lowfat

If you love French Onion Soup you will enjoy this easy recipe that makes it a perfect light lunch.

Chinese Tea Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs steeped overnight in a fragrant brew of black tea, star anise, cinnamon, soy sauce, and tangerine peel. Beautiful marbled shells reveal deeply seasoned, silky eggs.

Shrimp, Chicken, Bacon & Broccoli Soup

Chicken, shrimp and bacon with in a flavorful stock with broccoli and tarragon.

Five Spice Plum Sorbet

Five spice plum sorbet purees canned plums with dry sherry and Chinese five spice powder, then churns into a fragrant Asian-inspired summer sorbet. Five ingredients, no added sugar.

Italian Spring Bread

Italian spring bread for the bread machine, a lightly sweet honey loaf scented with star anise and studded with golden raisins. Perfect for Easter brunch and morning toast.

Italian Spring Bread

Italian spring bread for the bread machine, a lightly sweet honey loaf scented with star anise and studded with golden raisins. Perfect for Easter brunch and morning toast.

Cornish Hen

Asian-style Cornish hen wraps split hen breasts around asparagus spears and steams them in a bamboo steamer over rice with bok choy, broccoli, and peppers. Elegant pan-Asian dinner.

Eight Spiced Crispy Skinned Snapper in a Thai Hot And

Eight-spice crispy skinned snapper with Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, coriander, white pepper, and ginger. Pan-seared then oven-roasted for shatteringly crisp skin.

Cato's Grape Bread

Cato's grape bread recreates an ancient Roman recipe with feta, cumin, anise, and grape juice baked over fragrant bay leaves. A 2,000-year-old loaf with rustic Mediterranean character.

Chocolate Covered Citrus Walnut Biscotti

Twice-baked citrus walnut biscotti, crisp with anise and bright lemon and orange zest, then half-dipped in glossy tempered chocolate. Crunchy Italian cookies built for dunking in coffee.

Oriental-Style Sea Scallops

Sea scallops stir-fry with broccoli, napa cabbage, snow peas, and shiitakes in a star anise-spiced soy-vinegar sauce. Light Chinese seafood dinner over steamed rice.

Fruity Mary Punch (New Year's Eve)

Fruity Mary punch simmers red wine with brown sugar, apple, orange, pineapple, and star anise, then finishes with a splash of orange curaçao. A warm holiday mulled wine served in heat-safe mugs.

Yummy Sausage

Homemade fresh pork sausage seasoned with garlic, fennel seeds, and star anise, ground and stuffed into links. An Italian-style sausage with an aromatic anise twist, made from scratch.

Red Chili Nightmare

Red chili nightmare: a wild Mexican-style red chili with beef, sausage, pinto beans, almonds, sesame, chocolate, and a dozen green chiles. Mole-inspired, fiery, and not for the timid.

Thai-Like Green Curry

Thai-style green curry made with chickpeas, a homemade green chili paste, apple juice, and evaporated skim milk. A lighter, vegetarian take on the takeout favourite, served over rice.

Vanilla Almond Coffee

Homemade vanilla almond flavored coffee mix with ground coffee, vanilla extract, almond extract, and star anise. Brew coffeehouse-quality flavored coffee at home.

Green Peppercorn Duck

Roasted duck with a green peppercorn and star anise sauce made from homemade duck giblet broth. The duck is salt-poached first, then roasted until crispy. A refined French-inspired main course.

Sliced Beef with Sesame Seeds

Chinese crispy beef shin marinated with star anise and cinnamon, simmered, frozen, sliced paper-thin, deep-fried, then tossed with caramelized sugar and toasted sesame seeds.

Nobody's Fool

Cranberry fool dessert with homemade orange and star anise cranberry sauce swirled into whipped cream. A make-ahead holiday dessert that chills for up to 6 hours.

Sourdough Onion Rye Abm

Sourdough onion rye for the bread machine combines sourdough starter with whole wheat and rye flours, diced onion, honey or molasses, and caraway or star anise. A dense, tangy deli-style loaf that anchors a corned beef sandwich.

Sourdough Onion Rye Abm

Sourdough onion rye for the bread machine combines sourdough starter with whole wheat and rye flours, diced onion, honey or molasses, and caraway or star anise. A dense, tangy deli-style loaf that anchors a corned beef sandwich.

Wine Fruit Cup

Wine fruit cup with sliced plums, nectarines, and golden raisins soaked in a spiced white wine syrup infused with anise, cinnamon, and lemon. A chilled starter that doubles as a light summer dessert.

Warm Filet with Sesame Mayonnaise

Warm poached beef filet with sesame mayonnaise, a star-anise and soy-reduced glaze whisked into mayo with Dijon mustard. A restaurant-style dinner party plate with watercress, chives, and coarse salt.

Toasted Biscotti's

Twice-baked anise biscotti: long crisp Italian cookies flavored with star anise, perfect for dunking in espresso, vin santo, or a strong afternoon tea.

Oriental Barbecued Ribs

Asian-style baby back ribs oven-braised then grilled with a star anise, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, and rice vinegar marinade. A two-day recipe with deep, complex flavor.

Duck Webs in Oyster Sauce

Traditional Chinese braised duck webs simmered for 3 hours with star anise, ginger, and rice wine, then glazed in glossy oyster sauce. Served over stir-fried broccoli and dried mushrooms.

All 178 recipes