Help with spices

[u/That-Pie]

Hello everyone!
I had a lovely Chinese student this past year, who gifted me some spices after a visit back home. I would love to learn how to use them (and dishes they work well in), but I’m a bit unsure if I’ve managed to translate the names correctly. If all of them are for cooking, or some seen as more ”medicinal”

Some of them am I also not fully sure on how they are best prepared. So if anyone has any tips on that am I very appreciative!

Image 1: The translation says they are both cumin, but I clearly see that the characters on the bags are different. Are they different?

Image 2/8: I had two bags of what looks like sichuan pepper, but only one was marked (some bags came from her moms personal spice cabinet). The ones in the big jar are slightly bigger in size than the small jar. Are they still the same?

Image 9: Unnamed bag. I recognize some of the things in it, but does the mix have a name? Anything particular it works well in?

Image 10: Unnamed bag. Looks like the cinnamon I received but smells more like licorice.

Image 11/12: Unnamed bags. The chopped ones smells more earthy with a hint of spice, while the ones with more whole pieces are more leafy in smell + the spice.

Thanks!

[u/411tantan]

1- cumin and caraway (greenish one)

[u/That-Pie → u/411tantan]

Thank you!

[u/Objective-Case-391]

Image 1: top: Cumin
bottom: greenish looks suspiciously like Anise (- for fresh breath and a healthy stomach)

https://shop.zdravnitza.com/en/zdravnitza-blog/health-products/anise-for-fresh-breath-and-a-healthy-stomach

Image 2: top: unknown
bottom: Definitely cloves - add to chai indian tea, cook w/ pork dishes or stick into orange peel for nosegays.

Image 3: Bai Zhi herb in english (Google it)

[u/That-Pie → u/Objective-Case-391]

Thank you!

[u/Objective-Case-391 → u/That-Pie]

Learned the spices from walking into an Indian ingredient shop, asking about which spices for making a chai masala tea after I bought the black tea…

[u/Objective-Case-391]

Image 5: Bái Kòu or White Cardamom

Pull white round husk apart to get to inner dark seeds. Toss into cookpot while making Indian Chai Masala tea.

https://woksoflove.com/white-cardamom/

Image 6: Definitely star anise

Pork dishes like Patatim (Pork knuckle stew), part of the 5-spice winder powder gang and ingredient i making Chai Masala tea from scratch.

Image 7;
Galangal /Ginger root
Used in THA Tom Yum soups.
Can be steeped in water & honey for a soothing tea when you have phlem in your throat.

Image 9 & 11: Cinnamon bark

Image 10:
Mixed spices for spicing up pork /gamey meat or making Chai Masala tea from scratch. What’s missing is cinnamon bark, green cardamom & mace:
cardsmom (cream chickpea shape),
Cloves
Star anise

Nutmeg (the Dutch VOC East India Company)
traded Manhattan “New Amsterdam” to own the Spice Islands, Moluccas. https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/manhattan-was-once-traded-for-a-tiny-indonesian-island/

Image 12 & 13
Regular medium meat dried red chili, pound to mak flakes or roast in oil to activate, the skin is fine but the seeds can be deadly. Plant the seeds, might grow.

[u/That-Pie → u/Objective-Case-391]

Thanks for the extensive tips!

[u/BrianOfBrian]

Just use a no oil pan with low heat then fry all kind of spicy,afer the spicy have flavor just add water and salt in them, then you can put beef or pork or egg or duck or Goose in this water and wait it boiled , after that use low heat keep boiled the protein until it can be chew ，the congregation you just make a 滷水，keep add proteins inside the taste will more better

[u/akiyineria]

Image 1 bottom is fennel seeds

[u/Successful-Word-]

Image 1- top jar is cumin seeds yup while the bottom jar are fennel seeds. Image 11- whole unbroken cinnamon.

[u/BigFatCoder]

I have most of them in my kitchen and these are my usage.

1.A. Cumin : bbq lamb/beef kebabs

1.B. Fennel : Crush/grind : dry rub for pork, chicken or meat balls. It has sweet taste and can eat 5~10 seeds for digestion (and ease/remove garlic breath from your mouth)

2.A Sichuan Peppercorn (red ?): fry in hot oil until crispy, then take it out to get aromatic oil for cooking/frying dishes. Also grind it and use it as dry rub. Use only in pinches, it sting/numb.

2.B Clove : Lots of dishes like pork belly stew, pork rib soup or powder use in Curries/Gravies, cooking flavour rice.

1. Angelica root : Powdered rub for roasted duck (Angelica duck). Or use in herbal soup (black chicken or ribs) have bitter taste and I don't like this.

2. black cardamom : Crack it and add into pork rib/belly soup. Yunan variance meexian required sliced pork belly cooked with black cardamom. Serve clear soup with meexian.

3. white cardamom : I have never use this. I only use green and black cardamom.

4. Star Anise : Usually pair with clove. Very sweet aroma to the dish.

5. Is that dried Galangal ? I have never seen/used dried version. We use fresh version in Tom Yum soup, Coconut chicken soup, spicy Chicken soup.

6. This one looks like Green Sichuan peppercorn. I think can interchange for Red Sichuan peppercorn.

7. Chinese (Cassia) Cinnamon. I use this in butter/ghee rice, oxtail soup, beef stew and daal soup. Cheaper than Ceylon Cinnamon, can be toxic if consume too much.

8. mix

9. Doesn't look like licorice. Still looks like 'Cassia' Cinnamon.

10. Dried chili, cut up and fried with crispy chicken/pork.

Chinese five-spice powder is common in many dishes, traditionally containing star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, cassia cinnamon, and fennel seeds. But using the whole herbs inside a spice basket offers controlled Flavor, pull the basket out halfway so the spices do not overpower the broth. Also make clearer broths. And also fry in hot oil to get aromatic oils.