Sachie’s five-spice chicken nibbles

Five-spice mixes vary a lot. Making it from scratch, using whole spices and grinding them, gives the best flavour. This recipe is the special blend of Sachie Nomura (of Auckland cook school fame – sachieskitchen.com). You will end up with more than is needed for the chicken but it keeps well in an airtight container.

Sachie’s five-spice mix

1 tbsp ground star anise

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground fennel seeds

2 tsp ground sichuan peppercorns 1 tsp ground cloves

Chicken nibbles

1kg chicken wings or nibbles 20g grated or minced shallots

1 tsp grated or minced fresh ginger 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce

3 tbsp white sugar

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

3 tsp Sachie’s five-spice mix

2 tsp fine salt

1⁄4 tsp ground white pepper

For the five-spice: Combine five-spice ingredients. Store in an airtight container. For the chicken: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 180C. Arrange chicken pieces in a lined dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked though. Serve hot.

Cook’s tip: To make the spring onion garnish, cut the white part of a spring onion lengthways into fine julienne and soak in cold water with couple of ice cubes – they will curl up.

Serves 4