Fresh

Star Anise carries the flavor of Licorice due to a chemical compound called anethol. For a milder licorice taste try Fennel

Thanks to Wikimedia for the image

Cinnamon Star Anise Tea

2 tablespoons (8 grams) medium-size loose-leaf green tea or 4 green tea bags

one 5-inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

8 whole star anise or 1 1/2 tablespoons broken star anise pieces

4 cups boiling water

PREPARATION:

Serves 2 to 4

Put the tea leaves or tea bags into a pre-warmed teapot and set aside.

Put the cinnamon stick and star anise into a 4-cup heatproof measuring cup and add the boiling water.

Vegetarian Pho

Thanks to elliemay.com for this recipe

Ingredients

for the broth…

1 small unpeeled onion, quartered

2 unpeeled shallots, halved

8 garlic cloves, halved

a 1-inch piece of ginger, coarsely sliced

two 3-inch cinnamon sticks

2 pods of star anise

4 cloves

8 cups clear vegetable stock

3 tablespoons soy sauce

salt

for the soup …

1 pound rice noodles

8 ounces seitan or fried tofu, sliced

6 scallions, thinly sliced (both green and white parts)

about 1-1/2 cups bean sprouts

a good handful of basil, mint or cilantro leaves, left whole

1 lime, cut into wedges

hoisin sauce

sriracha chili paste

Cooking Instructions…

To make the broth, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, garlic, ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cloves and dry-roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to char. Add the stock and soy sauce and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes. Strain into a clean pot and discard the solids. Taste the broth and add salt if necessary. Keep warm over low heat.

While the broth is simmering, prepare the rice noodles. Place the noodles in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles to cover and soak for 20 minutes.

When you are ready to assemble the soup, add the seitan or tofu to the warm broth and allow to heat through. Drain the soaked rice noodles and divide evenly among 4 to 6 large bowls. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the seitan or tofu out of the broth and distribute among the bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Serve the bowls of pho with the scallions, bean sprouts, herbs, lime wedges, hoisin sauce and chili sauce on a seperate platter so that everyone can season their own soup as they wish.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Thanks to Ready2Spark for this image

You can find it in everything from soups and sauces, to ice cream and drinks. Watch for it in main courses too. Licorice was tapped as one of the new super foods for 2008 and sure enough, here it is, back in all it’s dark, delicious glory, although for true licorice fans I don’t think it ever actually left.

Posted on February 5th, 2008 by Ruth
Filed under: Beverages, Pasta, Rice, Soups and Stews, Sweets, Trends, Vegetarian