Avatar The Last Spice Bender or A Story of FiveSpice

Avatar the Last Airbender was an American animated television series that ran from February 2005 to July of 2008. In Avatar, we meet characters that can manipulate the elements with techniques similar to martial arts called bending. Aang, our hero is destined to master the elements of Air, Fire, Earth, and Water in order to become the Avatar and bring harmony to the world. I first discovered Avatar through my best friend’s eight year old niece. With themes of gender discrimination, oppression, war, imperialism and totalitarianism, as well as philosophical discussions of fate and free will, Avatar was clearly more than just a kid’s show. Now my niece is seven and her journey into Avatar has begun. It’s hard for me not to bombard her with questions about her thoughts and annoy her with my love of it. If she’s anything like her aunt, that will be the quickest way to make her lose interest. But you better believe there is stuffed Appa headed her way, who wouldn’t want a flying bison? Seriously, we just rewatched it in it’s entirety and it holds up. Go add this to your Netflix queue, I’ll wait.

Avatar the Last Airbender

Alright, so how could this animated series possibly relate to you spice rack? Well, just as Avatar represents the harmony of the elements, so too does Chinese Five Spice. Five Spice is found throughout Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines. Typically used with fatty meats such as duck and pork, the flavorful blend is often found in marinades or rubs to give a warmth and complexity to roasted meats. Although the exact origins of Five Spice have been lost to time, most believe the ancient blend has its roots in a medicinal capacity. Thought to have been created in the Fourth Century BCE, the powder was meant to encompass the five elements- Fire, Wood, Water, Earth, and Metal. (In Avatar world, our Earth bender Toph and Water bender Katara would be representing a lot here as select Earth benders can also bend metal and Water benders could bend wood due to all the water found in trees. Girl power!) Fire, wood, water, Earth, and metal are represented in Five Spice by the five flavors: bitter, sour, salty, sweet, and pungent and tend to be a combination of cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel, and cloves. Although these are typical ingredients, it is important to note that Five Spice is much like curry powder or mole in that every family has their own unique recipe that is often passed down for generations and often contain more than five spices. The important thing is the balance of the five flavors, the harmony in elements, not the sources. The following is a poor attempt to break down the flavors, the parts of the body they are supposed to help regulate, and the corresponding spices.

The element of Fire is represented by the bitter flavor. Boy, did Avatar nail this one with Fire bender Prince Zuko. Kicked out of his father’s Fire Kingdom until he could bring back the Avatar when all he wanted was his dad’s love and respect? Yeah, Zuko’s bitter. In ancient medicine, Fire and bitter corresponded with the heart. I mean, that’s where I hold my bitterness. Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of the myrtle tree. Native to the Spice Islands. Their appearance is not unlike a tiny little nail which also describes their intense bitter flavor.

Sour is representing the Wood element and is thought to be impactful to the liver. Sichuan peppercorns are the outer peel of the berries of the prickly ash tree. Unlike black pepper, they have a lemony flavor and produce a distinct numbing sensation on the tongue. There is heated debate amongst the Avatar fandom as to why we didn’t see more wood bending, it was only really used by water benders as they used the water in living trees in order to bend them. The conclusion generally is that wood is already a living element and therefore can’t be bent. After all, when we see (redacted) able to (reacted) in episode 8 of Book 3, they ultimately still bending water, not the living element. Yup, I redacted you reader. Have you added Avatar to your queue yet? Okay, if you have to know right this second, you can open a new tab and google season 3 episode 8. Everyone back? Pretty cool, right?

Saltiness strengthens the kidneys and represents the brininess of the ocean. We’ll talk about the fennel component of Five Spice. (Here I want to note that I now regret my decision to break down each element with a corresponding spice. I even stated earlier, what’s important is the five flavors, not the sources. I know fennel is not salty, don’t @ me.) I stuck fennel here because it is thought to be beneficial to the kidneys as well as the liver and spleen. Fennel is a member of the carrot family and has a slightly licorice like flavor. I will admit fennel was the most surprising to me as I tend to think of it as an Italian herb. Upon further research, fennel is considered to be one of the newer spices in Chinese cuisine. No one knows exactly when fennel was brought to China, but records indicate it was present between 618-907 CE during the Tang Dynasty. I forever now will refer to fennel as Emma Bunton aka Baby Spice. It took me this long to make a Spice Girls reference, are you surprised or disappointed?

Sweetness, representing earth, nourishes the spleen and is brought to life in Five Spice with cinnamon. Cinnamon or Cassia (also known as Chinese Cinnamon) are often confused for each other as they both come from the laurel family. Cinnamon is often lighter in color and Cassia is more fragrant and intense in flavor. Cassia was first recorded in Chinese cookery as far back as2,7999 BCE and is one of the oldest spices on record. The Chinese will often use Cassia instead of cinnamon in their Five Spice Blends.

When thinking of the word “pungent,” the first thing I think of is strength; much like metal to which is corresponds with. When you take a sniff of a pungent spice like star anise, the strength of it goes deep into your lungs which is the part of the body this element is thought to represent. When one tries to describe Five Spice, they are apt to describe the pungent star anise first as it is the most dominating flavor. From an evergreen tree of the magnolia family, the eight pointed fruit resembles stars. Okay, so I think I failed on keeping this all Avatar spoiler free when I mentioned Toph can bend metal as I had forgotten that it was not natural to most earthbenders...oops. Sorry. I bring this up now though because of the strength associated with Toph. She is a fiercely independent character that loves to taunt her opponents, and learned her bending techniques from the badger moles. Yes, I said Badger Moles. Expect an Avatar quiz in the next blog...I’m mostly kidding.

So there you have the basic components of Chinese Five Spice and a bit about the origin. I am in no way an expert on Chinese Medicine (maybe an expert on Avatar) so please don’t look to this for any sort of medical advice. The brilliance of both Avatar and Chinese Five Spice is the balance they symbolize. Our powers combined, I am Captain Planet. That was the direction I should have gone with this, Captain Planet! The 90s kid in me is shaking her head at me right now. I heartily encourage you to try Five Spice if you never have or try it in a different application. Often used in savory cooking, the following recipe is a sweet one. If you were feeling adventurous this fall, you could even try Five Spice in your pumpkin pie.

Star anise

Linda’s Oatmeal Cherry Five Spice Cookies

This recipe was initially conceptualized in the summer of 1992 in San Angelo, Texas. I tell you the location only in that it influences which nuts I would suggest. We used pecans, but walnuts would certainly work. Once you have the basic ratios of butter, sugar, eggs, flour, oats, and baking powder, you can play around with the other additions. I like a strongly spiced cookie, so feel free to only use 1 Teaspoon of Five Spice.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup(s) (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 Cup(s) firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup(s) granulated sugar

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon(s) vanilla

1-1/2 Cup(s) all-purpose flour

1 Teaspoon(s) Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt

1-1/2 Teaspoon(s) Five Spice (I use Dynasty brand)

3 Cup(s) Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 Cup(s) dried cherries

1/2 Cup(s) semi sweet chocolate chips (this was an addition I insisted on originally, but find I can go without now

1 Cup(s) nuts (pecans or walnuts, chopped)

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy (or by hand if you’re looking for a workout.) Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, Five Spice and salt; mix well. Add oats, cherries, chocolate chips and nuts; mix well. (Tip: mix in 2-1/2 Cup(s) oats and the other ingredients. If the mixture seems wet, add the last 1/2 Cup(s).) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. (Remember the first batch will cook more quickly than subsequent batches due to oven dropping in temperature.) Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

High Altitude Adjustment: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.