Grilled Five Spice Chicken – Four Wouldn't Have Been Enough, and Six Would Have Been Too Many

Chinese Five Spice has a proven track record of awesomeness when combined with smoky, caramelized meats, and this grilled five spice chicken recipe is a great example.

I'm not a huge fan of premixed spices. I don't buy rubs and seasoning blends, although thanks to my swag-baggy lifestyle I do have a decent collection. The problem with these aesthetically pleasing packages is you're getting someone else's idea of the perfect formula.

I have a pantry full of spices, and half the fun of cooking is tossing them together until deliciousness is achieved, but, once in a while it's nice to reach over and grab the 5-spice.

This blend, usually consisting of cinnamon, anise seed, cloves, ginger, and fennel, has been used for centuries to turn the flavor dial up more than a few aromatic notches.

Grilling season will be coming to a damp end soon, so don't wait too long to give this a go. I think you'll also enjoy the super simple, sharply flavored rice vinegar condiment that I serve along side. I didn't, but this would be absolutely perfect served with a cold rice salad. What kind? Surprise me. Enjoy!

Chinese Five Spice Chicken Recipe Ingredients:

For the marinade:

1/2 lime, juiced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic crushed

2 teaspoons sambal, or other red chili sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon 5-spice powder

For the sauce:

1/2 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sambal, or other red chili sauce

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

all these can and should be adjusted to taste