[Bat Gok (China); Badiyan (from Persian, but adopted by other
languages); Illicium verum]
This is an essential spice for Chinese cooking, and is also cultivated and used in Vietnam, Laos and India. These licorice flavored seed pods grow on a tree native to Vietnam and southern China. The hard seeds which may be present in the pods can be ground with the pods or discarded - they lack flavor. Star Anise is almost always sold as whole or broken pods, because it is so often used whole, rather than ground.
Star Anise is an essential ingredient of the Five Spice powder used all over China, and in Southeast Asia for dishes in the Chinese style. In China, Star Anise is used whole in many "red cooked" meat dishes. It is also widely used in India as an ingredient in masalas (spice powders). In Vietnam it is an important flavoring in the famous pho soups, and is also used in Malaysia and Indonesia. In the West it is used as a flavoring in a number of alcoholic beverages.
In the early 2000s, most of the harvest went to processors for extraction of a chemical used in manufacturing the drug Tamiflu® (Oseltamivir) causing shortages, but by 2006 a less costly bacterial method of producing that chemical was taking over.
This medium sized tree is of evolutionary interest because it is near the base of the development of flowering plants (see Basal Angiosperms). Illicium verum has two relatives in Florida, both toxic, and one look-alike relative in Japan which is very toxic.
More on Spices |
More on Basal Angiosperms.