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•Use a pestle and mortar to break up the star anise, part way through add the Szechuan peppercorns and break it all down to the consistency of coarse black pepper.
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•Place mixture in a large mixing bowl and set to one side.
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•Use the pestle and mortar to crack the sesame seeds then add the salt and grind down to asemi-coarse consistency.
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•Add this to your mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients and mix well, until everything’s throughly combined.
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•Alternatively you can whack all the ingredients in a food processor and grind to a fine powder. It’s a quick and easy method but you don’t get the control over the texture. I like to leave the peppercorns, sesame seeds and salt a little coarse with this one.
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•Place mix in an airtight container and it should keep for months as long is it’s kept cool and away from sunlight.
Makes about 1 cup:
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•1/4 cup sea salt flake
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•1/4 cup (packed) light Muscovado sugar
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•2 tbsp paprika
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•1 tbsp coarse black pepper (more or less to taste)
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•2t so Szechuan peppercorns
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•1 star anise
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•1 tsp onion granules
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•1/2 tsp garlic granules
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•1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
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•1/4 tsp celery salt
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•1/2 tsp chili powder (1 tsp for hotter rub)
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•1 1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
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•2 tbsp sesame seeds
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•Try adding some dried ground ginger to the rub, 1/2 tsp should add a nice twist to the flavour.
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•Make a wet rub by sweating off some finely diced spring onion in butter/oil, then adding rub to form a paste.
This is an Asian inspired rub. I’m a big fan of the spices used in Asian food.
The idea for this recipe came from a dish my mum used to cook when I was a kid, Peking Braised Lamb. I wanted to create a BBQ rub that had the same 5-spice punch combined with sweetness, a hint of heat and the robust nutty flavours beneath. It has a powerful flavour that will work well with lamb and other robust meats. It should also work well with chicken but it will be the predominant flavor if used on poultry.
I’m quite pleased with the rub as it stands in this form, but I am still playing around with the ingredients to see if I can improve it.
- Steve
