Many Chinese dishes use a spiced chicken stock as a building block. This is a meat broth infused with cinnamon, cassia bark, fennel seed, angelica root, liquorice, and star anise. How are these spices used? What use do pre-mixed spice powders have, and why does Andrew prefer 13-spice powder (a classic western Chinese spice mix) over the Cantonese 5-spice powder for some dishes?

How is history reflected in the different regional spicing cultures and spiced cooking techniques in China? And have Chinese cooks gradually eased off on spicing over the centuries? Could a 12th century Chinese recipe for a spiced meat paste appeal to modern eaters?

Intro and outro music: 遊子 [wanderer] by mafmadmaf.com

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