Sweet pears and figs are poached with Chinese Five Spice Powder. Five Spice includes star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel. This easy, plant-based recipe makes a delicious dessert.
How to Poach Pears: A Healthy Plant-Based Fruit Dessert
Fruit always makes for a simple dessert. Eating fruit is a healthy way to enjoy a whole foods, plant-based sweet treat while also getting tons of nutrition. While it’s easy to grab a banana or an apple, it’s also nice to enjoy some grilled pineapple, roasted peaches, or poached pears.
What is Poaching?
Poaching is a cooking technique that involves gently cooking a food in liquid. The food is cooked low, below a simmer. In turn, this helps impart flavor without turning the food to mush.
The best part about poaching is that you can flavor the cooking liquid however you like. For this recipe, Chinese Five Spice imparts spicy flavor, which plays off the sweetness of the pears and figs. I also add red wine to add deep color and an extra pop of flavor.
It’s fun to add other spices to poaching liquid. You can add whole cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, star anise, a slice of fresh ginger, or whole cloves. I also love the simplicity of white wine and vanilla, something I use for Vanilla Poached Pears.
What plant-based foods are best for poaching?
Dried fruits work particularly well for poaching because they will plump up as they absorb the poaching liquid. Dried figs, prunes, apricots, and cherries all work well. Fresh foods also work well. But, stick mostly to either stone fruits, berries, cherries, or things from the “pomme” family (that’s apples and pears). These fruits have a firmer flesh and thin peel that will help them hold together during poaching. Tropical fruits like pineapple and bananas would dissolve if you tried to poach them.
What is Chinese Five Spice?
Chinese Five Spice is a combination of five basic spices: fennel, cinnamon, star anise, clove, and Sichuan peppercorns. Some variations might include cassia (a different variety of cinnamon) or different varieties of pepper (like white pepper). The history of this powder is a little murky, but one theory calls it a “Wonder Powder” that encompasses the five elements (fire, wood, water, earth, and metal).
You can find Chinese Five Spice Powder online, in Asian groceries, or in the spice aisle of many regular grocery stores. You can also make your own.
For more on how to use spices, check out:
Spice Essentials Guide: Chef’s Tips for How to Use Spices for Delicious, Healthy Cooking
Watch this Video to Learn How to Make Chinese Five Spice:
You’ll Love this Healthy, Plant-Based Poached Pears Recipe! It is:
- Packed with Interesting, Exotic Flavor!
- Easy to make
- Sweet and Satisfying
- A Light, Low-Fat Dessert
- Perfect for Weekend Meal Prep
Chef Katie’s Healthy, Plant-Based Cooking Tips:
No Refined Sugar or Syrup? I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories. This recipe don’t use any refined sugar, maple syrup, or other refined sweetener. The pears and figs provide plenty of sweetness, along with healthy fiber and essential nutrients.
What are Mission Figs? Mission figs are dried, dark purple figs with incredibly sweet flavor. They are named after the California Franciscan Missionaries, where they were first grown. You can find them in the dried fruit and bulk sections of most grocery stores.
What is a Bird’s Beak Knife: A bird’s beak knife is a small knife with a curved blade that looks like a bird’s beak. Chefs use this knife to trim artichokes and tourne potatoes. It comes in really handy for remove the core of pears and hulling out the stems of strawberries and tomatoes. It’s a great tool to have!
Use a sharp paring knife or bird’s beak knife to remove the core on pears 
Five Spice Poached Pears and Figs – Whole Foods, Plant-Based Vegan Dessert Recipe from Plants-Rule 
The sauce should reduce and thicken so that you can draw a line in the bottom of the pan
Five Spice Poached Pears and Figs
- Easy
- Servings: 4
- Ready In: 35 minutes
Serve with Chia Coconut Cream, pour over Banana Bread Oatmeal, or just dive in with a spoon.
Five Spice Poached Pears and Figs
Ingredients
- 3 Pears Bosc, Anjou, or Abate Fetel
- 6 dried Mission Figs halved
- 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice powder mix of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, Szechuan peppercorn
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
To prepare pears:
- Use a paring knife (or a bird’s beak knife), to hull out the seeds and core from the pear halves. Cut each half into quarters, then cut lengthwise.
To cook the Figs and Pears:
- Combine everything in a wide pot. Make sure there’s enough liquid to come up about halfway on the pears. If not, add more water.
- Gently bring to a low heat, just below a simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes.
- Cook until the pears are knife-glide tender: a knife should easily slide in and out of a pear.
- The sauce should have thickened, resembling syrup. If it hasn’t, remove the pears from the pan and let the sauce simmer (uncovered), reducing it until it thickens.
- Serve the pears and figs in a bowl, pouring the sauce over.
- Enjoy warm.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 135 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 1 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 5 mg | 0 % |
| Potassium 234 mg | 7 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 36 g | 12 % |
| Dietary Fiber 7 g | 29 % |
| Sugars 23 g | |
| Protein 1 g | 2 % |
| Vitamin A | 3 % |
| Vitamin C | 18 % |
| Calcium | 19 % |
| Iron | 1 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
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