Spice bag

Ingredients

Chips

• 700 gfloury potatoes (Maris Piper or Rooster), cut into 1.5 cm chips
• 1.5 litresvegetable oil, for frying
• 1 tspsalt

Salt and chilli chicken

• 400 gboneless chicken thigh or breast, cut into strips
• 1 tbsplight soy sauce
• 1 tspChinese five spice
• 1egg white, beaten
• 80 gcornflour
• 40 gplain flour
• ½ tspwhite pepper

Spice mix

• 2 tspfine salt
• 1.5 tspChinese five spice
• 1 tspchilli flakes
• 1 tspcaster sugar
• ½ tspwhite pepper
• ½ tspgarlic powder
• ½ tspMSG (optional but standard in takeaways)

Toss-through

• 2 tbspoil
• 1red pepper, sliced
• 1green pepper, sliced
• 1onion, sliced
• 2red chillies, sliced
• 3spring onions, cut into lengths
• 3garlic cloves, sliced
• curry sauce, for dipping

Directions

1. Rinse the cut chips in cold water until it runs clear, then dry them thoroughly on a cloth. Wet chips will not crisp.
2. Blanch the chips in oil at 140°C (275°F) for 6–8 minutes until soft and pale with no colour, lift out and rest on a rack for at least 10 minutes. Double frying is what makes takeaway chips.
3. Marinate the chicken strips in soy, five spice and egg white for 10 minutes, then toss in the mixed cornflour, plain flour and white pepper until thickly and dryly coated.
4. Mix all the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Raise the oil to 180°C (350°F) and fry the coated chicken for 4–5 minutes until pale gold, crisp and cooked through, then drain.
6. Fry the chips again at 190°C (375°F) for 2–3 minutes until deep gold and audibly crisp, and drain on a rack.
7. Meanwhile stir-fry the peppers, onion, chilli, garlic and spring onion in a very hot wok in 2 tbsp oil for 90 seconds, so they stay crunchy and take a little char.
8. Tip the chips, chicken and vegetables into a large paper or foil bag, add most of the spice mix, fold the top over and shake hard for 10 seconds. The shaking in the bag is the dish.
9. Tip out onto a plate or eat straight from the bag, with a tub of curry sauce to dip.

Technique

• The spice bag was invented in Chinese takeaways in Dublin around 2006 and is now genuinely national; it is the one Irish dish with a documented birth date and no rural ancestry.
• Everything must be cooked and drained before it meets the spice, and it should be seasoned only in the bag; salting earlier draws moisture and everything goes limp.
• Speed matters more than technique. From fryer to bag to table should be under two minutes.
• Takeaway spice mixes almost always contain MSG. Leaving it out is fine but the result tastes noticeably less like the real thing.

Substitutions

• No deep fryer: oven chips finished at 220°C (425°F) and chicken shallow-fried in 1 cm of oil work, but the texture is softer.
• Chicken can be replaced by shredded crispy beef or, for a meat-free bag, by fried tofu or battered mushrooms, which several Dublin takeaways now offer.
• Five spice can be replaced by a mix of ground star anise, fennel, cinnamon, clove and Sichuan pepper.

Variations

• Some takeaways add shredded cabbage or beansprouts to the toss.
• A three-in-one spice bag adds fried rice under the chips.
• Extra chilli, extra spice or a whole tub of curry sauce poured over are all standard orders.

History

Created in Irish Chinese takeaways around Dublin about 2010 and voted a national takeaway favourite within a decade.

Frequently asked questions

What is Spice bag?

Spice bag is a street food from Ireland: chips, shredded fried chicken, peppers and spice tossed in a takeaway bag. Created in Irish Chinese takeaways around Dublin about 2010 and voted a national takeaway favourite within a decade.

How long does Spice bag take to make?

Spice bag takes 25 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Spice bag?

Yes, within limits. No deep fryer: oven chips finished at 220°C (425°F) and chicken shallow-fried in 1 cm of oil work, but the texture is softer. Chicken can be replaced by shredded crispy beef or, for a meat-free bag, by fried tofu or battered mushrooms, which several Dublin takeaways now offer. Five spice can be replaced by a mix of ground star anise, fennel, cinnamon, clove and Sichuan pepper.

What is the most important thing to get right in Spice bag?

Everything must be cooked and drained before it meets the spice, and it should be seasoned only in the bag; salting earlier draws moisture and everything goes limp.