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This Irish spice bag is packed with crispy chicken, chips, chillies and five spice. All served with an easy homemade curry sauce for the ultimate fakeaway.
Nicky’s Notes
Hats off to the Chinese takeaway in Dublin (The Sunflower Chinese, if you’re interested) who came up with the idea for the Irish spice bag over 20 years ago.
Crispy salt & pepper chicken and chips, with plenty of chilli and onions (and of course, the all-important Chinese five spice flavour) served up in a paper bag. A salty, satisfying supper, meant to be eaten with your hands, right out of the bag.
The addition of the chip-shop-style curry sauce soon caught on (and for me, this is where the fork comes in 😁).
It’s definitely a treat meal, but wow! The flavours are out of this world.
If you have teenagers at home, this will soon become their most requested dinner, I’m certain of it!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Irish Spice Bag
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
- Chicken thighs are preferable to chicken breast for this recipe, as they’re cooked at a high heat. Thigh meat stands up better to this high heat cooking without drying out.
- Chillies – The type you choose depends on how hot you like it. I tend to use Fresno or Serrano chillies which are just a little bit spicy. You can use hotter chillies (Thai chillies are HOT but great!) or replace with red and green bell pepper if you don’t like the heat at all.
For the chip-shop-style curry sauce
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Coat the chicken in seasoned cornflour and five spice, then fry until golden, while the chips cook separately.
Fry the onion, chillies, garlic and spring onions, then toss through the cooked chicken and chips until everything is well combined. Serve the homemade chip-shop-style curry sauce on the side for dipping.
Recipe Tips
- If you don’t have a large frying pan (mine is the 30cm/12″ Le Creuset), cook the chicken in two batches, so it gets crispy. Don’t move it around too much, let the coating brown.
- Taste your chillies first – heat can vary a lot, even in the same variety, so adjust depending on how hot you want your spice bag.
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Pin ItMake ahead and Leftovers Guide
Like most recipes involving crispy chicken and chips, this Irish spice bag is at its absolute best served straight away.
- If you do have leftovers, cool them quickly, cover and refrigerate them. I prefer reheating the chicken and chips in the air fryer (around 200C/400C for 6-8 mins) or oven (around 200C/400F (fan) for 12-15 mins) rather than the microwave, as this helps bring back some of the crispness.
- Keep leftover curry sauce separately in a covered container in the fridge. Reheat it gently in a saucepan or microwave, stirring well and making sure it’s piping hot before serving.
- The sauce may thicken once chilled, so you can stir in a small splash of stock or milk while reheating if needed.
Irish Spice Bag
Ingredients
Chicken and Chips:
- 800g (1.75lbs) Oven chips (or my homemade oven chips recipe)
- 60 g (1/2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
- ¾ tbsp table salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice
- 6 skinless chicken thigh fillets – chopped into chunky 1-inch pieces
- 4 tbsp oil
Salt and Pepper Topping:
- 1 onion peeled and chopped into large chunks (about 1.5-2cm across)
- 1 red chilli chopped into small pieces (I use relatively mild fresno or serrano chillies)
- 1 green chilli chopped into small pieces (I use relatively mild fresno or serrano chillies)
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- ¼ tbsp salt
- ¼ tbsp black pepper
- 3 spring onions (scallions) roughly chopped
Chinese Curry Sauce (optional extra):
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp mild curry powder – go medium or hot if you like it hotter
- ½ tsp Chinese five spice
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 480 ml 2 cups chicken stock
- 60 ml 1/4 cup full-fat milk
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA) mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
Instructions
Curry Sauce:
- If serving with the curry sauce, make the sauce first. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a low-medium heat.1 tsp oil
- Add the garlic powder, curry powder, Chinese five spice, turmeric, sugar and salt. Fry, stirring often for 1 minute. Then Stir in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.2 tbsp mild curry powder – go medium or hot if you like it hotter, ½ tsp Chinese five spice, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 480 ml 2 cups chicken stock, 1 tsp garlic powder
- Stir in the milk, then if you'd like to thicken the curry, ensure the sauce is simmering and pour in the cornflour slurry slowly, stirring all the time, until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat or leave on very low while you make the chicken and chips.60 ml 1/4 cup full-fat milk, 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
Chicken and chips:
- Mix together the cornflour, salt, black pepper, and Chinese five-spice.60 g (1/2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch in USA), 3/4 tbsp table salt, 1 tbsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice
- Sprinkle over the chopped chicken thigh fillets and toss together to coat.6 skinless chicken thigh fillets
- Cook the chips in the oven or air fryer, as per the pack instructions.800g (1.75lbs) Oven chips
- Add the oil to a large frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat until hot.4 tbsp oil
- Add the chicken to the oil a piece at a time and seperate it out, so it doesn't stick together. Fry for about 10-12 minutes, turning a few times, until cooked through and light golden brown all over. You may need to do this in two batches if your pan isn't big enough. Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon, and place in a bowl.
To finish:
- Add the chopped onion, the chopped red and green chillies, the remaining ¼ tbsp of salt and the remaining ¼ tbsp of black pepper to the pan. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the onion starts to soften slightly.1 onion, 1 red chilli, 1 green chilli, 1/4 tbsp salt, 1/4 tbsp black pepper
- Then turn down the heat to medium and add in the 2 cloves of minced garlic and 3 chopped spring onions.2 garlic cloves, 3 spring onions
- Fry for a further minute, stirring often.
- By now the chips should be ready. Add them to the pan, along with the cooked chicken and toss together.
- Divide the chicken and chips between bowls (or paper bags for the classic method!). Reheat the curry sauce for 1 minute, then serve with the chicken and chips.
Notes
That’s a lot of salt!
Yes – please be warned – this is a salty dish. That’s what makes it totally moreish. You could use low sodium salt if you prefer.I tend to serve this in smaller portions as a side dish, rather than having a large portion. Nutritional information is approximate and is per serving.
Including the curry sauce. The nutritional information for the chips is based on McCain frozen Home Chips – so it may be different with different brands or homemade chips.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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