Spice Bag

Ireland's favorite chipper takeaway: crispy chicken strips, chips, peppers, onion and chili tossed in a bag with five-spice salt and pepper seasoning.

Ingredients

Spice bag seasoning

1 T Chinese five spice
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp white pepper
⅛ tsp each ground cardamom, cinnamon and ginger

Chicken

1 lb chicken thighs or breast, cut into strips
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup flour mixed with 2 tsp of the seasoning
Oil for frying

Chips

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chips

Toss-ins

1 white onion, sliced
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red chili, sliced
2 scallions, sliced

Instructions

Mix the seasoning. Soak the chicken in buttermilk for 1 hour.
Parboil the chips in salted water 2 minutes, drain and dry. Fry at 340°F for 4–5 minutes until cooked but pale; drain.
Drain the chicken, dredge in the seasoned flour and fry at 350°F about 5 minutes, in batches, until crisp. Drain on a rack.
Raise the oil to 375°F and fry the chips again about 90 seconds until golden.
In a very hot wok with a little oil, flash-fry the onion and pepper for a minute, add the garlic, then the chili and scallions. Keep them bright, not browned.
Tip the chicken, chips and veg into a big bowl or paper bag, add 1–2 T seasoning and toss to coat. Serve right away.

Plating

Serve in a paper bag with curry chip sauce on the side for dipping.

References

Inspired by Nordzucker Ireland.