How To Make Perfect Irish Spice Bags At Home

I can make potato farls at home (honestly, they’re tastier than shop-bought). And tea loaves are more delicious homemade, too.

But some Irish staples are so, so much better from delis and takeaways, IMO. Chicken fillet rolls, for instance, aren’t meant to be gourmet: I want chalky cheese, heat lamp-warm chicken, and slightly limp baguettes.

The food I miss most while living in the UK, however, is spice bags. The Irish-Chinese takeaway staple can be hard to find here.

So, I asked Chef Kenneth Tyrrell, an executive chef at Burger & Lobster, how to make them at home.

They combine chips, peppers, onion, crispy chicken, and (obviously) spices in a grease-spotted paper bag of perfection.

I associate them most with Dublin – they weren’t much of a big deal in my rural hometown, but when I moved to the capital for uni, it felt like spice bags were everywhere.

Some say spice bags were first made in Dublin takeaway Sunflower, though this origin story is hotly debated.

When attempting my own version, I found the spice blend hardest to recreate.

Experts think they’ve cracked the code with an MSG, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, five-spice, sugar, and crumbled chicken stock cube combo.

But it changes from place to place. Experiment a little to find your favourite tingly, salty mix.

Some things must remain constant: mix chips, spices, something fried and crispy (like chicken), and veggies like onion and peppers together.

But, Chef Tyrell said, you can have some fun with these.

“Customisation is the fun part of spice bags. The classic spice bag is with crispy battered chicken, but get creative with yours – at Burger & Lobster, we’ve added a twist to ours with fried lobster and king prawns,” he said.

Other rules, though, are stricter.

“Make sure the protein, chunky chips, onions and peppers are piping hot before you add your spice to get maximum flavour. I also like to throw in a bit of mango chutney for an added sweetness,” the chef said.

“Chips MUST be super crispy before mixing with everything else. I would cook them for slightly longer than you usually would, as they then retain some crispiness after sitting in a bag with all the other ingredients,” he continued.

And “Don’t eat your spice bag straight away… it always tastes better after you’ve let it sit in the bag for a couple of minutes”.

One last suggestion? The dish is “Best served after a few pints and never wear a white shirt.”