Some dishes cross borders taking small steps. Like meat wrapped in dough — from dumplings, to manti, to pelmeni, to peramiach, to khinkali, to samosas, to pierogi and pirozhkis, to ravioli, and beyond. Others take a bigger leap — like Russian salad with its Belgian roots or Chicken Kiev with its French origins, like Tikka Masala that hails from Scotland.
Here’s one more example of cultural fusion — Chinese fry invented in Ireland, Irish Spice Bag.
There are many ways to prepare the Spice Bag and ingredients vary from recipe to recipe. Chicken can be marinated and not. It can be starch cloaked or naked. Fires can be deep fried, pan fried, air fried, oven roasted. Vegetables vary from strictly peppers, to cauliflower and more. And ingredient list of the spice mix is endless.
In short, Irish Spice Bag is seasoned fried chicken served over french fries, topped with flash fried vegetables.
This is my take on the dish based upon what I know and like about Asian flavors, amount of time available, and my kitchen amenities. I like my food very spicy, my afternoon was free, and I used only wok and nothing else. Mise en place helped and made it fun.
By the way, Sriracha is good to dip potatoes and chicken in if dipping is your game.
And our lunch the next day was fantastic.
SPICE MIX
— 1 Tbsp toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns
— 1 Tbsp ground chilies, Sichuan pepper or gochugary are best
— 1 Tbsp five spice powder
— 1 tsp garlic powder
— 1 tsp ground white pepper
— 1 tsp cayenne pepper
— 1/2 tsp cardamom
— 2 tsp salt
— 2 tsp powdered sugar
— 1 tsp chicken
— 1 tsp MSG
— 1 tsp chicken bullion powder
CHICKEN
— 2,5-3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1” strips
— 1 cup buttermilk
— 1-2 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
— 3 Tbsp cornstarch
— 1 Tbsp spice mix
POTATOES
— 5 large potatoes, Russet are best, frenched
— neutral oil with high smoking point for frying (I used peanut oil)
OTHER VEGETABLES
— 2 green Cubanelle peppers, seeded, and cut into 1/2” strips
— 3 red longhorn peppers, cut into 1/2” slices
— 1 large red onion, cut pole to pole into 1/2” slices
FINISHING TOUCHES
— chopped cilantro
— chopped scallions
— sesame oil
THE PROCESS
1. Marinate chicken strips for 30 minutes or up to overnight in buttermilk spiked with Tabasco. Drain and dry well.
2. Soak frenched potatoes in cold water for a few minutes and rinse under cold water to remove the starch. Parboil potatoes for no longer than 2 minutes. Drain and dry well.
3. Coat chicken in corn starch mixed with spices shaking off the excess.
4. Heat 2-3 cups of oil to 350°F. Deep fry the potatoes in batches so they swim in oil uncrowded without dramatically cooling it for 3-5 minuted until the chip just begin to change their color to golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with some spice mix.
5. Crank up the oil to 375°F and fry chicken in the same uncrowded batches. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with some spice mix.
6. Get the oil to 400°F and fry potatoes the second time also uncrowded, until they are well done to your liking. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with some spice mix.
7. Remove all but a couple tablespoons of oil from the wok into a container. There is nothing better for this operation than a rubber ladle.
8. Heat up the remaining oil until smoking and flash fry the rest of the vegetables in batches until they barely wilt. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with some spice mix.
9. To assemble, place a layer of fries on the serving dish, top with chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with the spice mix if you have any left. I didn’t so I added more ground chilies. Drizzle with some sesame oil for the aroma. Add chopped cilantro and scallions.