A spice bag (or spicebag, spicy bag, spice box or spicy box; ) is a

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

dish, popular in most of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and inspired by

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. The dish is most commonly sold in Chinese takeaways in Ireland, and Irish-themed restaurants elsewhere. Typically, a spice bag consists of deep-fried salt and chilli chips, salt and chilli chicken (usually shredded, occasionally balls/ wings), red and green peppers, sliced chili peppers, fried onions and a variety of spices. A

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

option is often available, in which deep fried

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

takes the place of the shredded chicken. It is sometimes accompanied by a tub of curry sauce. Available in Chinese takeaways and

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

s since the 2010s, the dish has developed something of a cult following, and a Facebook group created as a tribute to the dish has attracted over 17,000 members. It is often cited as a popular hangover cure. It was voted 'Ireland's Favourite Takeaway Dish' in the 2020 Just Eat National Takeaway Awards in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, while in 2021 Deliveroo Ireland started a petition to create a "National Spice Bag Day". The dish is not as common in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

History

According to research by

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

reporter Liam Geraghty, the dish was created in around 2006 as an off-the-menu, after-hours meal by staff at the Sunflower Chinese takeaway restaurant in the Orwell Shopping Centre in

Templeogue Templeogue is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south. Geography Location Templeogue is from Dublin city centre t ...

, Dublin. When friends of the staff repeatedly asked for the meal, the dish was added to the Sunflower's menu. The first spice bag offered by the online food delivery company Just Eat was in 2012. (Originally broadcast on ''The Business'' on RTÉ Radio 1 on 27 August 2016.)

References

External links

Spice Bag entry
on TasteAtlas.com
Spice Bag Recipe
on irishtimes.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Spice bag French fries Irish cuisine Chicken dishes Deep fried foods Irish chicken dishes Fusion cuisine

History

See also

References

External links