Spice Bag
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 200 g panko breadcrumbs
- 8 skinless chicken breasts
- 50 g plain flour
- 4 egg large, free range
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
For the spice mix:
- 2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
- 2 tbsp Chinese five spice
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 red pepper
- 2 red chilli
- 8 spring onion
- 2 onion
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 2 tsp sesame oil
For the chips:
- 1800 g waxy potatoes peeled
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
Equipment
Chopping board
Chopping knife
Large saucepan
4 baking trays
Pestle and mortar
Wok
Wooden spoon
Tongs
Peeler
Colander
Parchment paper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C. Peel and cut the waxy potatoes into chips.
- Add to a pot of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes before draining in a colander.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp sunflower oil onto a baking tray and spread around using a pastry brush to evenly coat. Add the par boiled chips to the tray and allow to steam and cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle over the rest of the sunflower oil. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until golden and crisp, giving them a shuffle 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Prep the chicken next: slice the chicken fillets into strips and place into a bowl.
- Add the plain flour to a bowl and season well with salt and white pepper.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt. Have another bowl ready with the panko breadcrumbs.
- Working in batches, coat a few chicken pieces at a time in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Lay each piece onto a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Drizzle with 2 tbsp sunflower oil and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and crisp, turning halfway through.
- While the chicken and chips are baking, make the spice mix. Grind the Szechuan peppercorns in a pestle and mortar. Add to a small bowl along with the five spice powder and salt, and mix together.
- In a dry frying pan over a medium high heat fry the spice mix until aromatic and toasted. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
- Next, prep the veg. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Deseed and thinly slice the red peppers and thinly slice the red chilis.
- Cut the spring onions into 1 inch batons. Peel and roughly slice the onions.
- Place a wok over a high heat and once smoking, add the sunflower oil. When the oil is hot add the chilli flakes, garlic, sliced red chilli, onion and spring onions and stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables turn slightly tender.
- Add the cooked chicken to the wok and pour in the rice wine around the edges of the pan to deglaze. Stir fry until the chicken is warmed through.
- Add the chips, sesame oil and the toasted spice mix and toss through until completely combined.
- Plate up and serve straight away.
Notes
A dish that could nearly be considered one of modern Ireland’s national dishes at this point, and rightly so. This addictive combo of sweet and spicy chicken and chips is a winner any night of the week.
You may need to cook this recipe in batches if you don’t have a big enough pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 615kcal