St. Patrick's Day Countdown: Spice Bag
Written by Ciaran on Mar 09, 2026 | 0 Comments
We’re counting down the days to March 17th with an offer and a potato-stuffed recipe for you every day until St. Patrick's Day! Check back in with us each day to see what’s up next!
Today, we are digging into yet another gift to Irish cuisine that originated in Dublin. But this is a much more recent invention than the Coddle we spoke about on Day 6! Firmly a 21st-century dish, the Spice Bag, or mála spíosraí as it’s known in Irish, has rapidly gained a devoted fan base. So much so, in fact, that one of our team members was inspired to name their first car after the delicacy!
Spice Bag, the car.
The spice bag’s fame is also reaching around the world - especially with younger generations of Irish diaspora, nostalgic for a taste of home.
What is a Spice Bag?
If you have not had the good fortune to come across a Spice Bag before, you may be wondering just what they are and where you might find one. The key ingredients of a Spice Bag are are firstly chips (thick-cut French fries to much of the world), served in a bag (obviously), together with crispy fried chicken, onions, or scallions, red and green peppers, and chilli peppers, all seasoned with a spice mix… hence spice - the hint is in the name!
Photo Credit: Sean Zissou (CC BY 4.0)
This dish can also be served in a larger portioned cardboard takeaway box, in which case they transform into a Spice Box - makes sense, right? This dish, whether served in a bag or a box, can also be accompanied by a little tub of curry sauce on the side. It is almost exclusively found in chippers (that’s a fish and chip shop to you) or at a takeaway (Chinese or Indian outlets serving food to go) around Ireland, and increasingly farther afield, too!
An invention of the late 1960's and early 1970's, these days Takeaways are found in most towns across the island and many now serve a Spice Bag of some sort!
Photo Credit: Kenneth Allen (CC BY-SA 2.0)
They make perfect after-pub fare. Salty and satisfying, with a pleasant heat that makes a walk home in the cold and dark a much more enjoyable experience. Few Spice Bags or boxes are consumed in the light of day! Their omnipresence and the late hour at which they are typically consumed mean very few attempt to make a Spice Bag at home. But if you are far from anywhere you might lay your hands on one, we have a recipe for you below so you can give it a try.
Where did the Spice Bag come from?
Unlike some of the recipes for dishes that we have shared, like stew, Shepherd’s Pie, or Coddle, there is a very specific origin story to a Spice Bag. This tasty treat started out in the Sunflower Chinese Restaurant in Templeogue, Co Dublin, about late 2008 or early 2009. Staff there made the first Spice Bags for their colleagues to enjoy after their shift serving Chinese food, using the ingredients that were available. So not so different from the origin stories of shepherd’s pie or stew after all! From those late-night beginnings, the recipe spread from Dublin across the country.
The Sunflower - the Dublin Chinese Takeaway where the spice bag started.
Voted Ireland's favourite takeaway food in 2017 and again in 2020, and just like with stew or Coddle, there are different versions. Some add more Indian spices, others fried fish in place of chicken, with vegan versions subbing in crispy tofu. You can even buy Spice Bag mixes in the supermarket.
It has also cropped up in London, San Francisco, and New York, among other places, so it may come to a food truck or pub near you soon.
Finally, to cement its place in the Irish cultural canon, “Spice Bag” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2025. You can be sure many, many Spice Bags will be consumed in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. If you would like to add this novel dish to your celebrations on March 17th, and are not blessed as I am to live near a takeaway where you can pick one up, have a go at the recipe below. This is adapted from a Serious Eats recipe, and this chef has clearly done their homework!
Ingredients
For the spice blend, you can absolutely buy a ready-made mix like McDonnell's (this is supposed to be fast food), but it won’t be nearly as spicy as the ones you get here in Dublin. So if you want that heat, make your own:
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
- 2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon MSG (again, you can leave this out… but it won't be the same as the magic mix you get in an Irish takeaway or chipper).
For the stir-fried veggies:
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 medium green bell pepper, thinly sliced (some green for St. Patrick’s Day! You can use red if you prefer, or both).
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 fresh small chilli pepper (red or green) sliced thinly - seeded if you want to take the heat down a bit
For the Chicken and Chips, you can, by all means, labour away and make them from scratch. But you can save yourself some time with shop bought frozen options.. This dish is all about the spice mix anyway!
- 1 bag of frozen chicken goujons
- 1 bag of thick-cut chip shop chips (fries) or steak fries
For the curry sauce, again, you can buy a ready mix and just add water… or make your own:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp Madras curry powder
- 2 cups chicken stock
Method
- Pop your chips and chicken in the air fryer/oven/deep fryer (however they are served)
- Mix your spice mix (if you are doing that!) and make up your curry sauce
- Add your veggies to a hot wok with just a little oil - you don’t want this mix to be wet (a soggy spice bag is tasty but not pleasant).
- Add two large tbsp of your spice mix to the wok and stir through.
- When your chips and chicken are ready, add the chicken, then the chips to the wok and stir through. Sprinkle with sea salt
- Sprinkle with sea salt and decant this spicy mix into large brown paper bags for authenticity… or a few big bowls
- Serve with curry sauce on the side for dipping and have at it. This could probably stretch to serving four people. But for the authentic takeaway experience where you eat far too much, it should probably just be for two!
What's Next?
Check back in with us tomorrow for Day 10 of our St. Patrick's Day countdown, or open Door Number 9 of our 17 Days of celebratory offers!
Irish Invention
Like the new tradition of the spice bag, we bring together different elements to make something new. Combining classic Celtic interlace with a striking medal or Trinity knots with iconic Connemara Marble. Explore our new designs now.
Get In Touch
Have a question or something you're not entirely sure about when browsing our pieces? Please reach out. You can send us a note or give us a call—the Dublin workshop is here to make sure that you have a perfect experience from start to finish with My Irish Jeweler.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, to see what's new and upcoming. Join our Email list for early offers and special features.
Ciaran
My Irish Jeweler
Born in Co. Antrim and reared in Dublin, I was fascinated with Gaelic culture from an early age. I suppose it's not surprising given my mother inherited a grá for the Irish language from my grandfather, an Irish school headmaster. And that grá continues! My brother and sister are now Gaelic teachers here in Ireland, my niece is an award winning Irish dancer, and I proudly work to share Irish culture through our Irish and Celtic Jewelry at My Irish Jeweler!
I love researching and reading about the history of Irish design. It's at the core of what we do here at My Irish Jeweler. I find much of it so interesting that I have to share what I find. I hope you enjoy it!
Comments
Ask Gemma
