40 thoughts on “On The Origins Of The Spice Bag

    1. Sheik Yahbouti

      Yeah, thanks Liam Geraghty for your tireless investigation into something nobody gives a rat’s patutti about. If certain people choose to eat these things, let them have privacy and anonymity. It’s the decent thing to do.

  1. JIMMYJAMES

    ” Its important to get to the bottom of these things ”

    Its what your paying your telly licence for at the end of the day in all in anyways.

    1. The Real Jane

      Research (a quick google ten mins ago) indicates that it’s shredded chicken with veg and chips in a bag with chilli salt (rather than half a tub of saxa salt poured into it) and vinegar.

      1. Rob_G

        In practice, it’s usually 90% chips.

        I don’t know who thought that such a thing would be a good idea; it’s madly dry.

    2. Formerly known as @ireland.com

      @Clampers

      I am glad I am not the only one not to hear of it. I was thinking I was too long out of the country.

      Why hasn’t anyone in Ireland cottoned on to chocolate covered crisps? Now, that beats everything else!

    1. The Real Jane

      Again, my cursory google can give some information here. Seemingly it’s of disputed origins, but many trace it back to a Chinese in Bagenalstown, Carlow. And why not? It’s a cuisine hotspot, that’s not in dispute.

      1. Anomanomanom

        It been served in Scotland for years, over a decade now. Someone probably just copied it from there.

  2. Custo

    Theres a doco in Netflix caked ‘the search for General Tso’ or something that’s basically this. They try to track down the originator of General Tso’s Chicken, the most popular Chinese takeaway item in America.

    From what I can make out its basically a spicebag without the chips.

    Worth a watch, if only for the reaction of chefs in China to photos of the dish.

      1. Tish Mahorey

        At least I’m not a vile racist.

        I don’t even know what a Marxist is. And I am posh. Fierce posh. I choose my wines by the grape.

      2. Lan

        TBF Marx himself wasn’t exactly born in a gutter

        I know plenty of wanna be communists who got the chance to study pointless postulations on what the “working class” really want while living off mammy and daddy’s pay cheques
        I could even name one whose currently a TD…

  3. Paulus

    It’s Salt and Chilli Chicken with chips mixed together in a bag. It’s not spectacular, and it still exerts a curious force to recheck that verdict.
    Next up, origin of the 3 in 1!

  4. @hazechu

    Lads, it’s been around since the 80’s/90’s. My dad used to cook it for me in the take away and it was a pain to fry up since the chili goes straight to your eyes. It only became a big thing recently but has always been around :)

    1. Spaghetti Hoop

      Isn’t it what’s left at the bottom of a student’s oven? If so, I concur to your carbon-spice-dating*.

      *New name for Tinder

  5. Frilly Keane

    I’d never heard of s Spice bag till now

    A spice burger yeah
    So to read that its Ireland’s most ordered grub ..

    It must be the Mad Cow

    From all those batter burgers

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie