Our Spice Bag is the perfect fakeaway to just share with friends and family on weekends.
 
Ingredients
  • 2 free-range chicken breasts (or chicken thighs), sliced in long thin strips
  • 100 ml buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tsp fresh lemon juice)
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 4 large chipping potatoes, peeled (we like Kerrs Pinks, Maris Pipers or Roosters)
  • 1 red chilli, sliced (de-seeding optional for lower heat)
  • 1 white onion, sliced in 2cm half moons
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Vegetable oil for frying
Spice Bag Blend
  • 1 tbsp Five Spice (which includes star anise, cassia, fennel, clove and Szechuan chilli already)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/8 tsp each cardamom, cinnamon and ginger
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp Siúcra granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
Method
1. First, prepare your chicken by steeping it in buttermilk for an hour to tenderise. In another bowl, add two teaspoons of the spice bag blend to the flour to season it.
2. Parboil the potatoes in boiling, salted water for two minutes. To begin the cooking process heat your oil to 170ºC. Drain the chips well and then fry for four to five minutes at this lower temperature to cook through, then remove. You don’t want a lot of colour, just a firm exterior (and they will be fluffy inside). Then, just before serving, crank the heat up to 190ºC to fry for a further 90 seconds or so to get that gorgeous golden colour.
3. For the chicken, you’re also going to fry at 170-180ºC for around five minutes. Take your chicken strips from the buttermilk (shaking off excess) and dunk into your seasoned flour to coat, then gently lower into the hot oil. You may need to do this in two batches. When golden brown and crisp, drain and remove to a wire rack over a baking sheet, lined with kitchen paper.
4. For the flash-fried vegetables, heat a wok or frying pan to a high heat and add 1/2 tbsp of neutral oil. When the oil is hot, introduce the onions and keep moving, you want them to soften but not colour if you can help it. After one minute or so introduce the garlic and then just before you finish frying, add in the sliced chilli. Remove from the heat.
5. In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle one tablespoon (or two if you like) over the chicken, chips and onion, garlic and chilli mix and toss everything together to combine. We’d recommend serving with your favourite curry sauce.
Note: If you don’t have a deep fat fryer, you can shallow-fry the chicken pieces in a pan with approximately 100ml of vegetable oil on a medium-high heat. You will need to manually turn them half way through. Always take extra care with an exposed body of oil set over a high heat.
This recipe has been created by GatroGays using Siúcra products.
Follow GastroGays on Instagram:@gastrogays
Visit https://www.nordzuckerireland.ie/ for more recipes, inspiration and top tips for cooking and baking.