Spice bags
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Whether you're an avid sports fan or just enjoy a month of socially acceptable afternoon drinking, the Euros are a great opportunity to get people round for some fun. Danny Kingston's spice bag recipe is inspired by the late-night snack popular in Ireland, a combination of pork belly, chicken wings and chips served inside a paper bag for a fuss-free clean up.
Ingredients
Braised pork belly
- 1.5kg pork belly , cut into slices
- 75ml of rice wine vinegar
- 75ml of dark soy sauce
- 75ml of honey
- 1 piece of fresh ginger , thumb-sized, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , roughly chopped
- 2 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Chicken wings
- 1.5kg chicken wings
- 1 lemon
- 2 star anise
- 100g of plain flour, for dusting
- salt
- sunflower oil, for deep frying
Chips
- 1.5kg Maris Piper potatoes , skin on, cut into thin wedges
- 3 peppers , red and green, sliced into pieces
- salt
- rapeseed oil, for roasting
Special seasoning
- 2 tbsp of rock salt
- 1 tsp white peppercorns , ground
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli
To serve
- 4 red chillies , finely sliced
Equipment
- Deep-fryer
- Pestle and mortar
Method
1
Start off by making your braised pork belly. Placing the belly pieces in a large pot and cover with the dark soy, honey and rice wine vinegar. Leave to marinade for an hour or so
2
Cover the marinated meat with water and place on the hob over a high heat and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, then add the ginger, garlic, star anise and cinnamon. Continue to gently simmer for around 1 and half to 2 hours, until the pork is soft and tender
3
Remove the pork, placing into a dish or tray, and strain the liquor into a clean pan. Reduce over a high heat, until it becomes thick and syrupy. Drizzle the reduction over the meat and place to one side
4
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6
5
Place the sliced potatoes into a large pot and cover with water, adding a touch of salt. Bring to the boil on the hob, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften. Drain in colander and leave to steam for 10 minutes
6
Tumble the chips into a large roasting tin, making sure that they are not too crowded (you may need to use two). Cover generously with the rapeseed oil and mix through with your hands. Place into the oven to roast for an hour, checking every twenty minutes or so and turning the chips over so that they cook evenly. In the last twenty minutes of cooking, add the sliced pepper
7
While the chips are cooking, prepare the chicken by bringing yet another large pot of water to the boil (this is mass catering here). Peel and juice the lemon and add it to the water, along with the star anise and some more salt
8
Get a rolling boil going for about 5 minutes, then add the chicken wings. A lot of fat will come to the surface, so skim that off as best you can and simmer for just more five minutes
9
Remove the chicken wings and leave to drain on some kitchen towel, cooling for 20 minutes.
10
Fill a wok, saucepan or deep-fryer with the sunflower oil and heat to 180°C (use a thermometer to check if using a pan)
11
Place the flour in a bowl with a healthy amount of salt and pepper and throw the wings in for a thorough dusting. Deep fry the wings in batches for 5 minutes at a time, then drain on kitchen towel and keep warm
12
To make the five spice salt, place the white peppercorns and salt into a pan and dry fry, until they start to release their aromatics and the salt begins to brown. Crush the mixture with a mortar and pestle and add the five spice and dried chilli and mix through
13
As everything starts coming together, remove the chips and peppers from the oven and add the chicken to the roasting tray. Mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the chicken, then cover with foil and keep warm
14
Turn on the grill to its highest setting and allow to heat up. Lay the pork slices under the grill for a quick blast, turning as they begin to char, then remove and slice into mouth-sized pieces
15
Add the pork to the roasting tray along with the special seasoning. Mix thoroughly, then spoon everything into paper bags
16
Add some slices of red chilli to each bag and serve with bottles of chilled Irish Red
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Spice bags
