10 Classic Irish Dishes That Everyone Should Be Eating This Paddy’s Day

Liz

When we think of specifically Irish dishes, we tend to think of things like stew, colcannon and bacon and cabbage. But a lot of young people nowadays won’t find these things at all familiar, and you’d be hard pressed to find them on the menu of any restaurant.

But once you’ve spent a little time living abroad, it becomes clear that Ireland has a lot more to offer in terms of our food culture.

Here’s a list of unique dishes to Ireland, and the dishes we’re known particularly well for.

1. A full Irish breakfast

Like the English breakfast, but with black and white pudding.

2. A chicken fillet roll

I was shocked and appalled to find out that counters cutting up breaded fillets of chicken and putting them in baguettes didn’t exist in other countries. Fools.

3. Cottage/shepherd’s pie

This exists in the UK and US as well but is better known as an Irish dish. Warm and filling, ‘tis good eating.

4. Seafood chowder

I would have thought this was something that existed everywhere, but apparently the dish is originated in Ireland, although it’s also popular in New England in the US due to the huge Irish population there.

Our dish also tends to be creamy unlike chowders found elsewhere.

5. Soda bread

A remnant of the famine, it only exists in three other countries: Scotland, Australia and Serbia.

Ours tastes the best, obviously, with brown bread and Guinness bread being among our favourite varieties.

6. Spice bag

According to Wikipedia, it’s a “popular fast food dish in Dublin, consisting of deep-fried chips, chicken balls or strips, red and green peppers and a variety of spices.”

We prefer to call it the end to a good night.

7. Smoked salmon

We tend, on average, to have more seafood on our menus than most other places. But apart from maybe Scotland, we’re really the only country where a smoked salmon starter is a restaurant standard.

8. Barmbrack

But how will we know whose going to get married next if you don’t have a cake with a plastic ring in the middle?

Of course, when it’s not Halloween we just call it fruit cake.

9. Sandwiches with crisps in them

Everyone else is missing a trick. It adds a magnificent crunch, and a bit of a salty flavour.

10. Ice cream sandwich with wafers

Placing a block of ice cream into waffle cone wafers. So simple, yet so tasty.

Have you ever seen such perfection? For those of you who don’t know this is a slab of ice cream between two wafers…. pic.twitter.com/5mcqaGC6

— Daryl Hobbs (@meerkatman4) September 7, 2012