Spicy Umami Popcorn
Popcorn is often either sweet, salty, or sweet-and-salty. Whether it’s the kind made fresh at the cinema, the squeaky, ready-made ones sold at supermarkets, or even the gourmet versions at Garrett, the popcorn franchise uprooted from Chicago, now dotted around my city, all popcorn can be classified into one of these three categories. Even the wildest popcorn deviations out there fit into this rule—sea salt and buttery popcorn (which belongs in the savoury category), some variation of cheesy popcorn (also savoury), chocolate-coated popcorn (this one’s sweet), or nut-coated caramel popcorn (sweet and savoury).
This begs the question: why isn’t there a spicy popcorn or umami popcorn? Or better yet, how about a spicy umami popcorn? (Okay there isn’t sour popcorn or bitter popcorn either, but those two sound a lot less enticing, to me at least. Having said that though, I’m a never-say-never kinda guy, so I’m happy to be proven wrong.)
So, in the name of culinary curiousity, I tried creating this dream of mine, testing them all separately—I did 4 different kinds, to test a fish sauce caramel, the spice level, the seaweed stickiness, and a control. Then, I put them all together, into a flavour bomb of a popcorn!
Imagine a popcorn coated in a spicy fish sauce caramel, enveloped in the scent of soy and seafood, encrusted in seaweed and bonito flakes. When you pop each kernel into your mouth, there’s a forthcoming funk of of the sea, and a sweet tingle of chilli spice, dissolving into a lingering umami for more.
I might never see popcorn the same way again.
About the Dish
This is a simple popcorn snack, but made with my own rebellious riff. You start off by popping corn (and there’s a trick to getting it all popped evenly, as I lay out below). Then, coat the popped corn in a caramel spiked with soy sauce, fish sauce, and any hot sauce of your liking (I tried Sriracha, and also my own kimchi juice-inspired one), and fold them together with some nori, bonito flakes, and a pinch of paprika for that sweet smokiness. Finally, give it a long bake at a warm 110°C to get the popcorn extra crispy! You’ll end up with a sweet-salty-spicy-umami popcorn, unlike any other out there, I guarantee you!
Tips for Success
The recipe is a simple one, but there are two particular points to look out for:
The most frustrating thing about homemade popcorn is the unevenness. So here’s a technique to get minimal wastage, and minimal unpopped corn. First, pour your oil in a deep pan or pot, along with three to five kernels of popcorn. Cover it with a lid, and place it over high heat. When the kernels start popping, take the pan off the heat, and add in the rest of the kernels. Give it a quick stir to coat the popcorn in the hot oil, then leave it for 30 seconds, letting the hot oil bring up the temperature of the unpopped kernels. Then, cover it with a lid, put it back to high heat, and let it all pop! Because the temperature of the corn kernels have been brought up to a more even temperature, they should all pop at roughly the same time.
For the best caramel, take it off the heat three shades before your desired caramel colour. I usually like my caramel on the edge of burnt, but this isn’t the right time for that. A lighter caramel will allow those spicy flavours and umami flavours to really shine.
Toss the popcorn in the caramel right when the popcorn is freshly popped and still hot. The lingering heat in the popcorn will keep the caramel pliable and allows for a more even mixing.
Baking, while a surreptitious step, is actually really crucial to dry out the popcorn and ensure its crispiness. There are loads of baking methods out there, but the principle is the same—you want a low and slow bake to draw out moisture without burning the popcorn. I find a 60 minute bake at 110°C (stirring every 15 minutes or so) will usually crisp up even the softest caramel.
Spicy Umami Popcorn
Serves 2-4; good for 1 long movie
Ingredients
45ml (3 tablespoons) canola oil, or any other neutral oil
80g (1/3 cup) unpopped popcorn kernels
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar, or caster sugar
15g (1 tablespoon) light soy sauce
10g (2 teaspoons) fish sauce
15g (1 tablespoon) Sriracha, or 5g (1 teaspoon) gochujang or any hot sauce of your choice
3g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
10g (1/2 cup) nori (dried seaweed), roughly chopped (if bought in sheets)
5g (1/2 cup) bonito flakes
2g (1/2 teaspoon) smoked paprika
Directions
Pop corn: First, pour the oil in a deep pot or wok, along with three to five kernels of popcorn. Cover the pot with a lid, and place it over high heat. When the kernels have all popped, take the pan off the heat, and add in the rest of the kernels. Give it a quick stir to coat the popcorn in the hot oil, then leave it covered for 30 seconds. This brings up the temperature of all the kernels. Then, place the pot back on high heat, with the lid still on, and let the popcorn pop! When the pops subside (to a rate of less than 1 pop per second), take the pot off the heat. This should take around 30-45 seconds from the point at which you put the pot back on the heat.
Ready ingredients: I find it immensely useful to weigh out and prep all your ingredients before you start the caramel, because that will require your full attention, especially to catch it before burning. So, in a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, and baking soda together. Then, in a separate bowl, combine the chopped nori, bonito flakes, and smoked paprika. Also, preheat your oven to 110°C, and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat (I recommend the latter if you have one).
Make caramel: Sprinkle approximately 1/4 of the sugar evenly into a non-stick pan (a regular pan works too; non-stick just cleans easier), and place the pan over medium heat. When you start to see some of the sugar melt, sprinkle a little more sugar on the melted parts. Do this progressively until you’ve added in all the sugar. Keep cooking the sugar to turn it into caramel, swirling the pan occasionally to even out the temperature of the sugar and also to make sure all of the sugar is melted. Then, when the sugar has turned a deep amber, add in the sauce mixture and whisk vigorously. The caramel will start frothing, and might seem split, but just keep whisking it for 30-60 seconds until it comes together into a smooth lava.
Toss together: Pour the caramel onto your popped corn, together with the dry ingredients (nori, bonito flakes, paprika), and use a spatula to mix all the ingredients together until the popcorn is coated evenly in caramel. The caramel will harden with time and can be tricky to mix, so work fast!
Bake: Lay out all the popcorn onto your baking tray in one even layer. Then, bake it in the oven at 110°C for 60 minutes, giving the popcorn a rough mix every 15 minutes.
Eat: When done, take the popcorn out of the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes, before eating. The popcorn keeps well in an airtight container for up to 3 days, though it’ll lose its crunch over time. But let’s be real, most popcorn won’t even last past the pre-movie trailers; it’ll be all gone before you know it!
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