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I won’t say the household has perfected popcorn, but we’ve come close, and people keep raving about it. It has once again come to this: people think I am a wizard for doing something boring.
There is no need to microwave popcorn. Get some loose popcorn, put some canola in the bottom of a 3qt pot, heat on medium-low until it’s shimmering. Throw 1/3c of popcorn in, cover until popping has slowed down. Empty into a bowl. You now have popcorn.
After that, things get interesting. You now have a thermonuclear-hot pot. Without turning the heat off, throw 2/3 of a stick of butter into the pot. It will immediately start sizzling. Stir until the sizzling dies down, then immediately hit it with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to deglaze, swirl twice, cut the heat, and pour it over the popcorn. Dust with tĹŤgarashi & lots of sea salt.
You can stir to combine, or (much faster & easier) put it all in an enclosed container, then shake to combine.
At the movie night that I brought this to, it seemed like a few people didn’t know what tōgarashi was. It’s the red pepper shaker on your table at the ramen restaurant, an 0.5-out-of-10-hot blend of seven spices. You can make it yourself, or do what I do and buy premade.
Five ingredients, five minutes. Nothing I do is interesting! Just source good popcorn, for the love of everything.