Easy Spicy Popcorn Recipe (3-ingredients)
A great way to use up the leftover oil in your jar of LaoGanMa or Lee Kum Kee chilli crisp, this easy spicy popcorn is also super tasty and addictive!
Servings: 2 people
Equipment
- Deep pot with clear glass lid I use a Le Creuset pasta pot
- Sieve (optional)
Ingredients
- ¼ C corn kernels
- 1 Tablespoon LaoGanMa or Lee Kum Kee chilli oil- liquid oil only without the chilli crisp bits (as they will burn in the pot) To make sure it's purely oil, you can pour it through a sieve (and save the chilli crisp to toss with the popped corn), but I usually skip this step. Substitute: you can use any chilli-infused oil (but avoid olive oil infusions as the smoke point is low) See notes on how to make your own chilli oil
- ¼ teaspoon finely milled salt, or to taste Give your salt a blitz in the spice grinder
Instructions
- Scoop out 1 Tablespoon of chilli oil, minus the chilli crisp bits as those will burn easily. Note: To get a cleaner oil, you can sieve out the chilli crisps and keep it in a bowl to toss the popcorn with later. If you don't have enough to make 1 Tablespoon, supplement with neutral vegetable oil, lard, bacon grease or even clarified butter/ ghee.
- Place a deep pot on the stove and turn on the fire to medium-high heat (I use 7 on a Bosch induction cooker with a maximum of 9.) Note: if you're worried about burning, you can use medium heat too. It'll just take longer to heat up the oil.
- Add the oil and let it heat up- it will take a few minutes. Either use a thermometer to check that the oil is 190C (380F) or toss 2-3 kernels in to check that they pop. (If they burn the oil is obviously too hot.)
- If they pop, the oil is hot enough- switch off the heat and remove the popped corn.
- Pour the rest of the kernels in and CLOSE THE POT, placing it back on the stove (so you don't get hit in the face by a flying kernel or oil). Turn the heat back to medium, and shake the pot continuously. Leave the lid a little ajar so the steam can escape, if not you get soggy popcorn. I like to have the hole in the lid further away from me to minimise the risk of getting spattered by oil. Keep moving the pot gently to make sure the kernels are well-didstributed and coated with oil.
- You'll hear the kernels start popping- if you use a clear lid, you can see them whizz around too, which is great fun. With a hand on the lid, keep shaking the pot gently. Once the popping slows to 1 pop every 2-3 seconds, remove the pot from the fire and open the cover.
- Pour the popcorn into a heat-proof bowl, sprinkle with the salt and stir with the spatula to make sure all the popcorn is salted evenly. (Don't season in the hot pot or you'll season the hot pot and not the popcorn) Add any chilli crisp that you may have sieved out before back to the popcorn, stirring well.
- Optional: I find the taste as is addictive enough but if you like the flavour even stronger, stir another tablespoon (or to taste) of chilli oil and crisp into the popcorn.
- Other flavour suggestions: You can even also play around with the taste by adding some garlic powder, onion powder, sugar etc to the popcorn. (I find a teeny bit of sugar makes it even more delicious!)
- Best eaten right away but I've kept it overnight in an air-tight container.
Notes
To make your own chilli oil, heat oil over low-medium heat, and add any spices such as garlic, sichuan peppercorns, cumin, fennel, star anise, cinnamon, cloves (or even chicken stock powder) etc, to the oil. Stir and allow to infuse for 5-10minutes till you see small bubbles forming, ensuring the oil doesn't smoke.
Once the bubbles form, carefully pour the oil over sliced dried chillies in a heat-proof container (You can also use dried chilli flakes, but it's easier to remove the sliced dried chillies then the flakes later). Once the oil has cooled, it can be used to pop the corn! (I will link to a detailed recipe post soon)