#pepcorn

Spicy Chili Crisp Popcorn has been one of my favourite homemade popcorn flavours since I found out about it ("pepcorn" by Brian David Gilbert).

After trying Gilbert's method, I made a few changes. Here's what I do:

Blend the Spicy Chili Crisp (I use an immersion blender and a jar that juuust fits it)

Pop in a wok: use a lid with a tea towel to absorb condensed steam that runs down the lid back toward the wok

Transfer the hot popcorn to a huge metal strainer (allow the steam to escape, and let the popcorn cool a bit). I also use this time to prepare my toppings because usually I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

Transfer cooled popcorn to a large vessel (large enough for mixing).

Drizzle a bit of chili oil (and other seasonings* if using), and mix.

Taste and repeat Step 5 until desired flavour intensity

Other ingredients I usually add:

Powdered salt (theatre salt)

Powdered prickly ash (Sichuan peppercorn)

Garlic powder

Powdered sugar (either storebought icing sugar, or normal sugar just run through a blender to make it finer)

Here's what the wok with a towel looks like:

I've been making chili garlic popcorn using Spicy Chili Crisp, but I wondered how it would turn out if I used my homemade chili oil.

My homemade chili oil is milder than SCC, doesn't contain salt or sugar, and doesn't have crunchy soybeans. The flavours are more subtle and aromatic (cinnamon, anise, all the lovely citrusy and floral notes from prickly ash) and definitely more numbing than SCC.

I put some homemade chili oil in the blender with some salt, sugar, and garlic powder. Then I made a batch of popcorn using the same method as before, but using my homemade oil. After tasting, I felt it needed a bit more something. In the pantry I had a jar of shichimi togarashi seasoning blend, so I gave that a try. The orange zest really tied it all together, and I was surprised at how different a beast this popcorn was!

My partner's coworkers often end up as guinea pigs for my kitchen experiments, so I thought I'd ask them for feedback in a more rigorous way, and created a little questionnaire they could fill out.

POPCORN FLAVOUR SURVEY Version A (2/5 spiciness) Features Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp. Hotter spiciness level. More garlicky, more savoury. (Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Chili, Onion, Fermented Soybean (Soybean, Water), Monosodium Glutamate, Salt, Sugar, Pepper Powder, Sulfur Dioxide, Sodium Sulfite) Version B (1/5 spiciness) Features homemade chili oil, prickly ash (Sichuan peppercorn, gives numbing sensation), and orange zest. More sweet and aromatic than Version A. Milder. Uses Shichimi Togarashi seasoning blend. (Shichimi Togarashi Ingredients: Red Chili Flakes, Sea Salt, Szechuan Peppercorns, Black sesame Seeds, White Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Orange Zest, Wasabi powder, Nori Seaweed Flakes. May Contain: wheat)

I was honestly kind of shocked by the results. There was a definitive preference--which in retrospect, shouldn't have surprised me because most of his coworkers have low spiciness tolerance.

Science!

(Transcript follows the image below)

Question 1: If you’ve tried both versions, which one did you prefer? (Draw a checkmark in the column.)

Version A: no checkmarks

Version B: 4 checkmarks

Question 2: Any other feedback?

Version A:

packs more of a punch and the spiciness builds as you keep eating. I enjoy it also. But prefer the nuance of B.

Good flavou & enjoy the heat level

Version B:

more subtle flavour, nicely salted, slight sweetness, lovely little numbing sensation.

Nice variety of flavours & enjoy the hint of sweetness

Both good but this one seems more complex with good spice and other flavours

very good

Written between both columns: