It has been tradition in my house for quite some time that Saturday nights are popcorn nights. We traditionally make popcorn in our Whirly Pop and enjoy it while watching Saturday Night Live. If you don’t know what a Whirly Pop is, and you love popcorn you definitely need one in your life. We prefer using just a sprinkle of sea salt on our popcorn but in celebration of National Popcorn Day, which is today, I decided to jazz things up a bit with Togarashi Popcorn.
I know you’re probably thinking ‘toga-what?!’ Which is probably a pretty natural reaction. Togarashi is a Japanese 7-spice blend and is typically a mixture of red chili flakes, sesame seed, dried seaweed, orange peel and other spices. It can vary by brand but overall it’s one of the best spices you’ll ever use moving forward. You can find it at specialty spice stores or I picked up a bottle at my local World Market. I love it on avocado toast.
I warn you that this popcorn is slightly addicting and you’ll probably want to eat the entire bowl. But go ahead, today IS a holiday devoted to popcorn. Make a batch, find a blanket and curl up on your couch tonight because it’s Friday and this is the best snack ever.
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Togarashi spice
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cover; keep warm.
- Heat kernels and both oils in a large covered pot over medium-high heat; cook until almost all kernels have popped. Transfer popcorn to a large bowl.
- Drizzle garlic butter over popcorn; toss to coat. Sprinkle Togarashi over; toss again.

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