Pug's Kitchen

One of my more undignified moments came after I was a little the worse for wear after a long lunch many years ago. Spotting KFC, I barrelled in, ordered my bucket, with gravy and fries (naturally) and sat staring at possibly the best meal an old soak could ask for. I then proceeded to take off all my jewellery, piece by piece, slowly handing it to my companion with the line, ‘Hold these, I’m going in and I may be some time’.

All class.

That’s an aside, back to the here-and-now and this recipe. I love popcorn, unapologetically so, always have done. Not the sweet, caramelly Butterkist-y sort, but the savoury, salty type. I also love KFC (see above) so have long been looking to combine the two.

The problem I have with most savoury popcorn types is that they are all a little meh – they lack an oomph and a prowess and always leave me slightly despondent at an utter waste of calories. So I decided to experiment. You’ll see one elsewhere on this site which is delicious but a little lacking in punch… but this one… this turns your palate into a punchbag with a bevy of beautiful savoury notes; deep chicken goodness, a hint of heat (it’s not blow-your-head-off spicy, it’s more elegant than that) and all rounded off with a tang of tarragon.

I make this in huge batches and share around the office… and it goes down a treat. 

Music to listen to while preparing this dish ‘Summer wine’ by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood

Ingredients

• Light vegetable or olive oil
• Popcorn kernels
• 2 heaped teaspoons of Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli in Oil
• 1 Knorr chicken stockpot
• 1 heaped tablespoon dried tarragon

Method

1. In a very large pan, generously cover the base with light oil. Add enough popcorn kernels to fill a large bowl.
2. Cover the pan and start popping the corn on high heat.
3. As the kernels start to pop, remember to shake the pan every ten seconds or so to prevent them from catching.
4. Once the popping sound subsides, turn off the heat and transfer the popped corn into a large bowl. Take a moment to separate the popped kernels from the unpopped ones.
5. In the still-warm large pan, add two generous teaspoons of Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chilli in Oil and place the Knorr chicken stockpot on top. Whisk them together until well-mixed.
6. Add a tablespoon of dried tarragon to the mixture, stir it in, and then gently fold in your popped corn.
7. Put the lid on the pan and toss the popcorn for a solid three to four minutes, making sure it’s evenly coated with the savoury mixture.
8. Transfer your seriously savoury popcorn into your serving bowl and don’t forget to scrape the leftover chilli in the pan to sprinkle on top for that extra punch of flavour.

Drink with an ice cold Beavertown Neck Oil Session IPA to cut through all that savoury goodness