Chilli-garlic butter popcorn

We all love a buttery popcorn but no-one likes soggy popcorn. The trick for coating popcorn with butter is to drizzle it over the popcorn in two batches, tossing well after each drizzle with your hands, then serve in a clean bowl, leaving behind any excess butter.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 70 g (⅓ cup) popcorn kernels

Chilli-garlic butter

• 80 g salted butter
• 3 tsp chilli flakes
• 4 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp sea salt
• ½ small lemon

Makes 7 cups

Read our tips on how not to screw up stovetop popcorn.

Instructions

To make the chilli-garlic butter, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the chilli flakes, garlic and and cook for 30 seconds minutes or until fragrant and the chilli and garlic just begin to colour. Immediately remove from the heat and squeeze in half of the lemon juice to stop it from cooking further. Keep warm.

Heat the oil in a 3-litre saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until just before it smokes. Add a popcorn kernel to the oil to test if it is hot enough; if it spins, then the oil is ready (see Note).

Add all the popcorn kernels, swirl to cover the kernels with the oil, cover with the lid and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for 1 minute 45 seconds or until the popping sounds have stopped.

Tip the popcorn in a large wide bowl and immediately toss with half of the flavoured butter until all the popcorn is well coated, then add the remaining half and toss again until well coated.

Note

• The oil shouldn’t be smoking; if it is, remove from the heat until it stops smoking, then return to the heat.

Photography by Amanda McLauchlan, styling by Aimee Jones.

View more ridiculously tasty recipes from our Popcorn Cup collection to celebrate the World Cup.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.