QUESTION: What is hurricane popcorn?

ANSWER: It wasn’t until I attended a food conference in Phoenix in September that I heard of hurricane popcorn. It was just after Hurricane Florence had pounded the Carolinas.

With National Popcorn Day being celebrated this Saturday, my thoughts returned to the hurricane popcorn I sampled at Bitter & Twisted in downtown Phoenix. I couldn’t get enough of it. After just a few bites, I was hooked.

On the menu, it’s listed as popcorn with butter, garlic, furikake, shichimi and spicy rice crackers. Furikake usually consists of various Asian ingredients such as sushi nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, dried tuna flakes, ground shiso leaf and salmon flakes.

Shichimi, also called shichimi togarashi, is a Japanese spice mixture. The mixture typically contains seaweed, orange zest, ginger, black and white sesame seeds, and dried red chiles.

The owner, Ross Simon, of Twisted & Bitter told me that the spices are what make hurricane popcorn unique.

Hurricane popcorn got its start in Hawaii. According to whatscookingamerica.net, it’s known as “Hapa food” to Hawaiian islanders. "Hapa" is a Hawaiian term that refers to being of mixed Asian and Caucasian heritage. Thus Hapa food is “the perfect harmony between Asian and Caucasian cultures,” Hawaiians say.

What’s Cooking America credits the Hawaiian Hurricane Company with being first to sell the popcorn. The company, hurricanepopcorn.com, started selling it from a pushcart at the foot of the Ko'olau mountain range in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Here are 5 fun popcorn facts from the National Popcorn Board:

Michigan is one of nine popcorn-producing states. Most popcorn is grown in Midwestern states.

Americans consume 13 billion quarts of popcorn annually. Two tablespoons of popcorn kernels will yield 1 quart of popcorn.

Popcorn is a whole grain.

Popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble.

Air-popped popcorn has just 30 calories per cup.



Have a question? Contact Susan Selasky at 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.

Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn

Serves: 4 (generously) / Prep time: 5 minutes / Total time: 10 minutes

13 cups popped popcorn

2 to 3 tablespoons butter

1 large clove garlic chopped

½ teaspoon soy sauce

2 to 3 tablespoons Nori Furikake (see note)

1 to 2 cups Japanese rice crackers (spicy, optional)



Remove any unpopped kernels from the popped popcorn.

Put popped popcorn in a large bowl. Place the butter and garlic in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 20 to 25 seconds or until the butter melts. (You also can melt it in a small saucepan with the garlic over medium heat.) Add the soy sauce to the melted butter and stir together. Add the Nori Furikake mix and Japanese rice crackers to the bowl of popcorn. Toss together to combine. Finally pour the butter over the top of the popcorn mixture and gently toss the popcorn until the butter is evenly combined.

Cook's note: Here’s how to make your own Nori Furikake seasoning. Mix together ¼ cup toasted white sesame seeds, ¼ cup toasted black sesame seeds, 2 sheets chopped or crumbled nori seaweed, 3 tablespoons bonito flakes (optional), 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. You can keep the mixture in a sealed jar in a cool, dry place for up to two months.

Adapted from several recipes.

Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.