Making Popcorn in a Wok

With its high sides and heavy construction, a wok is the perfect tool for making popcorn. Simply line the lid with aluminum foil, and you’ll have a quick and easy tool in which to make popcorn the ‘old fashioned’ way. I love making popcorn this way because it allows me to put my much loved but underused wok to good use. It also means I can make popcorn without the use of a microwave, which is of course AWESOME!


Ingredients
2 tablespoons or 30 ml vegetable oil or coconut oil (I used half of each)
1/2 cup or 185 grams popcorn kernels
sea salt to taste

Directions
1. Add the oil to the wok and heat on a medium to medium high hob on the stove until a few kernels added to the oil pop in a minute or so. The oil must be warm enough or else your popcorn will get too greasy, soggy and just nasty. Trust me on this-I’ve had some experience.

2. Once the oil is warm enough, open the lid and quickly (but safely**, you are dealing with hot oil here!), pour the rest of the corn kernels into the wok, then place the lid back on. Reduce the heat slightly, and move the wok back and forth over the stove hob. Not too quickly (again, you are dealing with hot oil here!) and with short back and forth motions only-never up and down (again, you are dealing with hot oil here!). The kernels should begin to pop after ca. 1 minute, and fairly constantly.

3. Once the popping stops, open the wok lid (slowly-flying kernels may come at you with a vengeance) and immediately dump the popcorn into a bowl. Salt to taste and enjoy!

** Did I mention to be careful, you are dealing with hot oil here? Well in case you missed that, you are. This also means kiddies and pets in the kitchen are a no-no as is doing this when you have had a few G&T’s (gin and tonics). That would be very silly indeedy, trust me on this.



This post is for non-commercial, personal use only. Copyright ©2011 by Whitney @ Thanks For The Food.

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