Hurricane popcorn is the snack you'll find at Hawaii movie theaters and on most local pantry shelves: buttered popcorn tossed with furikake, the toasted-seaweed-and-sesame Japanese rice seasoning (Wikipedia: Furikake), and arare, the small soy-glazed Japanese rice crackers also called kakimochi or mochi crunch in Hawaii (Wikipedia: Hurricane popcorn). The name and the cracker-and-popcorn pairing are usually traced to the Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn Company, which popularized the mix in the 1990s.
It barely needs a recipe. Melt butter, pop corn, sprinkle furikake and arare, toss. The proportions matter though (more butter and more furikake than you'd think), and once you've had a version dialed in right, the pre-popped supermarket bags never quite taste the same.
At a glance
1 large bowl (about 12 cups)
2 minutes
3 to 5 minutes for the popcorn
Easy
Ingredients
For the popcorn
- 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (yields about 12 cups popped)
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (if popping on the stove)
For the seasoning
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 to 4 tablespoons nori komi furikake (the green-flecked seaweed-and-sesame mix sold at Asian markets)
- 1 cup arare rice crackers (kakimochi), the small soy-glazed shapes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or shoyu (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional, balances the salt)
- Hawaiian sea salt to taste
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid (for stovetop popping), or an air popper, or a microwave bag of plain popcorn
- Largest bowl in your kitchen
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl for the butter
To serve
- Right away, while still warm
- An ice-cold beer or a lilikoi soda alongside
Method
- Pop the popcorn. If using the stovetop, heat oil in the pot over medium-high. Add 3 test kernels and cover. When all 3 pop, add the rest, cover, and shake the pot every 10 seconds until the popping slows to a pop every 2 to 3 seconds. Pull off the heat immediately. Burnt popcorn is the most common way this dish gets ruined. Plain microwave popcorn (without butter or salt) or air-popped works just as well.
- Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Stir in the optional soy sauce and sugar. Salt to taste. Do not brown it; you want it just liquid.
- Build in layers. Transfer the hot popcorn to your largest bowl. Drizzle a third of the melted butter over the popcorn and toss with a rubber spatula or your hands. Sprinkle a third of the furikake over the top and toss again. Repeat with the remaining butter and furikake in two more rounds. Layering distributes the seasoning far more evenly than dumping it all in at once.
- Add the arare. Scatter the rice crackers over the top and give one final gentle toss. Adding the arare last keeps them crunchy and visible; they soften if buried under wet popcorn for too long.
- Eat right away. Hurricane popcorn is best within an hour of making it, while the popcorn is still warm and the arare is still crisp. It does not hold overnight without losing its crunch.
Notes from a local cook
Use real furikake, not a "rice seasoning" knockoff. The green color in good nori komi furikake comes from finely shredded nori, and that is the flavor you're after. Mainland grocery stores increasingly carry it in the international aisle, and any Asian supermarket will have it. Mishima is the brand I default to; it's available on Amazon and at most Japanese specialty stores.
Butter is not optional. Some recipes online try to make this with oil or "lighter" alternatives. Skip them. Real melted butter is what makes the furikake stick to the popcorn. Oil pools at the bottom of the bowl; butter clings. The texture and flavor depend on it.
Arare is its own ingredient. The crunchy rice crackers aren't interchangeable with general "rice puffs" or Chinese-style rice crackers. Look for Japanese kakimochi or arare: small, irregularly shaped, soy-glazed pieces about the size of a fingernail. Asian markets carry imported Japanese arare under brands like Kameda. Avoid the spicy varieties; they overwhelm the popcorn.
Scale up for a party. Hurricane popcorn keeps for about an hour at room temperature, which makes it workable for a movie-night spread. Double or triple the recipe in a giant bowl. If you need to make it ahead, pop and season the popcorn but hold the arare aside until just before serving so the rice crackers stay sharp.
While You're on the Islands
Eat it made by someone else. If you're in Hawaii, the easiest way to taste hurricane popcorn is to grab a pre-popped bag at any Foodland or local market — Hawaiian Hurricane Popcorn is the brand most often credited with popularizing the mix and is widely available across the islands. Movie theaters across the state carry the dish on the snack bar, and local bakeries and snack shops around Honolulu sell pre-bagged versions with extra furikake and a generous hand on the butter. For more on Hawaii's snack and dessert scene, see Hawaii Eats.
Buy the ingredients fresh. Furikake and arare are stocked at any island grocery store's Asian-foods aisle — worth grabbing a few bags while you're here since these specific brands are harder to find on the mainland.
Bring It Home
What to stock up on before you fly home: bags of nori komi furikake and arare rice crackers travel well and are what separate this from plain buttered popcorn — most mainland grocery stores don't reliably stock either.
Where to try this in Hawaii
