Never having been to Hawaii, I don’t have firsthand experience with Hawaiian “Hurricane” popcorn. However, this story from the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader tipped me off to one more great way to season popcorn: furikake.

I grew up on butter and salt on popcorn, nothing more, nothing less. It was a revelation of sorts when, at my friend’s house, her brother offered me some popcorn on which he had sprinkled some fresh Parmesan cheese. It was really good. Still, though I generally only eat popcorn with salt and butter. Usually it takes a bit of inspiration or prodding from another person to season my popcorn with something else, like Bacon Salt and Tapatio.

I’m quite fond of furikake. It was introduced to me my freshman year in college by my Japanese-Korean roommate, Maddie. Maddie’s mother would send her huge care packages from Japan filled with treats like red bean paste candy, Japanese gum, microwave rice, gim (the Korean version of nori) and a jar or two of furikake. Maddie always shared, and I don’t think there was a food she shared that I didn’t like. Since that year, I’ve always kept a jar of furikake on hand, along with gim, ready whenever hunger or leftover rice should strike. You see, all you need is a little furikake and steamed rice becomes flavorful and delicious. There are many variations of furikake, my favorites are the salmon, bonito (tuna) and plain. Furikake and rice goes really well with a can of drained tuna, too, if you need some more protein with your rice.

Anyway, the furikake on popcorn thing is great. Just sprinkle it over your popcorn with butter. Quick, easy, flavorful and maybe just a bit healthy, too. By the way, In Wenatchee, you’re most likely to find furikake at Oriental Mini Mart, although it might show up in the Asian food aisle of any of the local grocery stores.

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