Popcorn has a way of revealing who we are. Some people treat it as a casual snack, the sort of thing you mindlessly chew through on a Wednesday night. Others—like my father—approach it with devotion. He is the kind of moviegoer who insists he goes to the theater for the popcorn, not for the film. The buttery aroma, the unmistakable warmth, the way freshly popped kernels somehow taste different when they’re handed over a counter instead of microwaved at home—it’s a ritual he refuses to compromise.
So when Sooki Foods found itself in the midst of exhaustive family tasting sessions, experimenting with countless batch variations of Korean sesame oil, it was only a matter of time before popcorn entered the conversation. We noticed something happening as we adjusted roasting temperatures and played with different techniques: the flavor grew rounder, richer, closer to something we could only describe as a “nutty butter.” That discovery demanded a test.
The results were almost suspiciously good. Our golden, gently toasted sesame oil didn’t just coat the popcorn—it elevated it. The buttery, roasted notes sat so naturally on each kernel that we began asking a once-unthinkable question: Could sesame oil actually be the answer to high quality popcorn at home?
To confirm we hadn’t lost our minds, we brought in a witness. During our first Sooki Foods photo shoot, our longtime family friend and photographer, Vinukh, agreed to try our new experiment. He didn’t just approve—he finished the entire bag. Days later he attempted to recreate it at home with the sesame oil he already had in his pantry. The report was immediate and definitive: his version tasted like popcorn tossed in burnt oil.
The difference wasn’t subtle; it was structural. Sooki Sesame Oil is toasted in small batches at lower temperatures, a process that preserves its natural buttery characteristics rather than overwhelming them with bitterness. That nuance is what allows it to blend seamlessly with the warmth and texture of popcorn, creating a flavor profile that’s both familiar and surprisingly new.
If you have a bottle of Sooki Sesame Oil at home, consider this your permission to try the pairing yourself. It’s a simple experiment—just popcorn and a drizzle of oil—but it carries the story of how a family tasting session, a lifelong popcorn enthusiast, and a bit of culinary curiosity led to a discovery we’re still a little proud of.
And who knows? You may find, as we did, that this unlikely pairing wasn’t just an idea—it was a natural match waiting to happen.
