Copycat Popplers from Futurama
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Futurama has been one of my favorite shows since I was 12, and after dozens of requests to make Popplers over on TikTok, I thought it would be appropriate to make one of the fictional foods I’ve always wanted to taste for myself. Today, we’re blasting off to the future to taste-test some of the tastiest tidbits in the entire universe.
Popplers were discovered on an M-Class planet during a mission to find roddenberries and quickly became the most popular snack on Earth, thanks to some help from Fishy Joe’s.
However, it was quickly discovered that Popplers were not only alive and intelligent, but they were also the infantile version of Omnicronians from Omicron Persesi 8.
It wasn’t until Lrr and Ndnd threatened to eat one human for every poppler consumed – a total of 198 billion – that the consumption of popplers came to a halt.
Even in the 31st century, there aren’t that many humans in the entire universe, let alone on Earth. So, the result was a ban on selling popplers – despite how delicious they are.
“Hear me, hear me! Stop eating Popplers! Stop eating them with honey mustard sauce. Stop eating them with tangy sweet-and-sour sauce. Stop taking advantage of the money-saving 12-pack!”
Bender, Futurama S02E18 “The Problem With Popplers”
Good news everyone!
Making Popplers at home is easier than stopping the space time continuum from collapsing in on itself – and without all the icky the moral quandaries that come with eating a sentient being.
- shrimp – Fry describes the Popplers as shrimp while Bender describes them as prawn
- flour – absorbs the excess liquid and helps with dredging
- garlic & onion powder – adds pungent and savory notes of flavor
- cumin & paprika – add earthy and smoky flavors to the flour
- Tajin – adds citrus and spice
- celery salt – adds pops of salty and savory
- eggs – binds cornflakes to shrimp
- corn flakes – creates the “scales” on the Popplers
- vegetable oil – for frying
Making Popplers at Home
Sentience aside, these tasty Popplers deliver all the crispy, crunchy goodness that you’d expect from popplers. Plus, they are outright adorable – better eat them all before they can signal to the Omnicronians what our position is…
- Add shrimp to the baggie and coat completely.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan (half inch deep).
- Whisk two eggs in a bowl.
- Crush cornflakes in a separate shallow bowl.
- Dredge shrimp in egg, then coat with cornflakes.
- Fry shrimp in batches for 30 seconds to one minute per side.
- Serve with sweet and sour or mustard sauce.
It’s so easy, even Scruffy the Janitor would be impressed.
Popplers have been a bucket list recipe for me since I started my journey into fictional feasting. But I need your help with what fictional recipe I should cook up next.
Send me your suggestions over on TikTok for your favorite fictional meals or leave an idea in the comments below!
This recipe was originally posted in 2020 – it’s almost as old as Fry himself!!
Copycat Popplers from Futurama
Ingredients
- 16 oz shrimp peeled & tails removed, thawed if frozen
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon spicy Tajin optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- 2 eggs whisked
- 3 cups corn flakes lightly crushed
- 1 cup vegetable oil + more as needed for frying
Instructions
- In a large plastic baggie combine the flour, garlic powder, cumin, Tajin, onion powder, paprika and celery salt. Then add the shrimp. Shake well so that the shrimp are coated completed completely in flour.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan – the oil should be about a half inch deep. Whisk two eggs in a large bowl until frothy. In a separate shallow bowl, add the corn flakes and crunch up lightly with your fingertips.
- Dredge the flour coated shrimp first in the whisked eggs and allow excess to drip off. Then quickly transfer the shrimp to the cornflakes and flip and press the shrimp into the cornflakes until the shrimp is evenly coated. Repeat until all the shrimp are coated in cornflakes.
- Fry the shrimp in batches for 30 seconds to one minute per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Keep a watchful eye, the cornflakes will burn quickly.
- Serve with tangy sweet and sour sauce or mustard sauce. Ignore pleas for help. Don't let the Omnicronians where you found them. Enjoy!
