Serious question: does a corn dog have to have corn in it?
Well, this Korean-style corn dog does not, but it does have all the other attributes of a corn dog ā being on a stick, dipped in batter, having a hot dog at the center ā so Iām going with a āno.ā
Corn dogs do not have to have corn in them to be corn dogs!
Now I have made Korean-style potato dogs before. And to tell you the truth, those were some of the best corn dogs Iāve ever had. The hot dog was dipped in cornmeal batter, rolled in crinkle cut French fries, and then deep-fried.
You can watch me making those corn dogs here.
This recipe is a little bit different because rather than using a cornmeal batter, Iām going to be using a yeasted kind of dough batter. My inspiration came from Delicious Dayās YouTube video.
Apparently this style of hot dog in Korea, which dispenses with the American-style bun and puts the deep-fried dough-enveloped hot dog on a stick, is called gamja-hotdog. In this recipe I make two versions, both of them having the yeasted dough around the hot dog, one with little cubes of potatoes, and the other with panko.
Of course, you can make your own versions, but you have to have the deep-fried batter and the stick to make it a true gamja-hotdog!
Korean-style French Fry Coated Corn Dog
Equipment
- wide heavy bottomed pan for deep frying
- candy apple sticks or popsicle sticks
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 C. bread flour
- 1/4 C. rice flour if unavailable, substitute more bread flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2Ā½ tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 3 oz. warm water
- 1 tsp. instant yeast
Coating
- 1/2 C. panko bread crumbs
- 2 C. frozen french fries (optional) chopped into 1/2" cubes
Hot Dogs & Cheese
- 4 hot dogs
- 4 oz. mozzarella cheese cut into 3/4"x2" sticks
- 6 C. peanut oil for frying
Optional Toppings
- granulated sugar
- yellow mustard
- ketchup
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together bread flour, rice flour, salt, and sugar.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and water. Add yeast and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir to combine. Once a ball of dough is formed, cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot to proof for at least 1 hour.
- For a regular corn dog skewer a whole hot dog onto a skewer leaving 2 inches for a handle. For a combination dog, cut a hot dog in half and skewer it followed with a block of cheese. Pat the skewers dry with a paper towel.
- In a wide heavy bottomed-pan heat 1-2" of peanut oil to 330ĖF/165ĖC.
- Dip a skewer into the batter and wrap the dough around the hot dog. Using wet fingertips pinch off the excess dough and smooth it into an even layer.
- Roll the skewers into french fries or bread crumbs until evenly coated. If using french fries be sure to press firmly so they stick to the batter.
- Gently place the skewer into the hot oil and fry until golden ~5-7 minutes. Turn for even browning.
- Drain the corn dogs on rack. Sprinkle each corn dog with a teaspoon of sugar and a generous drizzle of ketchup and mustard. Serve hot.
Of course, both of these are sugars, but they do have slightly different textures. AND both use baking soda and heat to make a very simple kind of caramelized brittle candy.