Korean corn dogs — dusted with hot Cheetos and covered in spicy mayo — are here to conquer the Minnesota State Fair

This won’t be Leslie Chan’s first time serving food at the Minnesota State Fair. For more than 10 years, her father has been serving chicken teriyaki on a stick to Minnesotans, and she has often helped him.

But this year she’ll be there on her own with a new trailer and what she thinks will be a very popular offering: Korean corn dogs.

Chan’s Eatery is one the State Fair’s new vendors. In addition to the corn dogs, it will be serving mochi donuts and bubble teas.

“We just want to bring something new to the fairgrounds, and we know corn dogs are really popular,” said Chan, 30.

Instead of cornmeal for the batter, Korean corn dogs, also simply called hot dogs in South Korea, are made with wheat or mochi (rice) flour, resulting in a chewier texture. Chan fills them with a hot dog and mozzarella, and adds cinnamon sugar on top. She also provides the option of coating it with fried potatoes or hot Cheetos with spicy mayo.

Corn dogs were already popular in the United States when they arrived in South Korea along with the large U.S. military presence that continued after the Korean War. Corn dogs in Korea were first made of a mixture of fish and flour. They became a popular street food snack in the mid-1970s.

The popularization of Korean culture, as well as their photogenic appearance, made Korean corn dogs a social media food trend in 2021, especially on TikTok.

“Korean corn dogs, mochi donuts and bubble tea are all things that are very popular in the fair food world,” said Fair spokesperson Maria Hayden. “Also, just in the Twin Cities food scene, go to Asia Mall and get Korean corn dogs, or go to Dinkytown and get mochi donuts and Korean corn dogs in the same street.”

Out of 300 food vendors at the Fair this year, only six will be new. Chan’s experience, the product she offers and the presentation of her trailer made her a great candidate, according to Hayden.

“My hope is that every year someone will be able to look at that new vendor list and see at least one thing on there that piques their interest,” Hayden said. “You might be able to discover something that could become your new Fair favorite.”

Chan relies on her family’s experience catering state fairs across the country. Her grandfather had a restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and started catering local fairs. Chan grew up in this environment, and started helping her parents at the age of 7.

After teaching for a few years, she went back to work with her dad. “After COVID, I wanted to try something different,” Chan said.

For the past five years, she has been back on the fairs. She now manages Chan’s Eatery and works with her father at the same time. “You meet new people and you get to explore different cities every year,” she added.

Overall, she is on the road nine months a year. Chan starts with the San Antonio Rodeo in Texas in February and ends the season at the Texas State Fair in October. In the meantime she travels across the country and has visited eight fairs so far.

Her first year running Chan’s Eatery was challenging. The trailer and the crew were smaller and she could not make as many corn dogs as she wanted to.

But this year, Korean corn dogs have been successful. One of her busiest days was at the end of July, when she served 900 customers in Cheyenne, Wyoming. That was 200 more customers than last year, on the same day at the same fair.

Chan works with friends, who also are her business partners, her husband and sometimes hires local employees. At the Minnesota State Fair, she will be at work two hours before doors open and will close her trailer at 11 p.m. at the earliest.

“It is exhausting because we don’t really do shifts; we are all family and friends,” Chan said.

She has now arrived in Minnesota, and is setting up her trailer for the State Fair, which is her personal favorite.

Chan’s Eatery:

Address : East side of Underwood Street between Murphy & Lee avenues

What to know: Chan’s Eatery sells Korean corn dogs filled with hot dog and mozzarella, with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Customers can add a coating of fried potatoes or hot Cheetos with spicy mayo. Chan’s Eatery also sells bubble tea and eight varieties of mochi donuts.

For more information: Visit Chan’s Eatery’s on Instagram .

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