Cheesy Korean Corn Dogs

Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant). Photo: Toby Scott • Food Styling: Tamara Vos • Prop Styling: Rachel Vere (Courtesy Hardie Grant)

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A deep-fried corn dog might not seem like a classic Korean dish, but as author Su Scott recounts in her new cookbook, Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul , it was a frequent snack for her during childhood, sold in local stationery shops called munbanggu. Hot dogs were introduced to Korea in the early 1950s via the American presence during the 625 War (or the Korean War, as it is known in the U.S.). Korean chefs have since found innovative ways to repurpose ingredients from this time of conflict into irresistible street foods. These corn dogs, hand-dipped in a donut-like batter and rolled in panko breadcrumbs, are an indulgent old-school treat and easy to make at home.

Superfine sugar is a more finely ground version of granulated sugar. It can often be found in grocery stores, but you can also make your own by pulsing granulated sugar in a food processor for about 1 minute. A cut-up stick of string cheese also works beautifully for the cubed mozzarella called for in this recipe.

Adapted with permission from Pocha: Simple Korean Food from the Streets of Seoul by Su Scott, published by ‎Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2024.

Featured in “ Pocha Takes You on a Street Food Crawl Through Seoul ” by Jessica Carbone.

Yield: Makes 8 Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the batter:

• ½ cup superfine sugar
• 1 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1¾ cups bread flour
• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the corn dogs:

• 4–6 hot dogs, cut into 3-in.-long pieces
• 1 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, cut into eight ½-in. cubes
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1¼ cups panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 Tbsp. superfine sugar (optional)
• Ketchup and yellow mustard, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the batter: In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the sugar, salt, and 1 cup of warm water until dissolved, about 2 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the bread flour and yeast. Slowly pour in the sugar mixture and the egg, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the batter is well incorporated and wet yet smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Don’t worry if there are a few lumps.) Cover with plastic and set aside to rest in a warm place until doubled in volume, 45 minutes–1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, onto a bamboo skewer, thread a piece of hot dog, followed by a mozzarella cube. Repeat until eight skewers are filled, then dust lightly with all-purpose flour. Set up a breading station: transfer the skewers to a large plate, fill another large with the panko, and place them both next to the bowl of prepared batter.
4. To shape the corn dogs, hold the end of a skewer in your dominant hand and plunge it into the batter, completely covering the hot dog. Wet your non-dominant hand and use it to shape the battered dog, rotating to coat completely. Lift the corn dog out of the batter and quickly roll it in the panko to coat.
5. Into a large pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer, pour 4 inches of oil and turn the heat to medium-high. When the temperature reads 340°F, carefully lower a battered corn dog into the pot and cook, gently pushing it down with tongs or a spider skimmer if it floats to the surface, until evenly golden brown, 4–5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the corn dog to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain excess oil. If desired, spread the sugar on a plate and roll the corn dog in the sugar while warm. Repeat with the remaining corn dogs.
6. Drizzle the corn dogs with ketchup and mustard and serve warm.