Kimchee Hot Dogs: Trying to convince my dad

For my dad, who can't stand hot dogs.

My father is truly a gourmet. His ideal food is prepared by my super chef mom, his super chef mom, or his super chef mom in law...my food is passable (he does like my kimchee chigae). Eating out for my father is mostly filled with disappointments or not quite to his standards of food.

This past weekend I had people over for Son's 2nd Birthday; kimchee hotdogs was one of the things on my menu. Only it was a total experiment and I had no idea how it would turn out...so the night before, I sat in my kitchen and tried it out, with all the components to see how it would taste...and I was SO pleased with the flavors, I called Brother #1 on the telephone.

Me: I just made the kimchee hotdog, and man, does it taste good.
Brother: Did you make it with a sausage or did you make it with a dog?
Me: With a hotdog - Ballpark!
Brother: Yeah - I think you need to make it with a sausage, and not a hotdog to go with the kimchee
Me: No, trust me it tastes really good.
Brother: Well, if you get Dad to say it tastes good, then I'll believe you.

The final comment from Brother pretty much shut down any response I had and suddenly I was unsure of the hotdog flavors. I gave a bite to my mom who also really liked it but I had this nagging doubt in the back of my head about whether Dad would like it.

At the party, Dad had one, and although he admitted it was better than a regular hotdog, it wasn't something that he HAD to eat. Others however had lots of wonderful things to say about it, so I was very happy. It is a great party food, different and oh so delicious. Try it out!

Incidentally - Kogi has been doing these for a while now but this is my version.

Kimchee Hot Dogs
Serves 8

"Kimchee"kraut
1 1/2 cups kimchee, chopped, including the juice
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a fry pan over medium heat, add oil, ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kimchee and cook until the kimchee has a slight translucent quality, about 10 minutes.

Sesame Soy Mayonnaise
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
crushed pepper

Cabbage Romaine mix
3/4 cups of shredded cabbage
3/4 cups shredded romaine

In a bowl, toss the two together.

Pickled Onions
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cups of vinegar (I use rice vinegar)
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon salt

In a container, mix all the ingredients together. Allow to pickle for 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Additional Ingredients
8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
1 cup of cheddar cheese

1. In a large pot fill with water and add hot dogs. Bring to a boil. (I like boiling hot dogs because it definitely washes away some of the sodium and also makes it very warm.) Turn off heat, and prepare to assemble hot dog.

2. Toast buns.

3. In a toasted bun, add hot dog. Top with kimchee, cheddar cheese, cabbage romaine mix, and drizzle with a bit of sesame mayonnaise. Eat up!

Printable recipe

Don't you just want to bite into it?

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