Korean Corn Dog – Extra Crunchy Hot Dog With Ramen

The Korean Corn Dog is like an American corn dog on steroids with an ultra-crispy, crushed ramen noodle coating that will surely bring a smile to your face. No worries, we’re using normal ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen!

Hot dog stick in hand

Have you heard of a Korean Corn Dog? It sounds like an odd combination, but it’s so delicious that I’ve never had a bad one! For those who don’t know, it is a hot dog on a stick, covered in batter and then fried to perfection.

The name comes from the fact that it’s popular in Korea (duh!) and corndogs are popular in the United States. But what exactly makes them so tasty?

You can easily make them at home with easy ingredients like flour, egg, and something crunchy. The recipe could not be simpler or quicker: just mix the ingredients in a bowl, dip the hotdog into the batter, fry it, and top it with some sugar and condiments! Oh so yummy!

Korean corn dogs turn a boring lunch into a delicious snack that’s cheesy, crunchy, and scrumptious!

Cutting of cheesy dog

WHAT ARE KOREAN CORN DOGS, aka GAMJA?

Korean corn dogs are a popular snack or street food in Korea. It is so popular, it has made its way into the States – but it is still hard to find unless, you live in major cities.

It is a corn dog that is deep fried with crunchy things such as breadcrumb, panko, or crushed ramen noodle. Finally, it is topped with different condiments, and served on a stick.

The unique taste of this snack comes from the endless combination of different toppings, different filling options, and different condiments such as ketchup, mustard, gochujang (on Amazon), hershey syrup, etc….

AMERICAN VS KOREAN CORN DOG

American corn dog has a sponge-like dough (typically made with corn meal) whereas the the Korean version is made with yeasted batter and coated in something crunchy.

It is also distinguished by the fact that the inside can be something other than a hot dog – you will find substitutes such as rice cakes, mozzarella sticks, or even Spam!

For this recipe, I used hot dogs and made a yeasted batter with flour, water, sugar, and yeast. The batter is fried in oil before being topped with ketchup-gochujang (on Amazon) sauce (which is really easy to make at home) Finally, it’s sprinkled with some good old sugar!

In the US, hot dogs are cooked in boiling water, but Koreans prefer to deep fry their hot dogs.

The result is a savory snack with a crispy outside and soft cheese in the middle.

Pylsur, the infamous Icelandic hot dog topped with homemade mustard, remoulade, raw onions and cornichon
Pylsur: Icelandic Hot Dog with pickles and raw onions

PSSST – Loving this so far? You might also like our other recipe for a mouthwatering Icelandic hotdog here

Cheesy hot dog on wooden plate

TOP VARIATIONS TO TRY

It is consisted of 3 main parts: the inside, the outer topping, and the drizzle. The combination is endless and this makes it easy to substitute for dietary preferences.

The Filling:

The inside of this treat, in its simplest form, would be a hot dog. Some easy substitutes you can try:

  • Spam
  • Rice Cakes
  • Mozzarella Sticks
  • Fish Sticks
  • Zucchini Sticks

Toppings:

For topping, you can choose from various things depending on how crunchy you would like it. For the most crunch, we went with crushed (uncooked) ramen noodle. You can try:

  • Panko
  • Bread crumbs
  • Diced Potatoes
  • Your favorite cereal (my favorite: Rice Krispies, or Kellogg’s Corn Flakes)
Hot dog with 3 different types of drizzle on top

Condiments / Drizzle:

My favorite drizzle is a mixture of mayonnaise and sriracha (on Amazon) – I start with 2 tablespoons of mayo, then add sriracha (on Amazon) and mix it until it gets to the right “pink” or “red”!

The drizzle can be a singular ingredient, or a mix of any 2 of the following:

  • Ketchup
  • Mayonnaise
  • Mustard
  • Sriracha (on Amazon)
  • Gochujang (on Amazon) Sauce
  • Teriyaki Sauce
  • Caramel Sauce
  • Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce (because, why not?)
  • Sesame Seeds

KOREAN CORN DOG RECIPE – extra crunchy style

Ingredients

View of ingredients in bowls on a table - cheese, egg, yeast, hot dog stick

This recipe uses ramen noodle for extra crunch, but you can use other familiar alternatives such as diced potatoes, panko, or breadcrumb – all pictured here since ended up trying them whilst making this extra crunchy recipe.

Make the batter:

You have to mix the yeast with some room temperature water and sugar first, and wait 5 minutes before adding the other dry ingredients. This is to ensure the yeast gets fed a healthy amount of sugar so it can do its thing. Once all ingredients are mixed, cover loosely and wait one hour for the batter to proof – it’s proofed when it doubles in size.

bowl of flour, sugar, yeast mixed in

Using Yeast:

Yeast is a living organism that is found in nature, and it is commonly used in baking to make dough rise.

The first step to using yeast properly is to add it to warm water and some sugar. The second step is to let the mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes so that the yeast can activate and begin fermenting.

Once this has occurred, you can add flour into your bowl of water and yeast. You will want to mix the flour into the liquid until it forms a thick paste-like substance.

You can then add salt, sugar, and the other dry ingredients. After mixing these ingredients together thoroughly, knead them until they reach an elastic consistency similar to Play-Doh or modeling clay.

MAKE THE SKEWERS FOR THE CORN DOG

While waiting for the batter to proof, make your skewers and prepare the toppings. Fit half a hot dog onto the skewer and a mozzarella cheese stick of around the same length. Make sure there is enough room left on the skewer for handling.

hot dog and mozzarella on bamboo skewers
hot dog and mozzarella cheese sticks on skewers arranged on parchment paper

Once batter doubles in size and is ready for use, use a rubber spatula to transfer contents into a tall glass or container (something deep enough to dip the skewers into). Carefully dip the dogs into the batter, let excess batter drip and immediately roll it onto a shallow pan of ramen noodle (or other topping of choice)

The corn dog is now ready for deep frying. Use a deep skillet and add enough oil to cover the dogs. I did this in two batches, and keep in mind that the oil tends to be hotter the second time around. Ideally the temperature should be kept at 330 to 350 degrees the whole time.

One trick I do every time I fry something – move it the second you put it in the oil. You’ll be surprised how wonderfully this works to prevent whatever you’re frying from sticking to the pan. I do this every time I fry anything – batter or no batter.

Once done, top with condiment drizzle of choice and enjoy while it’s hot!

Cooked hot dog with mustard and tomato sauce

SUBSTITUTES FOR DIETERY PREFERENCES

If you are looking for a healthier version, I’ve got you covered:

Make it vegetarian

Swapped out the hotdog for a mozzarella stick or a thick cut zucchini and you’ve got yourself a veggie dog.

How to make a vegan Korean Corn Dog:

Besides vegan hot dogs, what else can you use to replace the dogs and cheese? You might find that some recipes suggest tofu, but what if you’re not a fan of tofu? Also, I find that even the “extra firm” types is still too soft to be put on a skewer and then dip in batter.

Mozzarella cheese alternative – we suggest using a dairy-free cheese alternative like Daiya shreds, Follow Your Heart cheese slices or even thinly sliced vegan bacon! Just cut the cheese (or vegan bacon) into small pieces, then roll it inside of a corn tortilla. This will replace the “mozzarella stick” part of the corn dog.

Hot dog alternative – to replace the hot dog, try a thick-cut zucchini or a firm thick cut eggplant (you’ll want to cut a piece firm and thick enough to go on the skewer)

The batter: For the milk, try using oat or coconut which is thicker and works better for this recipe than soy or almond. For the egg, use ground chia seeds or ground flaxseeds – typically to replace 1 egg you would use 1 tablespoon ground seed plus 3 tablespoons water. See here for other vegan egg substitutes. We like to have a small bag of Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer (on Amazon) handy at all times in our house. (1 tablespoon flour, 3 tablespoon water, and voila! you’ve got yourself a great egg substitute!)

hand rolling a battered hot dog into diced potatoes

Make it Paleo:

Use diced sweet potatoes instead of ramen, and omit the sugar!

Make it Gluten-Free

For this recipe, I ended up using rice flour and potato starch, which worked out very well!

Less Calorie:

For topping, use sesame seeds – it has the crunchy goodness without all the extra calories.

Can you use an air fryer for this recipe?

Yes! You can use an air fryer to make a korean corn dog recipe.

In fact, it’s actually a lot easier and less messy to use an air fryer than a traditional deep-fryer when making this recipe. An air fryer will help you get the perfect golden brown color without having to worry about the oil spilling over or catching fire. And it’s safer for your home, too!

If you don’t have an air fryer yet, we suggest getting one as soon as possible. They’re great for making fried foods without all the mess or danger of using deep fryers.

Print
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hand holding a hot dog with three others in the background

Korean Corn Dog – Extra Crunchy


Description

Korean corn dogs made with hot dog, mozzarella cheese sticks, and ramen noodle. This is the crunchiest way to eat a Korean corn dog. Other coating options available such as diced potatoes (nstead of ramen noodle), or just plain batter with no additional topping. Your choice, your way!


Ingredients

Scale

Filling

  • 4 hot dogs, cut in half
  • 4 mozzarella sticks, cut in half

Batter

  • 1 cup milk of choice, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 and 1/3 cup of all purpose flour

Topping

  • 1 package ramen noodle, uncooked and crushed

Drizzle:

  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixed with 1 teaspoon sriracha (on Amazon) (adjust for spiciness preference)
  • (optional) granulated or powdered sugar

Instructions

PREPARING THE BATTER

  1. In a large bowl combine the milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir gently. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the rest of the batter ingredients, cover lightly and let sit at room temperature until the mixture doubles in size (around 1 hour)
  3. Once proofed, transfer into a tall glass or any tall container to dip your dogs completely in.

PREP THE TOPPING

  1. Crush the uncooked ramen and spread out on large shallow plate or baking tray. Sprinkle the ramen seasoning on top if desired.

MAKING THE DOGS

  1. Add oil to a deep frying pan with vegetable oil. Using kitchen thermometer, heat oil until temperature reads to 330 – 350 Degrees F (or 165-175 Celsius)
  2. To the skewer sticks add hot dog and mozzarella stick
  3. Dip into the batter, then immediately roll on the plate with crushed ramen.
  4. Fry for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown

TO SERVE:

  1. Drizzle with mayo-sriracha (on Amazon) and sprinkle with sugar.
  2. Serve immediately, or store covered in airtight container for up to 2 days (heat in oven for 4-8 minutes), or freeze for up to 3 months in a ziplock bag (heat in oven for 20 minutes)

Notes

 If you don’t have ramen noodle, you can use diced potatoes, panko, or breadcrumbs. Other dietary alternatives found in blog post.

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Proofing Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Korean

Keywords: corn dog, korean corn dogs, korean street food, deep fried snacks, hot dog alternatives

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