American Hot Dog Meets Asia

Last week, I went from trying out a new Thai soup recipe to creating the most interesting hot dog combination I've ever concocted.

I'll start off with the concept of Thai cooking. It is all about the balance of the four S's of flavor: savory, sweet, sour, spice. Another thing for many of you who may not be familiar with Asian cooking, not all Asian dishes are seasoned the same. I think I'm about to go off on a food tangent, hope you don't mind :).

Stepping onto my soap box: I am absolutely irritated when people generalize that Panda Express is real Chinese food. It isn't. It is America's version of Chinese food. Also, eating Chinese food is not the same as eating Japanese, Korean, Thai or any other Asian province food. For those of you who just aren't well versed in knowing the differences, at least admit you don't know and inquire. Worst of all, don't assume it's just labeled "Chinese food" just because it's Asian like. Stepping down from my soap box now :).

After many attempts at various Asian dishes, I have learned the basic differences between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Thai/Vietnamese cooking. There are also many similarities as well.
Key ingredients/methods are what differentiate the Asian food world. Chinese stir-fry dishes, for example, tend to use seasonings like oyster sauce, plum sauce, soy sauce, hoisen sauce, black bean sauce, garlic, ginger, rice wine or sherry and, but not limited to sesame oil. Depending on the province in a China, some of the dishes are known to be spicy.  Stir-frying is a method for high heat, quick cooking, normally done in a seasoned woke. This method is great for quick dinner meals. Other Chinese cooking methods include deep frying, steaming and pickling.  Japanese cooking involves a general set of these seasonings/sauces: dashi (a fish based stock), miso (fermented soy bean paste),  sesame oil, soy sauce, saki, ginger, garlic. Korean dishes share similar seasonings, but also involves the use of spicy chili peppers more often than in Japanese cooking. Typical seasonings: soy sauce, sesame oil, fermented soy chili paste, ginger, garlic and, but not limited to chili peppers.

And lastly but not least, the Vietnamese/Thai cuisine. I'm generalizing both these southeast Asian cuisines for brevity sake. The biggest difference in this region of cooking versus the previously said cuisines, is the use of curries, coconut milk, lime, cilantro, basil and fish sauce. The balance of sweet, sour and savory encapsulated into one dish is what makes this region unique. Dark soy sauce is also used as well as oyster sauce and plum sauce as  condiments to Vietnamese soups like Pho.

As a disclaimer, I'm by no means an expert in any of these cultures. My hopes in explaining very basic differences in the cuisines, are to broaden one's culture cuisine knowledge and hopefully encourage those to explore and experiment with new ingredients.

So you'll notice the picture to the right. I call this dish, "Asia Meets America" hot dogs. We always buy Hebrew National Kosher all beef hot dogs by the way. Anyways, the combination of ingredients may be a bit...radical? Regardless, flavor balance was well met. First, I wrapped each hot dog in center cut bacon (the lowest fat bacon cut) and then grilled them. Meanwhile, I mixed  Siracha chili garlic paste and mayo together (Siracha hot sauce has become popular over the past few years, some call is "cock sauce" because it has a picture of rooster. It is found commonly in the Asian isles of grocery stores and Asian restaurants). After hot dogs were cooked, I spread the garlic chili mayo on the buns, placed the hot dogs on top, then added the not-so-typical ingredients: Kimchee (a Korean style of spicy pickled cabbage), slices of avocado and cilantro. The acidity of the kimchee balanced out the fattiness of the bacon. The avocado added another mild dimension of flavor and balanced out the use of kimchee. As for the cilantro, yet another level of flavor that completed the dish. Did you know that the dislike or LOVE of cilantro is genetic? Fortunately, my husband and I both love cilantro.

The eclectic hot dog dish was then paired with some sweet potato fries. Give it a try if you want a break from the typical ketchup, mustard and relish toppings. I dare you!

Cheers to crazy hot dogs!