Editor’s note: the attached video was created as a submission for the FSPA Spring Digital Quick Turn Cooking Challenge. 

The Florida State Fair is right around the corner. That means stomach-churning rides, thirst-quenching lemonade and an American classic: corn dogs. The Fair has a knack for frying every kind of solid food out there. From the classics like corndogs and funnel cake to more questionable ones like Oreos and ice cream, the logic goes as follows: if you can hold it, you can fry it. Even the after-school snack essential, macaroni and cheese, has been tossed in the deep fryer.

Alas, America has some competition in the deep frying arena. Korean street vendors have taken a spin on the corndog with their own version, adding a cheesy touch. The Korean version still has the hotdog component but also jams a mozzarella cheese stick on the end of the skewer before coating it in batter and panko and deep frying. It’s sprinkled with sugar and drizzled with ketchup, mustard and/or any other condiment before being served. With the mozzarella, one bite from this crunchy finger snack leads to a satisfying cheese pull.

So we did what America does best: take recipes from around the world and add our own patriotic touch. This recipe takes the advancements of the Korean corndog recipe and replaces the mozzarella with mac & cheese. For an extra kick, gochujang was added to the cheese sauce for the macaroni. Gochujang is a chili paste condiment popularly used in Korean cuisine and adds an extra kick to something classic.

While standing under the beating hot sun waiting in line for a corndog is part of the State Fair experience, bring the Fair fun home any time of the year with these Korean Street Food-inspired corndogs.

Ingredients

• one box of preferred store-bought macaroni and cheese
• 3/4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup of half & half
• 2-3 tbsp of gochujang
• four hot dogs
• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 2 tbsps of sugar (and extra for topping)
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 3/4 cup of milk
• one large egg
• panko bread crumbs
• 2-4 cups of neutral oil
• condiments to top (e.g. ketchup, mustard, spicy mayo)