Korean Cheese Dogs & Mozzarella Balls
Hi everyone, I hope you guys have been keeping sane during this mess of a time. I think what you really should have in all of this…is multiple kinds of fried cheese. Of all the countries you can imagine, Korea is a surprising source for this! It’s true – they love their stretchy mozz.
Both of these may seem similar, but the mozzarella balls contain glutinous rice flour! As a result, the balls have a slightly denser and chewier crust with an almost mochi-like interior, while the cheese dogs are fluffier and softer inside!
Honestly, a lot of my mozzarella seeped out while frying these things because:
1) I overstuffed the dough balls like the glutton I am. Make sure to wrap the mozz cubes with plenty of dough, so that the corners of the mozz cubes aren’t begging to poke out of the dough. Because of my gluttony, the leaky cheese turned into a fried mozzarella crust around the balls.
2) My oil was not hot enough for the cheese dogs, so the batter split slightly and leaked some cheese out; make sure the oil is at 350-360F.
BUT they still taste great though and, arguably most importantly, had the signature cheese stretch!
In the usual late fashion, after I made these snacks, I watched a video of a Myungrang Hot Dog worker making their infamous cheese dogs and I realized…they made theirs with a thin DOUGH, not a batter like other places do. That’s why theirs are so thicc yet perfectly evenly shaped! They were dipping the dogs in like you would a batter, but started wrapping it around the cheese dog like an elastic dough.
Their method is definitely the superior one, because for this, batter has a bigger margin of error.
I also watched QT’s youtube video on making these and realized he mastered their method already and indeed used a yeasted dough. Super DOY moment.
Because I know this will haunt me for a while, I decided I’ll make special cheese dogs with *the dough method* for a Youtube video one day. Is it gonna be stuffed or coated with something weird? I don’t know yet, but this will definitely be revisited!
Watch the action in my Instagram story highlight as usual @pokethedough
Ingredients
For the Mozzarella Cheese Balls:
Makes 5 mozzarella balls
50g (1/3 cup) glutinous rice flour
12.5g (1-1/4 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1g (1/8 tsp) salt
7.5g (1/2 tbsp) sugar
0.25g (1/16 tsp) baking powder
7.5g (1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter
3-4 tbsp hot water
Enough low-moisture mozzarella (or cheese sticks) to cut into 5 small cubes
For the Cheese Dogs:
Makes 3-4 cheese dogs
1/2 cup & 1 tbsp all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 egg
6 tbsp cold milk
3 to 4 cheese sticks or low-moisture mozzarella cut into similar shape
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
frying oil
1/4 cup sugar
Condiments of choice, like spicy ketchup and honey mustard
Instructions
For the cheese balls:
In a bowl, whisk glutinous flour, all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder together well.
Add 2 tbsp of the hot water and mix with a spatula.
When it looks crumbly, add butter and mix with your hand, not kneading but squeezing together gently to combine.
Add the rest of the water and knead gently until it combines into a nice cohesive dough.
Rest the dough for about 30 min.
Cut the mozzarella cheese into small cubes.
Divide the dough into about big enough pieces to wrap around each mozzarella cube. Use plenty of dough so that the cubes are sufficiently covered; make sure none of the corners are almost peeking out.
Roll in your hands to form a smooth ball of dough.
Heat the oil to 320-340F and gently lower each one into the oil.
Fry for about 7-8min, until golden brown.
For the cheese dogs:
In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Make a little well in the flour mix and add egg and milk.
Mix everything together until smooth. Pour batter into a long glass and keep it in a fridge until ready to use.
Skewer cheese sticks onto bamboo or wooden skewers. Dust with flour and place in a freezer at least 5 minutes to 10 minutes.
IMPORTANT LESSON: Make sure the cheese is moist when you’re dusting, so that the flour sticks; this is important because the batter needs enough flour to grip on. Frying follows the same pattern: flour, then liquid (ex. egg, buttermilk, or batter), then a dry coating (either more flour or bread crumbs). Each step is crucial because each one relies on the former for grip.
It’s also very important to keep the batter and cheese cold, otherwise, the cheese will leak out to the oil. On the other hand, it’s also important that your oil is hot enough, 350-360F, so that the batter doesn’t split and cause the cheese to leak out.
Heat frying oil to 350°F in a deep skillet or cast iron (I reused the oil from the cheese balls). You only need enough oil to cover the cheese dogs halfway (around 1 inch).
Dip and coat skewered cheese sticks with the cold batter. Make sure that it’s completely covered in batter.
Quickly and lightly coat with panko bread crumbs and gently place into frying oil.
Fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oil; place on a cooling rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet.
Spread sugar on a small baking sheet or a large plate. Roll cheese corn dogs on sugar to evenly coat while it’s still hot.
Enjoy with condiments like ketchup and honey mustard.