super snacks

for the super bowl this year i decided to make a snack that i kind of imagined, hot dogs breaded in panko. i did some searching on the internet to see if anyone else had tried it and i found this. i wanted to do more of an appetizer so i decided to make what i call japanese hot dog bites. they're battered in a tempura-like mixture and breaded in japanese bread crumbs so i thought the name seemed pretty cute. if you follow that link and get the recipe you should know that the amount of batter that comes from that recipe is a lot more than you need for just 4 hot dogs. i made, in total, 14 hot dogs and still ended up throwing a fair amount of batter away when i was finished.

i used hebrew national kosher hot dogs which come, oddly, 7 per package. i cut each one in half, then in half again giving me 56 "bites" to work with. i stuck a toothpick lengthwise into each bite, dipped it in batter, then rolled it in the bread crumbs. then i basically flash-fried them in canola oil. the recipe i linked to said to fry them for 3-5 minutes but that's a lot longer than i fried mine. i think one of the reasons this whole experiment worked so well is because i was frying something that was already cooked. it's a lot harder to get a good fry from a raw piece of meat, i think, because you have to make sure it's done inside and sometimes that causes the outside to be too crispy, burnt, or tough. when they were done they almost looked like tater tots on a stick.

the part i was most nervous about was reheating them. i made them a few hours before the super bowl party and i was worried that they would become super soggy and not taste as good. i put them in the oven at 350 for probably 5-10 minutes as soon as i arrived at my friends' house and they reheated rather nicely.

i made a couple of dipping sauces for them as well. i did a wasabi mayonaise that was just mayonaise and some wasabi powder. then i did a soy mustard that was, you guessed it, just yellow mustard and soy sauce. everyone seemed to really like the bites and the condiments so yay! and the ultimate a+ for me came when one of my vegan friends couldn't resist it any longer and ate one. earlier in the day i thought that 56 bites was going to be too many but after just a few minutes at the party i realized i should have used that third package of hot dogs after all. this is definitely something i'll be making again. it was pretty easy and the result was definitely worth the time that it took to make them. top chef: just condiments or top chef: just hors d'oeuvres, here i come!

i should apologize now for not having any pictures of the hot dog bites. just this morning i was telling my sister how it bothers me when people post recipes online but they don't include a picture. i'm a very visual person and i just want to know what a dish is supposed to look like. somehow i managed to totally forget to take pictures today but, like i said, just know that if you make them the way i did they will look a lot like tater tots. that's a good visual guide, right?