A Tale of Kim Chi and Hot Dogs

Made a discovery tonight, and it gets the approval of my 13 year old step-daughter: kim chi on a hot dog.

I am not a big hot dog fan, though every now and then they're okay. And my step-daughter and my 3 year old son like them, so every now and then we have chicken or turkey hot dogs. Hell, they're easy and the kids love them.

So I am always trying to find stuff to put on them to make them better, and of course that's half the fun of hot dogs. Good mustard of different kinds. Sauerkraut. Relish made from good sour pickles. Cheese (for real hard arteries). Onion. Etc. It's all good, though under it all it is still a hot dog.

This week I got some kim chi. I like kim chi, the hotter the better. You can't go wrong with pickled vegetables made red with hot chilies. But he kind I got was a milder version. Doesn't have as much kick, but you can better taste the vegetables. My intention was (and is) to make an Asian noodle dish with kim chi and udon. We'll see how that works. My step-daughter is enamoured with all things Japan, so it appeals to her and is an interesting experiment from my point of view.

Well, as I was making my hot dogs, and getting out the usual paraphernalia (mustard, sour relish, saeurkraut...) it dawned on me that the kim chi would be perfect. Never come across the idea before, but man it worked. Might not be as good if it was the real spicy Korean kind, but the slighly spicy, slightly sour combination worked perfectly with the quasimeat that is a hot dog.

So for those who have reason to eat hot dogs but aren't quite satisfied with the usual toppings, take a look for some mild kim chi and give it a try. The brand we tried was a local thing called "Real Pickles Asian Style Kim Chi." Good stuff!

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