When I was visiting Ella in Korea, she wanted to show me as much as possible of the area around Busan and Masan. That meant a lot of time on the road, driving between places, pulling into viewpoints, and making frequent stops at highway rest areas along the way.
Korean rest areas are nothing like the sad gas station stops you might be used to from Europe or the US. They are clean, well organized, and full of food stalls selling everything from proper meals to snacks and drinks. It was at one of these stops that I had my first Korean hot dog.
Korean hot dogs are served on a stick and at first glance they look a bit like American corn dogs. The batter, however, is made with wheat flour, not cornmeal. It’s crispy on the outside and soft and slightly doughy on the inside, almost like a donut. The batter adds a lot of volume, making the hot dog much more filling than you’d expect.
Inside, you’ll usually find sausage and cheese, often split half and half, though there are plenty of variations. The hot dog is dusted with white sugar and then finished with ketchup, mustard, or both. Sweet, salty, and completely addictive.
To cool down, we also ordered iced ginseng lattes, which tasted surprisingly good in the heat. Ginseng has a very distinctive flavor that people tend to either love or hate. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but over the years I’ve grown to really like it.
Here is a video from the rest area outside Busan, where we had Korean hotdogs:
