Korean corn dogs have arrived in San Diego! Chung Chun Rice Dog opened this week, serving the trendy Korean street food.
What Are Korean Hot Dogs?
The popular Korean hot dog has been making its way over to the US these last few months. They are often referred to as Korean corn dogs because of their appearance and preparation, but they do not contain cornmeal.
Hot dogs and sausages are rolled in a sticky rice flour batter, coated in panko breadcrumbs and then deep fried. They are then finished with a dusting of sugar.
They come in several variations, including ones that have a potato coating or a crispy ramen noodle coating. They also offer a squid ink batter version. One of the most popular options is an all mozzarella version which does not have a hot dog, but is basically a really large fried mozzarella stick. This variation is especially popular because people love to show the super stretchy cheese pull on social media, especially in mukbang videos.
We visited a few times during their soft opening last week and there was a long line during each of our visits, even when we arrived early.
The hot dogs are made to order, ensuring your hot dogs are hot and crispy. After you get your hot dogs, the restaurant also has a variety of sauces to drizzle onto your hot dogs including mustard, ketchup, sweet chili, mango habanero, spicy mayo, honey mustard, and wasabi mayo.
After waiting about 30 minutes, we ordered each of the flavors available. Unfortunately, the potato version wasn’t available during my visits. It was the one I was most looking forward to trying, but I’ll be back another time to get it.
Squid Ink and Mozzarella
The squid ink version is the only one not coated in the classic rice flour batter. It is coated in a different separate rice flour batter stained with squid ink, which gives the batter a gray-black color. The bottom of the hot dog is also cut to resemble a squid.
This was one of my favorites because the squid ink added a little something different and I liked the combination of cheese and hot dog inside.
Ramen Noodle Chips
Instead of a panko coating, the hot dog is coated in ramen noodles creating an extra crispy finish. This was a fun presentation though I preferred the panko coating.
Volcano Hot Dog
This version features a spicy hot dog. I like spicy sausages/hot dogs so I really enjoyed this one too.
Mozzarella Cheese Hot Dog
This version contains no hot dog, it’s all mozzarella inside. The mozzarella is very hot and stretches quite a bit when you take a bite. If you love that stretchy cheese pull, this is one to try.
ChungChun Orginal Hot Dog
This is the classic version with just hot dog, rice flour batter and panko coating.
Overall, I really enjoyed these. This is my first time trying Korean hot dogs so I don’t have much to compare to but they tasted good. I normally don’t like the sweet and salty combination so I was worried when I saw them adding the sugar, but the combination really works. It makes the batter taste like a churro. The texture of the batter is also very unique, both fluffy and chewy from the rice flour.
We will definitely be back to get this treat again soon. We’re also looking forward to trying Myungrang Hot Dog, another Korean hot dog chain, which will be opening inside the new H Mart soon.
Menu:
Chung Chun Rice Dog
4619 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111
I can’t wait to try this place as well as the one in the new H Mart. Where did you park for this location – that plaza is horrific for parking. I can’t believe you ate 5 hot dogs since you’re so tiny!
I parked inside the plaza. Yes the parking lot sucks but I’m usually able to find parking.
I want to check this place out. I bet the amount of hype beasting is probably out of control here though.
The wait wasn’t too bad this past weekend. I think it helps that it’s now open all day and another Korean hot dog place opened inside HMart too