Chiravann

After I came into possession of a deep fryer (ty 5ever Joyce Emily and Debbie), it was only a matter of time before dumplings had to go in it. So it was serendipitous that shortly after (or before, timelines are fuzzy in my brain now), Chiravann told me a story about frozen corn dogs. Chiravann identifies as Khmer. I can't remember which probably-potluck event I  first met Chiravann at, but I remember lightly bothering Bo about it until it happened. Now I'm counting down the days before I can lightly bother Chee to go back to pole classes with me.

 

Chiravann used to spend after school days at grandma's before her mom got home from work, and grandma would prepare a frozen corn dog for little Chiravann while she watched 7th heaven or Jerry Springer. I know this life well - proudly raised on frozen Costco staples like corn dogs, hot pockets, and pot pies myself.

So Chiravann's dumplings had to be corn dogs and they had to be fried.

Grandma also used to give Chiravann some dollars as a reward for doing well in school, and those dollars would end up going to the liquor store...for 30 cent bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetohs. I regretted to inform everyone that though Joyce successfully got me a Costco sized bag of Cheetohs, I did not successfully remember to blend them into my corn meal wrappers *cries apologetically*.

Perhaps my black vinegar + spicy brown mustard + chili oil dipping sauce made up for some of it, but not all of it.

One of the first things I heard about Chee was that she used to room with Em and at one point made a veggie Thanksgiving dinner spread that was one of the best meals she's had. That's just a flattering way to explain why my corn dog filling is Field Roast veggie dogs that I blended with roasted peppers, garlic, chili, and some oil to bring it together.

So this time I took a short cut by purchasing plant-based veggie dogs, but if I were to repeat this recipe, I'd try to make my own veggie dog blend. Why? Because once it's ground up and reformulated, it doesn't quite have the same bouncy hot dog-y texture. What is a plant-based hot dog though? What is any plant based meat analog? Most are soy or wheat based, formulated and processed in different ways to give you tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, and seitan. Some analog products add other plant proteins that have an elastic or spongey texture to more closely mimic meat products. And things like hot dogs or sausages and patties are easier to mimic than the more complicated structures of things like steak. Some of us have been eating meat analogs for years without realizing that's what it was (think: mock duck mmmm). But we've definitely come a long way from gluten chunks in a can (honestly, so good). Now the gluten chunks change color when they're seared and are flavored with vegan animal flavors instead of just soy sauce.

Things I would do differently: maybe attempt a homemade veggie dog filling with wheat gluten, don't forget the Hot Cheetohs.

Chiravann's complete list:

hot cheetohs

corn dogs

lots of lychee

anything spicy

pc. mostly Joyce