[Molly] I'm globetrotting with dinner
and fixing up some of my favorite Korean-inspired foods.
Can I get a hot diggity dog?
[Molly] Like my sweet and spicy
thick gochujang meatloaf sandwiches
with tangy pickled cucumbers.
It's so good. It doesn't even make sense.
Oh-so-satisfyingly cheesy Korean corndogs...
...and their perfectly baked best friend, spicy blizzard fries.
Whoa.
And to cap off the meal right,
my sweet orange bars with a rich sesame crust are to live for.
Look at these beauties.
Hey, this is me, Molly Yeh.
This is my husband, Nick.
This is our growing family.
And this is our farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border,
the place where I eat, sleep, and breathe food.
Korean food is one of my all-time favorite cuisines.
I love it so much.
And since I don't even wanna think about bringing two toddlers
on a 14 hour flight right now,
I'm whipping up a Korean-inspired feast right here on the farm.
For dessert, I am making my orange bars with toasted sesame crust.
They've got a buttery, nutty base and a citrusy custard filling.
They're a twist on the traditional lemon bar,
and an ode to my love of all things sesame and Korean desserts.
To get started on my crust,
I'll combine my dry ingredients in my food processor.
One and three-quarters of a cup of all-purpose flour,
half a cup of sugar,
and a quarter cup of cornstarch
which will help yield a tender crust.
This is essentially a shortbread
jazzed up with toasted sesame and mandarin zest.
A couple of good pinches of salt,
and then two teaspoons of orange zest.
Now, I'm using mandarin oranges.
We always have them around because the girls eat, like, six of them each a day.
I particularly love them because they're extra sweet.
Bars in the Midwest are a major food group,
so this is my slightly subtler version of a lemon bar.
The orange cuts down on the tartness.
And if you say the words "toasted sesame crust" all next to each other
I am sold.
I'll get this on to my processor and pulse just to combine.
This is one cup of cold unsalted butter cut into cubes,
so that I can incorporate evenly.
I'll scatter this in.
It's really important that this butter stays as cold as possible,
so you get as tender of a crust as possible.
I'll get the lid back on and then continue on pulsing to incorporate the butter.
And then once it starts to form larger clumps
that's how I know it's just about ready.
So, now that the butter is incorporated with the dry ingredients,
it's starting to clump up.
And it still looks crumbly in my food processor,
but if you grab a handful of it and squeeze it together
it'll stick into a dough.
Smelling delicious already.
I'll eyeball in a quarter cup of toasted sesame seeds.
Sesame and orange together is a match made in dessert bar heaven.
I'll give this just a couple of more pulses
to incorporate the sesame seeds.
I don't want to break them up too much.
Looks beautiful.
I've got a 9-by-13 pan
that's greased and lined on the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
I like to add these little wings which is gonna make it easier
to lift them out of the pan when they're done baking.
I'll pile this in.
I'll press the crust all over the bottom.
It'll be a thin layer and a delicious base for the orange custard.
I'll make sure to go all the way to the corners
and get it as evenly packed down as I can.
I mean, no offense to basic lemon bars but whoa.
This is ready to bake.
I'll bake it at 350 degrees for about 23 minutes
until it's golden around the edges.
And in that time I'll make the filling.
This filling is citrusy and custardy.
And it all comes together right in the food processor, just like the crust did.
How convenient.
I've got six whole eggs already in here,
and I'm zesting in two teaspoons of mandarin zest.
What I love about a custard-based bar like this
is that it is really satisfying
without being overly rich and heavy.
It's really an ideal vehicle for a citrus flavor.
One and a half cups of sugar
and then I'll blend this up until it's combined and creamy.
And then the zest will kind of break down
and infuse the sugar with all of its flavor.
Great.
Now that it's smooth,
I'll sprinkle in six tablespoons of all-purpose flour
which will help the crust stay together
in a nice cohesive texture,
and it'll also help it firm up.
A bit of kosher salt to bring out this beautiful mandarin flavor.
I'll blend that.
And I'll process three-quarters of a cup of mandarin juice,
and then a quarter cup of lemon juice
so it's a nice balance of sweet and tart.
And that's it for the filling.
It's nice and smooth and smells delightful.
Let me get the crust out of the oven.
I'm smelling that toasted sesame.
Mmm.
[sniffs] Those are the golden brown edges that I'm looking for,
and I can still see those flecks of orange and sesame.
I'll pour this right on top.
Just flood it with deliciousness.
Back into the oven it goes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until it's just set.
And then I'll let it cool,
firm it up in the refrigerator,
dust with powdered sugar, and slice into bars.
I'm really excited. I am gonna chomp these.
Look at all those layers.
I've got to take a bite.
Mmm.
Those are really delicious.
That buttery sesame crust and that creamy citrusy filling,
they come together in this center
and get a little chewy.
Orange you glad these bars exist?
I am.
Coming up, a Midwest favorite gets some super tasty Korean vibes.
One bite and you'll be hooked.
[purrs]
For a Korean-inspired main dish,
I am making my gochujang meatloaf sandwiches.
They are juicy, and flavorful, and everything you want in a sandwich.
Thick slabs of sweet and spicy meat
between two fluffy slices of white bread.
It is an epic mashup of classic American comfort and Korean flavors
that I am here for.
To start, I'll soften my aromatics in a skillet.
I've got one heating over medium heat.
Drizzle of neutral oil.
And I'll add an onion.
I'm softening the onion before adding it to the meat mixture,
it'll give you a better texture and draw out more flavor.
A pinch of kosher salt.
I feel like there is this synergy
between Korean food and Midwest food
that hasn't fully been put out into the universe.
But, I mean, between gochujang,
how well it goes with ketchup and all of the delicious beef dishes in Korean food,
I feel like I could be the president
of the Korean food and Grand Forks fan club.
My onions are soft. I'll add in some sliced scallions.
This will add such great freshness.
And then some garlic
and ginger for that zinginess.
This trifecta of ginger, garlic, and scallions is just delicious.
It always reminds me of pot sticker filling.
I'll cook this for another minute
until I can start smelling everything really well.
This meatloaf has become a staple. I love to make it on a Sunday.
When I can have leftovers on a Monday.
Really cuts down on a case of the Mondays.
I am smelling that garlic and ginger.
I'll remove it from the heat.
And then drizzle in a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil.
Just rounds everything out.
And then set this aside to cool while I mix up my meaty ingredients.
I've got my meat in this bowl,
one and a half pounds of ground beef and a pound of ground pork.
And I like using a combination with my meatloafs,
so you get more depth of flavor.
And this is also a nice level of fattiness.
I'll beat a couple of eggs which will help bind it together.
One cup of Panko breadcrumbs
which will help yield a softer, moist texture.
A quarter cup of milk, the breadcrumbs will absorb the milk.
And then ketchup.
This is what makes a meatloaf a meatloaf.
It's sweet and vinegary and so very good.
And now three tablespoons of gochujang
which is a staple in Korean cooking.
And it is a red pepper paste that it made of gochugaru
which is a Korean red pepper that isn't too spicy, it's a little bit sweet.
And then there's also fermented soy bean in here.
So you get just wild and crazy amounts of depth of flavor
and it is truly delicious.
Especially with ketchup.
I can find it at my local grocery store,
so if I can find it so can you.
You can also order it online.
One and a half teaspoons of kosher salt.
Then my aromatics.
Which have cooled slightly by now, so I won't burn my hands when I get in here.
This is one taste bowl of meat.
I've got my loaf pan here
that is lined on the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
I'm all setup.
This is really the most efficient way to mix up your meatloaf.
I'm doing my best not to overmix this and overwork it.
Okay.
Transfer it to the loaf pan.
It'll make enough for a good two and a half meals.
We wanna get it as evenly distributed as possible.
This'll go in the oven now at 350 degrees for 45 minutes,
and then it'll be ready for its glaze.
I'm getting hungry.
A meatloaf without a glaze is just wrong in the world.
This glaze has some gochujang in it and its lover ketchup, three tablespoons of ketchup.
Make it shiny and sweet.
A tablespoon of gochujang.
A tablespoon of brown sugar.
Which will caramelize on top and give you that sticky top of the meatloaf
that is signature.
And then a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce.
I'll whisk it up.
And then get the meatloaf out.
Ah, I really wanna eat it.
But it's not cooked yet.
It still needs its glaze.
I'll brush this on lavishly.
So, in the oven this sugar will caramelize
and this'll get shiny and a little sticky.
Just add way more flavor.
I mean, of course, I'm gonna be adding more ketchup
and gochujang once I get it into the sandwiches.
But this gives it a head start.
And then last touch, a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Back into the oven it goes for another 45 minutes.
So long, but so worth it.
Until the internal temperature is 160 degrees.
And then in that time I'll make a quick pickle for my sandwiches.
Uh, yum!
It's just cucumbers, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
More gochujang, sesame seeds, and oil.
And whisk, whisk, whisk. And quick pickle!
I loaf this loaf.
It smells so good.
It looks like a loaf cake with ketchup glaze on it.
It's cooled slight which will help me get clean cuts for my sandwiches.
I've got my bread, white Pullman bread which is soft and fluffy.
And perfectly square.
Geometry is important in this house.
To build, I'll spread on some gochujang.
Little bit goes a long way, so I'll do a thin layer on each slice.
And you gotta go crust to crust so you get some in every bite.
On one slice I'll squiggle some ketchup.
I like an extra saucy meatloaf sandwich.
And then some Japanese mayo on the other slice,
and by some I mean a lot.
I'll slice into this bad boy.
Don't hold back with the thickness.
Just go for it.
And then pile on some of my pickles.
And they add the perfect bright, crunchy, acidic counterpoint
to the hearty meatloaf.
Sandwich on the hat.
Give it a smash, so that everything can come together.
Dun-dun-dun-dun!
[angelic singing]
Look at those layers.
I think it's a really great ratios of meat, to bread, to pickles.
I've waited this long, I'm going for it.
Mmm! It's so good it doesn't even make sense.
And those bright pickles bring it all home.
What more could you want in a sandwich? Nothing.
Next, everything you've ever wanted on a stick.
It's beefy, it's cheesy, it's deep-fried, and it's delicious.
I'm not sure if you're up on the latest corndog news,
but Korean corndogs are the new top dog in town.
These are 50% hotdog, 50% cheese,
and 100% delicious.
They truly are mind-blowing.
One thing that makes a Korean corndog unique
is the fact that it's not only hotdogs in the middle.
Sometimes it's cheese, sometimes it's fishcakes, sometimes it's sausage.
I am skewering half all-beef hotdogs, half mozzarella sticks,
so you get the melty, ooey-gooeyness of the mozzarella cheese.
And snappy hotdogs in a deep-fried shell,
can I get a hot diggity dog?
Next, I'll make the batter.
This is a thick, slightly sweet batter.
I'll combine three-quarters of a cup of all-purpose flour
with half a cup of rice flour, which contributes a chewy texture.
A couple of tablespoons of sugar.
Gotta have that sweetness in a corndog.
Three-quarters of a teaspoon of baking powder.
And that'll help the coating puff up and make it smooth,
and give it that signature corndog shape.
And a teaspoon of kosher salt. I'll whisk this together.
Right. That's it for the dry ingredients.
Half a cup of seltzer will help bring the batter together
and then also contribute airiness.
And then an egg.
We'll whisk this into a smooth, thick batter.
'Kay, the batter's done.
The easiest way to dip a corndog into batter
is to put the batter into a tall, skinny glass, like this.
And that way you can get full coverage.
And then unlikely traditional American corndogs
where you just dunk them in the batter,
Korean corndogs are both dunked in batter
and then rolled in some sort of crunchy, delicious coating.
Whether it's ramen noodles, or French fries.
I'm going with Panko breadcrumbs
because I love the coverage that you get with breadcrumbs.
Now to coat these.
I'll take a corndog,
and then some all-purpose flour
will help the batter stick onto the hotdogs and cheese.
And now dip it in the batter. Whoop.
It seems like a thin coating of batter at this point,
but once it hits the fryer, it'll puff up.
And then I'll roll this around in the Panko for an extra crispy crust.
Looks great already.
I'll keep on dunking.
The first time I had a Korean corndog
was when my friend, Hayden, made one for me.
And it looked like a corndog, it smelled like a corndog,
but then I bit into it expecting just a hotdog.
And what I got was both a hotdog and a cheese pull.
And I was like... [mimicking explosion]
I have died and gone to corndog heaven.
Looking good, I'm ready to fry.
I have a few inches of neutral oil heating to 350 degrees here.
I'll fry these for a few minutes, flipping occasionally,
until they're golden brown all over.
And I have one more.
They're already starting to puff up.
I like to fry in cast iron because anytime you're deep frying
when you add the thing you're deep frying, it'll drop the heat of the oil a bit.
But with cast iron, you're able to maintain as much of that as you can.
How beautiful is she?
That's what I want all of them to look like.
I'll transfer this to a wire rack,
so that any excess oil can drip off.
These look good in the neighborhood.
And then, while they're still hot, sprinkle with some salt.
And, this is another thing I love about Korean corndogs,
I'm gonna sprinkle with some sugar. That extra bit of sweetness.
That is a good-looking corndog.
I'll fry up the rest.
And then eat them?
The only things these need are some ketchup, and mustard, and my mouth.
Whoa!
Here I go.
Mmm. [chuckling]
So cheesy and melty. And that crust is crunchy and chewy.
Woof! And you say old dogs couldn't learn new tricks.
Still to come,
the secret sauce that takes my blizzard fires to level 10.
Yes, they're that flavorful.
My Korean corndogs called
and they said they'd be really sad
if I didn't make fries to go with them.
So I am making my spicy blizzard fries.
Which are loosely inspired by the Korean tornado potato.
But with a chilly Grand Forks weather spin.
They're golden, crispy fries topped with a spicy jalapeno mayo.
And a storm of other toppings.
Okay, get started.
I've got two pounds of store-bought curly fries.
And I'll get them out on my tray.
Lotta fries. Just enough for me.
I'll spread these out and then bake at 425 degrees
for 30 minutes until they're super-duper crispy.
And while those bake, I'll make my spicy mayo.
I'll start with half a cup of Japanese mayonnaise.
Which I love because it's just so rich and sweet.
The zest and juice of half a lime.
Fries are perfect on their own,
but they're even more perfect when they've got some brightness,
and acidity, as well as some creaminess.
So this sauce has it all. This'll help make it drizzly.
I'll grate in a garlic clove with my fine zester.
I like doing this for a sauce because it helps distribute the garlic evenly.
And then a couple tablespoons of pickled jalapenos.
They add great flavor to the sauce.
I'll finely chop these.
So, Korean tornado potato has the best name ever.
It is another street food that is on a stick
and it's a spiral cut potato.
So, that's why I'm using curly fries.
I'm not going, like, full on tradition with the toppings.
Because these are also loosely inspired by hurricane fries
which I feel in love with in Hawaii.
And figured since I live in blizzard territory
I'm not gonna call them tornado potatoes,
I'm not gonna call them hurricane fries,
I'm going with blizzard fries.
I'll mix it up, sauce is done.
I'll check on my fries.
Mmm! They're looking really crispy.
And ready for their... Oh, what was that?
[wind blowing] I think it's a blizzard warning.
I'm ready to add a blizzard of toppings.
Starting with some hoisin sauce,
which is salty, a little sweet.
Just so flavorful.
Little spicy mayo.
I like the contrast of all the different colors of sauces.
Sriracha. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
And that's all the sauces.
Now Furikake, which is a Japanese rice seasoning blend
that typically consists of nori, sesame seeds, salt, and sugar.
And I just love this stuff!
And some Arare, which are crunchy rice crackers.
Which I'll crush with my hand and sprinkle on top.
And this is another nod to hurricane fries.
Cloudy with a chance of Arare.
And lastly, the scallions.
That is a really pretty pan of fries. I'm into this.
Now the best curly fries
are the ones with very tight curls.
So, I'm going to hunt a couple of those down.
Here's one. Oh, yeah!
Mmm! It's a blizzard of flavor.
Got the sweet hoisin, the spicy siracha, and the spicy mayo.
I am blown away.
Let's eat!