This delicious and simple-looking snack is such a classic and beloved street food, we had to include it in this book. With this recipe, you will finally be able to create a plant-based version from scratch. Made with our homemade seitan sausages and crispy corn batter, these corn dogs taste just as good as the ones you’d get at a fair.
Ingredients
For Seitan Sausages
- ½ tablespoon canola oil
- ½ large white onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ cup (40 g) chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) sparkling water
- ¾ cup (90 g) vital wheat gluten
For Corn Batter
- ½ cup (90 g) fine cornmeal
- ½ cup (80 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk, e.g., rice milk
- oil for frying
How to Make It
- In a large pan with canola oil, sauté the chopped onion and garlic until soft. Add the cumin and fennel seeds and cook further until the spices are toasted.
- In a food processor, add the chickpeas, onion-garlic-spice mixture, tomato paste, salt, thyme, smoked paprika, soy sauce, and sparkling water. Pulse until saucy, then add the vital wheat gluten and pulse again until it comes together in a ball.
- Add a steaming basket to a large pot and fill with a couple of inches of water. Bring the water to a boil.
- Divide the seitan into 4 equal chunks. Roll and press the seitan into a sausage shape. Roll each sausage in parchment paper and aluminum foil. Twist the ends so that the seitan is completely closed off. Add the seitan sausages into the steaming basket and let them steam for about 40 minutes, flipping them after 20 minutes.
- Let them cool off a bit before removing the aluminum foil and parchment paper.
- Cut each sausage into 3 equal parts and stick a popsicle stick (or similar stick like a cake pop stick) into each piece. For Corn Batter
- Combine all the dry ingredients, then add in the plant-based milk and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Fill the batter into a tall glass.
- Heat the frying oil in a pot or deep fryer. Dip each sausage piece into the corn batter (you might have to add more flour if it’s too runny or more milk if it’s too thick) and then carefully fry the corn dogs (work in batches) for 2 to 3 minutes until the corn batter is golden and crispy.
- Transfer the corn dogs to a kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
- Serve with ketchup or mustard.
