Cycle 15 – Item 126

10 (Fri) May 2024

“American Style Hot Dog”

1.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

solo

Shopping for groceries at E-Mart recently, I was intrigued to encounter an item by German food producer Meica: Trueman’s American Style Hot Dog.  The discovery seemed unusual for several reasons: a) mainstream grocery stores in Korea rarely if ever carry imported items from Germany (other than beer); b) why would a German company, famous for producing German sausages, make “American Style Hot Dogs”?; c) the sausages came in a jar, only halfway filled with liquid.

Although I tried to make it into my favorite version of an American hotdog – slicing the sausage lengthwise in half and searing it in a pan, topping it with sauerkraut + mustard – the meat was unforgivably bland.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)