Ode to Asiadog

It all started with this dude.

And two days after reading that rad little tidbit, we were chowing down on some of the awesomest dogs ever (veg/pork alike) at a pal's cookout. Which was random, since we'd never been to her casa before, and I show up with like, 20 vials of assorted kimchees, relishes, pates, etc, cover her kitchen table, and go to work on Ode to Asiadogfest '11.

Crowd fav was the Sidney - "Thai style" dog with mango relish, jalapeno (optional - nerds), cuke, cilantro, peanuts, onions, umm... yeah there was a ton of stuff on that there weiner. It's the one in the middle.

Mine, however, had to be the Vinh - Bahn Mi dog. Hullllloooooo.

Best part, tho - I still have multiple kinds of stinky, glorious Kimchi aging in random places around my kitchen. Saurkraut ain't got nothing on this, it's spicier, hotter, prettier Cousin.

I know I'm running the risk of more angryangry putting a Kimchi recipe up - but this recipe is what I used (as a base) adding stuff as I saw fit - a little sesame oil, twice the pepper paste, more garlic, celery, etc. I had a half-head of red cabbage to use up, so one pickle was bright maroon - gorgeous. We did standard Napa:

And, a new one to me - Apple Kimchi, in a further attempt to replicate the Asiadog experience. Ain't the Tubes wonderful? I've never had a dog from that cart IRL but there were enough pics, convos, menus, etc available that we could do the Stinky Dog Stand justice. 

The Apple went atop a simple dog - the Ito - slathered with a paste made from S+B's boxed Golden Curry (watch out MSG haters- it's full of it). This was a close second for me - partly because I could take my time eating this dog (the Thai fell apart instantly, yay mango slaw).

I also ate two with nothing but Kimchi. They were fantastic. New fav topping for dogs this summer.

Anyways. NYCers, you're lucky. The rest of us have to make do.