Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
One aspect to my Korean Air flight from Seoul to Los Angeles was so quirky I thought it merited its own Meal of the Week shout-out: midnight, mid-flight corn dogs.
Corn Dogs On Korean Air
A corn dog is a wiener/hot dog/frank (pick your poison) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried.
It’s a popular American snack and whether because of the American presence during and after the Korean War or for other reasons, has also become very popular in South Korea, where it is a street food staple and most just call it a hot dog.
Imagine this. It’s the middle of the flight in the middle of the night. All of a sudden the bright lights come on and flight attendants appear handing out a corn dog to every passenger along with ketchup. It was served in a Korean Air-branded box and called an “original K-hotdog.”
Confession: I loved it…my goodness, I have not had one of these for years and it brought back happy childhood memories of eating these at school. But there is a very good reason I don’t eat heart disease on a stick anymore, though I was happy to make an exception for purposes of my flight review (or so I told myself).
If you didn’t read my mini-review of the flight yesterday, you’ll note this was just a midflight snack: there was a large meal served after takeoff and another before landing:
While I give Korean Air high marks overall for its transpacific service in economy class, waking everyone up in the middle of the night to serve a corn dog is probably not the wisest choice. Instead, I’d quietly go down the aisle with the lights off or at least turned down and offer it only to those who are awake…
And Malik claims service has gone downhill for KE
Jokes aside, you will not go hungry on KE.
I would be so mad if this happened. In economy, Delta FAs pass several times during the night offering glasses of water to passengers that are AWAKE. They don’t turn lights on and leave the ones sleeping alone. Snacks are placed in the back of the plane if someone is hungry mid flight. As for Delta One, they bake chocolate cookies mid-flight but only give to passengers that are awake.
Wait until you savor a Ramyeon-ttang Hot Dog (라면땅 핫도그.
I too got a corn dog as the “snack” in Asiana economy class from Seoul to Tokyo. Maybe corn dogs are the thing in South Korea?!
“It’s a popular American snack and whether because of the American presence during and after the Korean War or for other reasons, has also become very popular in South Korea, where it is a street food staple and most just call it a hot dog.”
This is essentially what our food tour guide told us. American soldiers during the Korean War would donate leftovers to the locals, and so a number of traditional American foods (fried chicken, corn dogs, etc.) became intertwined with Korean cuisine. Hence why stuff like chicken and beer is such a big thing. (Our guide did talk my brother and me into coming back during baseball season to enjoy fried chicken and beer during a KBO game.)
BTW, I agree, not cool that they woke everyone up. I’m one of those that tends to sleep very soundly, but once awake, can’t get back to sleep, so I’d have been mighty p*ssed.
Yeah but some foods like fired chicken already existed in places like Korea and Japan long before WWII, they just did it a different way. The post war era probably brought American style fried chicken to those places though for sure.
Personally, Japanese friend chicken is probably my favorite fried chicken in the world. But to each their own.
And SPAM. Big there, and Hawaii, and a few other places.
Korean Air actually used to offer instant noodles/cup noodles as a mid-flight snack. However they decide to switch to something that did not involve hot water, given the frequency of mid-air/clear turbulence. Corn-dogs are what they come up with, as a replacement to cup noodles.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/korean-air-cuts-hot-cup-noodles-economy-turbulence-rises-2024-08-01/
However while it is not the healthiest snack, it is better than cup noodles. I am actually surprised that they turned on the flights for this quick service. Maybe that’s why they gave you eye masks on the amenity kits in economy class. But I will rather they serve a mid-flight snack than nothing at all.
Was it the waking up part that you found quirky, or the fact that they served corn dogs, or both? I’d say the corn dog itself is no different than getting a reheated sandwich or pizza or wrap, but the waking up everyone for a snack part I will agree was really uncalled for.
First paragraph: “my Korean Air flight from Seoul to Incheon”?
Too bad flights to Haiti on several US carriers have ended due to gunfire. They could service, not hot dogs, but warmed dog and cats, particular on any Haiti to Ohio flights.
Still pushing that dogs and cats nonsense?
Those MAGA clowns definitely have fewer and fewer neurons.
“But there is a very good reason I don’t eat heart disease on a stick anymore”
While the oil certainly isn’t healthy, a “hot dog” needn’t be. “hot dogs” in Eastern Europe are very natural made with simple mixed ground meat, garlic, and herbs. When preservatives are added is the issue.
There’s an internet campaign against “seed oils” including sunflower seeds. Olive oil while healthier is difficult to fry with. I personally use bacon grease or leftover cooking grease heated to a high temperature for frying and find that aside from a little flavor, not much of it soaks in. The key is the oil has to be super hot.
I hope when you visited Ukraine you tried Chebureki. They ought to serve it on planes. A wonderful comfort food snack.
“Heart attack on a stick.” Give me a break, Matthew. It’s nice you’re healthy and aware of the dangers of food so many of us enjoy. I live in the Midwest, where most of us eat what we want and for some reason manage to live as long as you folks on the West Coast. I agree, it’s nuts they woke up everybody on an overnight flight to serve a snack, but please spare us the mini-lectures. Your posts are much more enjoyable when your nose isn’t pointed skyward.
I don’t force my views on anyone and for me age has always just been a number. My Midwest grandmothers lived to be 108 and 99…and ate whatever they wanted.
I just happen to enjoy eating healthy and want to age as well as as I can without extra body fat.