Chicago Dogs are a Windy City tradition and favorite of sports fans – particularly baseball fans. With their sweet relish, pickle spears, peppers, tomato, onion, mustard and (the key ingredient) celery salt, they go great with a cold beer and home team rally.
Baseball, of course, is now a mainstay of Japanese life and culture and – in honor of Japan’s players, fans and teams – BBRT would like to share our recipe for “Tokyo Dawgs,” a unique spin-off of the Chicago favorite. Here’s what you’ll need for a respectable batch of these delightful game-time treats. (I’ll note where the Tokyo Dawg, departs from its Chicago cousin.)
Ingredients:
– 4 hot dog buns – Preferably, bakery poppy seed buns, but you can make it work with traditional hot dog buns
– 4 all-beef hot dogs – BBRT prefers quarter-pound, skin-on franks; they have that nice “pop” when you bite into them.
– 4 spicy dill pickles spears – A change from the Chicago Dog regular dill spears; BBRT leans toward Gedney® Zingers.
– 8 ripe tomato wedges
– 1 finely chopped small white onion
– 8 sport peppers
– Yellow mustard
– Wasabi sauce – This replaces the sweet green relish in the Chicago Dog, adding the green color and more “bite.” BBRT suggests Kikkoman® or Silver Spring®.
– Celery salt
– Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Optional add-on.
– Cracker Jack – (A Tokyo Dawg add-on, not in the Chicago Dog recipe.
So how to you prepare these puppies?
Directions
- Heat hot dogs in boiling water for 5 minutes; then transfer to the poppy seed buns. (Note: If you can’t find poppy seed buns, you can make them. See the end of the recipe.)
- Place a spicy dill pickle spear on one side of each hot dog, balanced by a pair of tomato wedges on the other side.
- Sprinkle chopped onion (to your taste) over the hot dog – between the pickle and tomato wedges.
- Squeeze/squirt/spread yellow mustard over each hot dog … then do the same with the Wasabi sauce. (The amount and pattern should reflect your personal taste.)
- Top each hot dog with a pair of sport peppers.
- Sprinkle with celery salt.
- I like to add a bit of shredded cheddar, but that’s just a cheese-lovers option.
- Serve with Cracker Jack – The caramel corn sweetness is a nice compliment to the “heat” of the spicy pickles, peppers and Wasabi.
Note: If you can’t find poppy seed buns, try this.
– Use good bakery hot dog buns.
– Brush the outsides of the buns with melted butter (1/2 teaspoon per bun) and sprinkle lightly (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per bun) with poppy seeds.
– Bake inside-down for 4-5 minutes at 350 degrees – be careful not to over bake.
The hot and spicy Tokyo Dawg – great with a cold beer and a ball game.
