General Tso’s Wiener
Wieners Gone Wild! – Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peeled and freshly grated ginger
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/8 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (chile-garlic sauce found in the Asian section of most grocery stores)
3 tablespoons raw or Demerara sugar
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
8 egg roll wrappers
8 hot dogs
4 cups peanut or vegetable oil (or enough to come 2 inches up the sides of your pot)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
In a separate bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy sauce, orange juice, cornstarch, sambal oelek, and raw sugar.
Add this mixture to the ginger-garlic mixture and bring to a boil. Stir until the sauce is thick and shiny. Remove the pan from the heat and cover it to keep it warm.
Put 1/2 teaspoon of mustard in a line down the center of each egg roll wrapper and place a hot dog on top. Roll the wrapper up like an egg roll, tucking the ends in to make a cylindrical package.
Heat the peanut oil to 375°F in a large, deep pot.
Fry the wieners a few at a time until they are brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Place the cooked wieners on a paper-towel lined plate to cool. When all the hot dogs are fried, pour the sauce over them and sprinkle them with chives.