Vegan Carrot Corn Dogs

Marinated carrots, dipped in a slightly sweet cornmeal batter and fried till crisp! 

I had heard about this whole "carrot as a hotdog" thing but honestly never gave it much thought. I really wasn't sure it would taste like anything more than, well....a carrot pretending to be a hotdog! But let me tell you, this is NOT the case. The carrot has just the right texture!! These little carrot corn dog bites are SO good and I am so pleasantly surprised by this carrot hot dog idea!!

You can use full sized carrots and make regular corn dogs, or use baby carrots and make mini ones like these!!  

Vegan Carrot Corn Dogs

(makes 24 mini or 8 regular sized)

24 baby carrots (or 8 medium sized carrots, peeled)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

2 dashes liquid smoke

Wooden skewers

Oil for frying

2 teaspoons ground flax seeds

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup non dairy milk

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little more for dusting)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar (you can use any sugar substitute you want; maple syrup, stevia, etc.)

2 teaspoons baking powder

Steam carrots for 5 minutes. You want them tender on the outside but still a little firm. You don't want mushy carrots for this!!

Mix together the vinegar, water, soy sauce, garlic, and liquid smoke. Marinate the carrots in this mixture for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight. Remove carrots, rinse, and pat dry. Insert a wooden skewer into each carrot. Set aside.

Pour frying oil into a large heavy bottomed pot. Heat oil to 375 degrees F.

Combine ground flax seeds, water and non dairy milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.

 

Combine corn meal, flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.

Dust each carrot with a little bit of flour. This helps the batter to stick. Dip each carrot into the batter, letting some of the excess drip off. Fry each corn dog till lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.