Hotteok
A chewy yeast pancake with a pocket of brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts that turns into syrup as it fries: a hugely popular winter street snack in Korea. In Welcome to Waikiki 2, a hotteok stall is where Woo-sik and Soo-yeon finally kiss. About 110 minutes for 8, most of it waiting for the dough to rise.
- Time
- 110 min
- Level
- Medium
- Spice
- Serves
- 8 hotteok
What is Hotteok?
WHAT IT IS
Hotteok is a flat, chewy yeast-dough pancake with a pocket of brown sugar and cinnamon, pressed down on an oiled griddle until the filling melts into syrup.
WHERE IT COMES FROM
Chinese merchants brought it to Korea after an 1882 trade agreement between Joseon and Qing China, and by 1930 there were more than 1,100 Chinese-run hotteok shops across the country, baking it in clay ovens. The pan-fried, brown-sugar version sold on the street today is a Koreanized form that spread from the 1970s, when cooking oil became mass-produced. Busan's seed hotteok, stuffed with nuts, is said to have started on the streets of Nampo-dong in the 1980s.
Sources:Encyclopedia of Korean CultureEncyclopedia of Korean Folk CultureEncyclopedia of Korean Culture (Busan seed hotteok)
Ingredients
재료Each Korean item has a substitute, in case you can’t get to a store.
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- 2 cupsAll-purpose or bread flour 밀가루In your pantry
- ½ cupSweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour) 찹쌀가루
Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour · 16 oz × 2
Substitute: It makes hotteok soft and chewy. Japanese mochiko, like the one we link to, is glutinous rice flour just like Korean chapssal-garu. No sweet rice flour? Korean Bapsang says all-purpose or bread flour alone works.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US - 2¼ tsp (1 packet)Active dry or instant yeast 이스트
Substitute: With instant yeast, skip step 1 and the ¼ cup warm water and sugar that go with it.
In your pantry - 1–1¼ cups, warmMilk 우유
Substitute: Water works too, but milk adds flavor. Korean Bapsang sometimes uses almond milk for a vegan batch.
Any grocer - ½ cupLight brown sugar (or ¼ cup each white and dark brown sugar) 황설탕In your pantry
- 5 tbsp, choppedRoasted seeds and nuts 견과류·씨앗
Substitute: Use any mix you like. Busan's seed hotteok (ssiat hotteok) is known for peanuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds and walnuts.
Any grocer - 1 tbsp, plus more for fryingCooking oil 식용유In your pantry
- 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt for the dough (plus 1 tsp sugar for active dry yeast); 1 tsp ground cinnamon for the fillingIn your pantry
- 1 box (optional)Hotteok mix, for a shortcut 호떡 믹스
CJ Beksul Hotteok Mix (Sweet) · 400 g × 2
Substitute: Follow the directions on the box. The listing says one 400 g box makes about 8 hotteok and the dough rises in about 5 minutes.
Check price on Amazon Amazon US
Method
만드는 법Sources we compared:Korean BapsangBeyond KimcheeKimchimari
- 1
Wake up the yeast
Skip this step if you're using instant yeast. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water, 100–110°F (38–43°C), into a warmed bowl, stir in 1 tsp sugar and the yeast, and leave it for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
- 2
Make the dough
Sift 2 cups flour, ½ cup sweet rice flour, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture (or the instant yeast), 1 tbsp oil and 1 cup warm milk, then more milk a little at a time, up to 1¼ cups. Knead until smooth: the dough should be sticky and stretch when you pull it.
The longer you knead, the chewier the hotteok. A stand mixer with a dough hook makes this sticky job easier.
- 3
Let it rise, and mix the filling
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it somewhere warm until the dough doubles, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, chop the nuts and mix them with ½ cup light brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Knock the dough down, shape it back into a round and let it rise again for 20–30 minutes.
After the second rise, the dough can wait for hours until you're ready to cook.
- 4
Fill and seal
Oil your hands. Tear off enough dough to make a ball about 2½ inches (6 cm) across, flatten it into a thick disk with a shallow well in the middle and add about 1½ tbsp filling. Gather the edges over the filling and pinch them firmly to seal. Repeat to make 8.
Seal them well and don't stretch the dough too thin. If it tears, the melted sugar leaks out into the pan.
- 5
Fry and press flat
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat. Lay the hotteok in seam side down and cook for about a minute, then flip and press each one down with an oiled spatula to about ½ inch (1.5 cm) thick. Cook until golden on both sides, 1–2 minutes a side, turning the heat down if they brown before the sugar inside melts. Serve warm.
Careful with the first bite: the melted filling stays very hot. Leftovers freeze well; reheat them in a toaster or an air fryer.
Say it in Korean
한국어로 말해 보세요For a hotteok stall on a cold day.
Cookware you’ll need
조리 도구Any heavy pan or griddle works. This is the 12-inch nonstick pan we link to (for gas and electric stoves, not induction).
