Many Koreans buy this delicious warm street food snack in the wintertime. The hotteok vendor shapes the dough, presses the pancake down on the griddle, and fries it. It doesn’t take long, but the anticipation of eating the piping-hot pancake in the cold can make the delay seem endless. And once the pancake is ready, you have to wait a little longer for the hot sugar to cool down enough so you can eat it without burning your tongue. At home, you can use less oil and be more generous with filling ingredients like peanuts or walnuts than the street vendors. But you must still eat the pancakes immediately after making them, since they will be heavy and tough if allowed to cool. When I first posted a version of this recipe online, I was surprised at how quickly it became popular. I was happy to hear how some of my readers got creative with the pancakes, filling them with Nutella or omitting the sugar in the filling and making savory versions with meat or cheese. See the photos.
Make: 8 to 10 hotteok; serves 4 to 8
INGREDIENTS:
DOUGH:
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
FILLING:
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or unsalted peanuts
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Make the dough: Combine the water, sugar, yeast, salt, and vegetable oil in a medium bowl and stir well to dissolve the yeast. Stir in the flour and knead the dough in the bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the dough doubles in volume, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Make the filling: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes to deflate the gas bubbles and make it smooth. Re-cover with the plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Assemble and cook the pancakes: Knead the dough in the bowl again to deflate all the gas bubbles, about 5 minutes. Dust a large cutting board with the ⅓ cup flour. Transfer the dough to the board and shape it into a ball. With floured hands (the dough will be sticky), divide the dough into 8 to 10 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball. Cover the balls with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
- Heat a 10-to 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl the skillet to coat it evenly. Flour your hands, flatten one ball of dough, and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center. Gather the edges together and pinch to seal.
- Place the hotteok in the skillet, sealed side down. Repeat with another ball of dough and filling and place in the skillet. When the bottoms turn light golden brown, about 2 minutes, turn the hotteok over and press each one down with a spatula to make a thin 4-inch disk. Cook for 1 minute and turn again. Press down with the spatula. Cover the skillet, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until the hotteok are puffy and the brown sugar inside has melted into syrup, 2 to 3 minutes—you will see the brown syrup through the dough.
- Transfer the first hotteok to an individual plate and serve. About 30 seconds later, transfer the second hotteok to another individual plate and serve. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, using more vegetable oil as needed.
