Hotteok: Korean Sweet Pancake Recipe (호떡)
Crispy and sweet Hotteok filled with a nutty brown sugar syrup. This Korean sweet pancake recipe is authentic, made just like street food vendors in South Korea.
Equipment
- 1 hotteok presser, spatula or potato press*
- 1 large deep frying pan
Ingredients
For the pancake dough
- ¾ cup water, lukewarm (200 grams)
- ¼ cup milk, lukewarm * (50 grams)
- 1 packet instant dry yeast (7 grams)
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar (25 grams)
- ⅛ cup vegetable oil * (30 grams)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- ⅓ cup glutinous rice flour (60 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
For the brown sugar filling
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar * (50 grams)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (30 grams)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds, optional (30 grams)
Extra
- vegetable oil, for frying *
Instructions
Preparing the pancake dough
- In a large mixing bowl add lukewarm water, sugar and yeast. Mix well to dissolve, then set aside for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable oil, then sift in the all purpose flour, sweet rice flour and salt. Combine everything loosely with a spatula or wooden spoon. Only mix until the dough is combined, do not knead. Cover with plastic wrap, then let sit in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
- Fold over the dough with a spatula for a few minutes to deflate the air. The dough will be fairly sticky, but do not add extra flour. Cover once again and let proof for another 30-45 minutes.
- Prepare the filling by combining dark brown sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Mix well and set aside.
- Add a little vegetable oil on your hands to prevent the dough from sticking. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Take one dough piece and flatten it into a disc. Add a heaping teaspoon of the sugar filling mixture in the middle.
- Wrap all sides of the dough around the filling, enclosing it inside. The dough should easily stick to itself, but pinch it if necessary to enclose the filling. Repeat the process for the remaining dough pieces.
- Heat up a large pan with vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the oil is sizzling, add two hotteok at a time onto the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes without pressing.
- Flip the pancakes over and press down with a spatula or hotteok press to flatten into a disc.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the the hotteok is golden-brown in colour. Flip the pancake once more, pressing it down again to flatten and cook until golden-brown. This should take another 1-2 minutes.
- Let cool down for a few minutes before enjoying whilst still hot.
Notes
- I recommend using a kitchen scale in grams for more accuracy. The cups used for the conversion are standard US customary cups (1 cup flour = 136g). There are many different types of cups across the globe, which is why I strongly recommend using grams instead.
- Nutritional value is estimative and it's calculated per serving (this recipe makes 12 hotteok pancakes).
- Any type of milk can be used, including plant-based alternatives.
- Use an odourless, flavourless vegetable oil like sunflower or canola (rapeseed).
- Dark brown sugar can be replaced with light brown sugar.
- Sunflower or canola oil only.
Nutrition
Calories: 220kcal
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