Korean Sweet Pancakes (Hotteok)

by MJ

Hotteok is a Korean sweet pancakes and one of the most popular street food snacks.  You may see different sweet and savory filling variations but the most popular is filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts.

In Korean markets, you can also buy the flour mixture to make it at home or already made  in the frozen section to heat. 

While you can reheat in the microwave, pan or toaster oven, it will taste best when eaten right after it’s cooked, while the dough is warm with the melted sugar oozing from dough.

For this recipe, I used active dry yeast. If using rapid rise yeast, there’s no need to activate the yeast. 

Korean Sweet Pancakes (Hotteok) 

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • 1-2 Tablespoons oil for cooking

Dough

  • 1 cup warm milk or water 
  • 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast or  rapid rise yeast
  • 1-2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon neutral oil such as vegetable 
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Filling

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Optional: 1/4 cup chopped nuts - walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, etc

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir together the warm milk, yeast, sugar let sit for about 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. If you using instant or rapid rise yeast, there is no need to activate.

Add in the oil, flour and salt and mix together until it forms into a dough.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour.

Punch down dough and knead to remove any gas bubbles and let rest again for about 30 minutes.  The dough will be sticky so add oil to hands if needed. 

Filling: In a bowl, mix together ingredients and set aside.

Lightly oil your hands and knead the dough a bit. Add flour to a work surface, knead the dough and cut into 8 pieces. 

Flatten the dough with your hands and shape into a circle.  Add 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of filling in the center of the dough. Seal dough together towards the center.

Heat some oil in a pan.  Place the dough, seam side down on the pan and let brown for about 30 seconds. Flip the dough over and press down using a spatula and cook for about a minute.   

Flip dough again. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about a minute, for the filling to melt.  Serve hot. 

Repeat with remaining dough. 

Notes

Hotteok freezes well so you can enjoy it anytime. You can reheat it in a toaster, toaster oven, microwave or pan.

Did You Make This Recipe?
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