Making a sweet Korean street snack, Seed Hotteok

What kind of food is hotteok?

Hotteok is a representative Korean street snack made by mixing brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts into dough made from wheat flour or glutinous rice powder and baking it until golden brown. It is crispy on the outside and filled with sweet syrup on the inside, so it is especially popular at winter markets and streets. It is often introduced to foreigners as a snack they must try while traveling in Korea.

If you search for hotteok in 10,000 recipes, you will see various recipes such as seed hotteok, glutinous rice hotteok, honey hotteok, and cheese hotteok. Today, we have compiled a sweet hotteok recipe that is easy to make at home, taking advantage of the taste of seed hotteok, which is also famous as a street snack in Busan.

Ingredients Preparation

For 6 hotteoks, prepare 2 cups of flour, half a cup of glutinous rice powder, warm water or milk, dry yeast, sugar, salt, and cooking oil. The filling is made by mixing brown sugar, cinnamon powder, chopped peanuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds for a savory and sweet taste.

Adding a little glutinous rice powder makes the dough more chewy, and adding nuts and seeds enhances the chewy taste. If the cinnamon flavor is too much for you, you can reduce the amount and focus on brown sugar and nuts.

making dough

Put flour, glutinous rice powder, sugar, salt, and dry yeast in a bowl, add warm water little by little, and knead. Once the dough comes together into a lump, apply a little cooking oil and ferment in a warm place for about 40 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little oil to your hands to make it easier to handle.

Divide the fermented dough into 6 pieces, spread it out in the palm of your hand, add the filling, and fold it in well. It is important to attach the ends carefully to prevent the filling from leaking.

Order of baking in a pan

Add plenty of cooking oil to the pan and preheat over medium heat. Place the folded part of the dough downwards, then turn it over when it is slightly cooked, and gently press it down with a pusher or flipper to flatten it. If you bake it over too high a heat, the outside may burn and the sugar inside may not dissolve, so keep the heat at medium-low.

It's done when both sides turn golden brown and the sweet syrup melts inside. If you eat it right away, it will be very hot, so it is best to let it cool before eating it.

Tips for enjoying delicious food

Seed hotteok is most delicious when it is warm. If you want to make the outside crispier, turn up the heat slightly at the end and grill briefly. If you want to make the inside richer, finely chop the nuts and mix them evenly with the brown sugar.

When introducing it to foreigners, it is easier to understand if you explain it as “Korean sweet pancake.” It is a friendly Korean dessert that goes well with coffee or hot tea, and allows you to feel the atmosphere of the winter market at home.

Application and Storage Tips

If you make a lot of dough at once, divide it into small chunks and refrigerate them before adding the filling. It will be more delicious if you add the filling and bake it right before eating. If you briefly reheat the remaining hotteok in a pan or air fryer, the outside will become crispy again.

If you like a sweet taste, you can add a little more brown sugar, and if you like a savory taste, you can add more sunflower seeds or walnuts. Even first-time cooks can enjoy the warm taste of hotteok they used to eat on the street at home as long as they adjust the heat slowly.

Precautions when eating

Because the sugar syrup inside the hotteok is very hot, it is best not to bite into it right after it is freshly baked. You can enjoy the crunchiness on the outside and the sweetness on the inside more easily by placing it in a paper cup or small plate and letting it cool before eating it.