Looking for a tasty sweet treat? Try this hotteok recipe or stuffed Korean sweet pancakes.
My family’s hotteok journey started when my youngest daughter bought some frozen hotteok at our local Korean mart. Hotteok is a popular Korean street food that is served hot during the fall/winter season, but can be eaten anytime of the year. It’s traditionally filled with brown sugar and nuts, but it can be filled with red beans, cheese, japache, and more! Think of it like a fried bread that’s stuffed with yummy goodness. So good!
Now, the bad side about buying frozen premade hotteok is that there isn’t enough…wah! I think the bag only had 4-6 hotteok in it and my kids were immediately asking for more. And since the Korean mart we bought the frozen hotteok at is 45 minutes away, I knew I needed to learn to make it from scratch. Lucky for me, it’s super easy to make.
This recipe is a combination of several recipes and is to my family’s taste. For the dough, I’ve tried making the dough with a combination of mochiko and flour, which gives a dense and chewy bread compared to just using flour (I prefer just flour). I’ve also experimented with various liquids (water, milk, and almond milk) and the ratio of flour to liquids to create a less sticky dough. The last change was for the filling of the hotteok. Instead of using a food processor to finely chop the nuts, my family prefers a coarse chopped nut filling since it provides a nice texture contrast to the soft bread of the hotteok. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my version of hotteok!
Hotteok Recipe - Stuffed Sweet Korean Pancakes
Warm Sweet Korean Pancakes (hotteok), stuffed with brown sugar, sun flower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and peanuts.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm milk, between 110°F – 115°F
- 2 1/4 tsp. yeast
- 1 T. sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 T. oil, canola or vegetable
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Filling
- 6 T. dark brown sugar
- 3 T. unsalted sunflower seeds
- 3 T. unsalted pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped
- 2 T. dry roasted peanuts, fine to medium chopped (substitute walnuts or another of your favorite nuts)
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, optional
Instructions
In a stand mixer, add warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes or until you see foam form on the surface of the mix. 
While the yeast is being activated, add dark brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon into a bowl. Mix together and set aside for later. My family prefers a chunky nut filling as it's a nice texture contrast, but you can chop the nuts finer if you like. 
When the yeast is ready, add flour, oil, and salt to it. Turn the mixer on low for 3-5 minutes. The dough will be on the sticky side, but if it is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour in at a time until the dough just comes away from the side of the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for an hour. I place mine in the oven with the oven light on. Note: You DO NOT have to use a stand mixer. You can mix this by hand and once the dough comes together, cover and let rise. If using this process, you want the dough to be more on the sticky side, which will allow the glutenin and gliadin to move around to form gluten (helps give a fluffier bread texture).
After a hour, put some oil on your hands and punch down the dough. Cover again and let rise for another 20 minutes in a warm place. 
On a slightly floured surface, remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 8 equal round pieces. If
Take one of the dough balls and stretch it out to about 3.25" to 3.5" round circle. Place the round dough on your palm and place a tablespoon of sugar and nut filling into the center. Bring up the sides of the dough over the filling and pinch close. Set aside and repeat with the remaining dough pieces. 
Heat up a large pan, 10.5" or larger, over medium heat with 2T. of canola or vegetable oil. When the oil and pan is heated, place about 2 to 3 of the filled hotteok, seam side down, into the pan. In less than a minute, check the bottom of the hotteok. If it is lightly browned, flip it over and smash down with a hotteok press or spatula/turner. Immediately drop the heat to low, cover, and let the hotteok cook for about a minute to help brown the dough and melt the sugar filling (could be shorter if your stove runs hot). Uncover and flip the hotteok one more time. Cover and let cook until the opposite side is nicely browned. Note: keep an eye on the first batch. The pan will be at it's hottest and the hotteok may cook quicker.
Remove the cooked hotteok onto a rack or paper towel to slightly cool down before eating. Best to eat warm, but be careful as the filling can be extremely hot. Can be stored for a day in an airtight container on the counter or two days in the fridge. To reheat, place in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds to warm or pan fry again in a pan to warm. It can be placed in the toaster too, but make sure there are no punctures in the dough where the filling can ooze out. Note, when reheated, the filling may not be as gooey and the dough will be a bit denser in texture.
Notes
- I use Planters dry roasted peanuts, which are lightly salted and helps balance all the sugar in the filling. The remaining unsalted nuts/seeds can be found at local health food stores.
- Best eaten immediately while warm, but can be reheated in the microwave at 15 - 20 second increments.
- The seeds and nuts can replaced with your favorite nuts. For example, replace the peanuts with walnuts or use another blend of nuts & seeds. It's also great filled with sweetened red bean paste. To fill, use about a 1" inch sized ball in the hotteok.
- If you have some leftover filling, place in an airtight bag or container and freeze up to 6 months.
Recommended Products
Items below are affiliate links. Purchases made through these links may result in a commission at no additional cost to you. If you can't get the nuts and seeds used in the filling of this recipe, I have linked them below. However, I highly suggest purchasing nuts and seeds at your local food stores to ensure the freshest product.
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Frigidaire 11FFSPAN13 Ready Cook Cookware, 12 in, Stainless Steel -
KitchenAid(R) Artisan Design Series Stand Mixer, Sugar Pearl Silver -
Lord Eagle Hand Mixer Electric, 400W Power handheld Mixer -
OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Turner -
Korean Style Pancake Hotteok Hand Presser All Stainless Steel T-shape Handle Easy to Press Round Plate -
Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Hulled Sunflower Seeds, 2 Pounds -
Jaybee's Nuts Pumpkin Seeds Pepitas - Roasted Unsalted (32 oz) -
Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts, 34.5 oz Jar (Pack Of 3) -
Koshi an (Fine Sweeted Red Bean Paste) - 17.6oz (Basic)
Hi, Erlene! I will have to make these! My husband grew up in a Korean American family, but I don’t think he’s ever had these!
These are so good and addictive. I lost count how many times I’ve made these. I hope your family likes these!