Hotteok
Encyclopedia
Hotteok is a variety of filled Korean pancake
, and is a popular street food
of South Korea
. It is usually eaten during the winter season.
for hotteok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. The dough is allowed to rise for several hours. Handful-sized balls of this stiff dough are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar
, honey
, chopped peanuts
, and cinnamon
. The filled dough is then placed on a greased griddle
, and pressed flat into a large circle with a special tool with a stainless steel circle and wooden handle as it cooks.
In South Korea, ready-made dry hotteok mix is commercially available in plastic packages. The mix also comes with a filling consisting of brown sugar and ground peanuts or sesame seeds.
It is generally believed that hotteok originated from Chinese
merchants who immigrated to Korea after the late 19th century. Unlike many Chinese pancake
s, which often contain savory meat fillings, hotteok are stuffed with sweet fillings, to suit Koreans' tastes.
hotteokphoto, pink bokbunja
hotteok, corn hotteok, and more.
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
, and is a popular street food
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It is usually eaten during the winter season.
Preparation
The doughDough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
for hotteok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. The dough is allowed to rise for several hours. Handful-sized balls of this stiff dough are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, chopped peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
. The filled dough is then placed on a greased griddle
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
, and pressed flat into a large circle with a special tool with a stainless steel circle and wooden handle as it cooks.
In South Korea, ready-made dry hotteok mix is commercially available in plastic packages. The mix also comes with a filling consisting of brown sugar and ground peanuts or sesame seeds.
Origin
Ethnic Chinese in Korea
There has been a recognisable community of Chinese people in Korea since the 1880s. Most early migrants came from Shandong province on the east coast of China; many of them and their descendants have emigrated...
merchants who immigrated to Korea after the late 19th century. Unlike many Chinese pancake
Chinese pancake
Chinese pancakes are pancakes are a type of thin flat Bǐng found in Chinese cuisine. They may be either savory or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter...
s, which often contain savory meat fillings, hotteok are stuffed with sweet fillings, to suit Koreans' tastes.
Varieties
The types of hotteok have been changing continuously. Many variations have developed since the early 21st century, such as green teaMatcha
refers to finely-milled green tea, most popular in Japan. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream...
hotteokphoto, pink bokbunja
Rubus coreanus
Rubus coreanus is a species of raspberry native to Korea, Japan, and China. It produces edible berries that are fermented into bokbunja ju, a Korean fruit wine...
hotteok, corn hotteok, and more.