Hotteok

Hotteok is Korea's beloved winter street food — a yeasted wheat dough pancake filled with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped peanuts or walnuts, then pan-fried in oil and pressed flat with a special spatula. When the pancake is pressed and the sugar filling melts, it becomes a molten, caramel-sweet interior in a chewy, golden exterior. The burned-sugar steam when bitten into is the defining experience.

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Serves8 (makes 8 pancakes)

Total45 min

Within reach0of 2 in Vernon

Two not yet within reach.

How the 2 are reached

Not yet within reach: 2 · all-purpose flour, filling

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

300g

all-purpose flour

Origin · King Arthur Baking, United StatesNot yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted

200ml

water

warm

Your own market

10g

instant yeast

Your own market

20g

brown sugar

Your own market

1 tsp

fine sea salt

Your own market

50g

sesame oil

Your own market

200g

filling

equal mix of brown sugar and crushed peanuts (or cinnamon sugar)

Not yet within reach of Vernon · each reach is counted

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

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The Method

Combine warm water, yeast, and brown sugar in bowl; let bloom 5 minutes until foamy.

Mix flour and salt in separate bowl; add yeast mixture and sesame oil; knead by hand 5 minutes until smooth dough forms.

Cover dough; let rise in warm place 30 minutes until nearly doubled.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces; roll each to 10cm disc on lightly oiled surface.

Spoon 1 tbsp filling mixture onto centre of disc; fold edges up and over filling, pinching seams to seal; flatten gently to 8cm thickness.

Heat cast-iron skillet or griddle to medium heat; cook each hotteok 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown with slight char and crisp exterior.

Transfer to wire rack 1 minute (filling will set); serve warm.

III

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where hotteok lives or dies is the press — when you flip the hotteok and begin pressing, you should immediately hear the sugar beginning to bubble inside the dough. Hold firm pressure for 30 seconds. Release and listen: if you hear continued bubbling, press again for another 20 seconds. The filling is fully melted when the centre of the pressed hotteok is flat and you can feel the liquid movement of the caramel inside the dough.

Pillar IV

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