Korea. Hotteok (호떡) was introduced to Korea by Chinese merchants during the late Joseon and early modern period, adapted from Chinese flatbreads. The brown sugar and cinnamon filling is a Korean adaptation. Hotteok is now quintessentially Korean street food, associated with winter markets and pojangmacha culture.
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.
- Chinese jian bing (egg crepe street food — the Chinese street food parallel); Japanese dorayaki (sweet red bean pancake — the Japanese sweet filled pancake equivalent); Thai roti (pan-fried flatbread with condensed milk and egg — the Southeast Asian sweet pan-fried bread tradition).
Sikhye (sweet rice punch) or hot barley tea (boricha) — the traditional Korean winter street food beverages alongside hotteok. The sweet, warm drinks complement the caramel-sugar filling.