Best for: A warm street-market dessert from the griddle.
Hotteok is Korea’s winter street pancake: soft yeasted dough wrapped around brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, then pressed flat on a hot griddle so the filling melts into syrup as the crust turns golden and crisp. The griddle gives you room to press and flip a whole batch at once.
Griddle: Flat-top griddle or large cast-iron skillet over direct medium heat; about 350°F surface. Equipment: Griddle or cast-iron skillet, bowl, flat press or wide spatula, oiled hands.
Ingredients
Rise: 1 hour. Rest: 5 minutes. Total: 1 hour 45 minutes.
Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt
- 3/4 cup warm milk
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil, plus more for your hands and the griddle
Filling
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts or walnuts
Directions
Stir the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together. Add the warm milk and neutral oil and mix into a soft, sticky dough; knead for about 5 minutes, until smoother and elastic.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until roughly doubled. Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, and peanuts together for the filling.
With oiled hands, divide the dough into 8 balls. Flatten each ball in your palm, spoon 1 tablespoon of filling into the center, and pinch the dough up and closed around it.
Heat the griddle to about 350°F and film it with oil. Set the filled balls seam-side down and press each flat with an oiled press or spatula into a 4-inch round.
Cook for 2–3 minutes per side, pressing once more after the flip, until deep golden and crisp with the filling molten inside.
Rest for 5 minutes before eating — the sugar syrup inside is scalding hot straight off the griddle.
Grilling tip: Keep your hands and the press oiled, not floured — flour scorches on the griddle and the dough sticks.
