Hotteok (Korean Sweet Filled Pancakes)

Make the dough

In a bowl mix the flours, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the warm milk and 1 tbsp oil and stir into a soft, sticky dough, then beat with a spoon for 2 minutes.

• 250 g plain flour
• 50 g glutinous rice flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 7 g yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• 220 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

✅ Done when: dough is smooth, soft and sticky, with no dry flour left

Let it rise

Cover the bowl with a cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot for 50–70 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.

• all the dough from step 1

✅ Done when: dough has doubled and feels puffy when pressed

Mix the filling

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts and seeds until evenly combined.

• 100 g dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 40 g mixed nuts and seeds

✅ Done when: mixture looks evenly combined with no streaks of sugar or cinnamon

Fill

Oil your hands well with a little of the extra oil, then divide the risen dough into 8 pieces. Flatten each piece in your palm, spoon in 1 heaped tablespoon of filling, and pinch the edges closed to seal it into a ball.

• all the dough from step 2
• all the filling from step 3
• 1 tsp extra vegetable oil, for greasing hands

✅ Done when: all 8 balls are sealed with no filling leaking out

Fry and press

Heat 2 tbsp of the extra oil in a large 28 cm (11 in) frying pan over medium-low heat; fit in 2–3 balls, seam side down, and cook 1 minute. Flip, press flat to about 1 cm thick with an oiled spatula, and cook 2–3 minutes more per side.

• 2 tbsp extra vegetable oil, for frying
• all 8 filled dough balls from step 4

✅ Done when: both sides are golden brown and the sugar filling has melted inside

Serve hot (carefully)

Serve warm, folded into a paper cup the way Korean street stalls do. Let people know the syrup inside is very hot.

• all the hotteok from step 5