Hotteok

What makes it hotteok

• A soft, sticky yeast dough, often with glutinous rice flour.
• Brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts sealed inside.
• Pressed flat in oil on the griddle, so the outside crisps.

Where it comes from

Hotteok is usually traced to Chinese merchants who settled in Korea in the late nineteenth century — the ho in its name is an old word for foreigners from the north. It became Korea's own winter street snack: bought hot from a stall, held in a folded paper cup, and bitten into carefully.

How it varies

Ssiat hotteok

Busan's: fried, split open and stuffed with seeds.

Japchae hotteok

Savoury, filled with glass noodles and vegetables.