Easy Authentic Hotteok Recipe: How to Make Korean Sweet Pancakes Just Like Park Seo-Jun
A big part of channeling my “inner Korean” includes making Korean food, so I was thrilled to discover Park Seo-Jun (박서준) on Youn’s Kitchen 2. This man can cook! If you haven’t seen Youn’s Kitchen 2 or Youn’s Stay, put those shows on your watchlist and be prepared to be amazed and inspired!
I first learned about hotteok when Youn’s Kitchen had it as the sole dessert item on the menu for their pop-up Korean restaurant in Spain. Hotteok is actually a street snack in Korea. The pancake with a brown sugar syrup filling seems to be thinner and larger in diameter in Korean marketplaces than the version served at Youn’s Kitchen, but based on the popularity—both versions are clearly delicious. When I was at one of my local Hmart’s a couple weeks ago, I was able to buy some fresh ones that were similar to the street version.
At home, I make it like Park Seo-Jun on Youn’s Kitchen 2—served with a dollop of ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup! If you’ve watched Seo-Jun make hotteok, you’ll see the dough can be pretty sticky so you need to oil your hands in order to shape the pancake. I’ve tried a couple of different authentic Korean recipes and took a bit from each to come up with my version which isn’t quite as sticky but you’ll still want to rub a generous amount of oil on your hands before handling the dough.
The first time I made hotteok I used a recipe in a cookbook my daughter Taylor gave me for Christmas titled Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking. Maangchi’s hotteok recipe is also available online and it includes a YouTube video you can watch. Unlike what you see in the video, my first hotteok dough was very sticky and pretty similar to what I’d seen when Park Seo-Jun made it. I prefer oil on my hands (as I’d seen him do) rather than flour (which you see in Maangchi’s video). On Youn’s Kitchen 2 they added sliced bananas to the filling, but since I’m not a fan of bananas (and it wasn’t listed in Maangchi’s recipe) I omitted them.
After my first time making hotteok, I went online to check out other versions and found another authentic recipe by My Korean Kitchen. Sue uses milk in her recipe, but no oil in the dough. Her version also makes slightly less dough than Maangchi’s. I ended up taking portions from both recipes and use Park Seo-Jun’s technique to cook them.
Seo-Jun starts shaping and cooking the hotteok at the 1:19 mark of the [first] YouTube video below. You can download a PDF version of my recipe at the bottom of this post. Let me know in the comment section if you’ve had hotteok or if you take a stab at making this tasty Korean dessert (using any of the recipes I’ve mentioned)! If you post any pictures to Instagram, be sure to tag @thekatturner so I can see them.
Looks like I’m not the only one who likes hotteok. Park Seo-Jun’s buddy V (Kim Tae-Hyung) and the rest of BTS (방탄소년단), RM (Kim Nam-Joon), Jin (Kim Seok-jin), J-Hope (Jung Ho-Seok), Suga (Min Yoon-gi), Jimin (Park Ji-min), and Jungkook (Jeon Jung-kook) love this sweet pancake as well. The other night while making hotteok my kids turned on YouTube to watch BTS while they were impatiently waiting—and I kid you not—this is the first video that came up!
You’ll see several varieties in this YouTube video of BTS’ favorite street food. By the time you finish this don’t be surprised if you find yourself in need of my recipe below!
MY GO-TO HOTTEOK ITEMS
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I saw Park Seo-Jun using a Hotteok Press on Youn's Stay so of course, I had to have one! The dough is pretty sticky so I love using a Danish whisk to mix it. I’ve done the homework and am passing the information on to make it easier for you!
$11.09 + FREE SHIPPING with $25 order. This helps you press out a perfect size sweet Korean pancake!
AMAZON CHOICE $6.99 + FREE SHIPPING with $25 order. I love using a Danish whisk to make my Hotteok dough. Keeps your hands clean, and it's definitely better than a fork or spoon. It's a quick and efficient way to mix the dough. It's also easy to clean.
AMAZON CHOICE $9.99 + FREE SHIPPING with Prime or $25 order. I actually bought a 2-pack because it's a better value and I figured my daughter who loves Hotteok needed one at her house. I personally don't notice a difference between the single and double-eye hooks, but maybe a pastry chef would.
Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking: Authentic Dishes for the Home Cook 2015 [HARDCOVER]
$17.99 + FREE SHIPPING with Prime or $25 order HARDCOVER Maangchi's cookbooks should be a staple in the kitchen of anyone who wants to make authentic Korean recipes! My copy of Maangchi's cookbook is full of bookmarks for recipes I've made or want to try!
Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking: Authentic Dishes for the Home Cook 2015 [KINDLE]
$14.99 if you'd rather have the Kindle version.
Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking: From Everyday Meals to Celebration Cuisine 2019 [HARDCOVER]
EDITOR'S PICK $17.55 + FREE SHIPPING with Prime or $25 purchase I have this cookbook too! If you want authentic Korean recipes you can't go wrong with Maangchi! The New York Times Best Cookbooks of Fall 2019, Eater Best Fall Cookbooks 2019, Bon Appetit's "Fall Cookbooks We've Been Waiting All Summer For", Amazon's Pick for Best Fall Cookbooks 2019, Forbes Finds 15 New Cookbooks for Fall 2019
Maangchi's Big Book of Korean Cooking: From Everyday Meals to Celebration Cuisine 2019 [KINDLE]
$19.99 for the Kindle version.
MORE AUTHENTIC KOREAN RECIPES
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