Dish guide · Sweets and tea
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Hotteok
호떡
Filled griddled pancakes
♨️ Served hot🙂 Not spicy🥬 Usually vegetarian
A griddled dough pancake with a sweet, molten filling of brown sugar and cinnamon, often with peanuts. It's a winter street food favorite.
What it is
- Busan's ssiat-hotteok is split open after frying and stuffed with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
- Savory versions exist too, such as the vegetable and glass noodle hotteok sold at Seoul's Namdaemun Market.
How to eat it
- 1Bite carefully: the sugar filling is extremely hot.
History
- Chinese merchants are generally credited with bringing it, around the 1880s or later, and it was then sweetened for Korean tastes. Busan's Nampo-dong is known as the birthplace of the seed version.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
wheatpeanutstree nutsmilk
- Fillings often include peanuts or seeds, and doughs may include milk.
- Vegetable hotteok can contain glass noodles and other fillings. Ask first.
Recipes differ between restaurants. If you have an allergy, always ask the staff before you order.
🗣️ Allergy card for the staff
Pick your allergy to see the sentence in Korean.
📍 Where to try it
Sources
We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-10-31.