SALTED CARAMEL PANCAKES

HOTTEOK

Hotteok, sweet pancakes filled with a brown sugar syrup and nuts, are beloved by young and old alike. These decadent treats were my sister Sonya’s choice dessert when we were kids. In each bite, you crunch through a crispy golden crust, then through a chewy dough and finally into a gooey centre. I’ve jazzed up the classic recipe by substituting the brown sugar with muscovado sugar, which is richer and ‘oozier’ when melted, and mixing it with a touch of salt. Feel free to make your own version as well – I’ve seen these pancakes filled with everything from walnuts and honey to mixed seeds. And they’re even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream on top.

Ingredients

MAKES ABOUT TEN 10 CM (4 IN) PANCAKE

Dough:

  • 360 ml (12 fl oz) whole milk
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 pack (7 g/1⁄4 oz) instant yeast
  • 225 g (8 oz) bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 150 g (51⁄2 oz) sweet rice flour
  • 11⁄2 tbsp cornflour
  • 1⁄2 tsp sea salt

 

Filling:

  • 125 g (41⁄2 oz) muscovado sugar
  • 75 g (23⁄4 oz) peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 3⁄4 tsp sea salt
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

 

Method

FOR THE DOUGH:

  1. In a very small saucepan, heat the milk to about 41°C/105°F. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and yeast and whisk until they have dissolved. Leave to stand in a warm place for 3–5 minutes, or until bubbling, to activate the yeast.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, rice flour, cornflour and salt. Slowly stir in the warm milk mixture until a sticky dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball in the base of the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean damp tea towel.
  3. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 11⁄2–2 hours until doubled in size. Knock it back and let it rise for 11⁄2 hours until doubled in size again.

 

FOR THE FILLING:

  1. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the muscovado sugar, peanuts, cinnamon and salt.
  2. After the dough has risen a second time, dust a clean work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Dust the top of the dough with some more flour and knead it a few times. Shape the dough into a fat, long log.
  3. Cut the dough into ten equal pieces, shape each piece into a ball, set on the floured work surface, and cover with a clean tea towel or clingfilm. Dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking, press a dough ball into a 10 cm (4 in) wide disc using your fingertips. Make sure the disc is uniformly thick so the finished pancake will be evenly filled with caramel.
  4. Put the disc in your hand and slightly cup it. Spoon 11⁄2–2 tablespoons of the filling into the centre of the disc. Seal the disc closed by wrapping the dough around the filling and pinching the edges together at the top. Once sealed, reshape gently to form a ball, set with the seam side down on the floured work surface and cover with a clean tea towel or clingfilm. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and filling.
  5. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat. Put two or three dough balls seam-side down in the pan and immediately flatten them with a spatula to a width of about 10 cm (4 in). Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry the pancakes for 3–4 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the bottom. Flip them and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until slightly springy to the touch.
  6. Transfer the pancakes to a wire rack or kitchen paper-lined plate when done. Repeat with the remaining dough balls, wiping the pan clean and adding fresh oil for each batch. Leave the pancakes to cool slightly before serving. Beware, it’s easy to burn yourself in your haste to gobble these up, as the insides are hot and oozing.

 

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Social media

@judyjoochef Instagram profile imageThank you @shanshuisocial for letting me loose in your kitchen for our Korean Chinese Iron Chef K-Pop Up Sunday Lunch! 🥢

In Korea, this fusion cuisine is called Junghwa-yori (중화요리), and its two headliners are jjajangmyeon, glossy black bean noodles, and tangsuyuk, sweet and sour pork fried until it shatters. 

Cooking these in London, alongside Shan Shui’s gorgeous roast duck with my ssamjang dip, felt really special. A little taste of home, shared with a room full of new friends🌟

Thank you to everyone who came! Both recipes are in my new cookbook MUKJA: LET’S EAT! Pre-order now via the links in my bio📕

📍 @shanshuisocial 

#ShanShuiSocial #MUKJA #Jjajangmyeon #Tangsuyuk #koreanchinesefood1 day ago via Instagram
@judyjoochef Instagram profile imageSo excited to announce that the amazing Jay Park @moresojuplease and I collabed on my latest cookbook!! 🍜🔥

Meet MUKJA: LET'S EAT! with 80+ fan-favourite recipes inspired by your K-pop idols, K-drama stars, and more ⭐

Recipes like, BTS 5 days ago via Instagram
@judyjoochef Instagram profile imageWelcome back to the K-Viral Kitchen — today we’re making dumpling lasagna. 🍤

You’ve probably already seen this one all over your feed — the viral trend of layering dumpling filling with wonton wrappers instead of folding each one by hand, steamed straight in a dish. Most versions blowing up right now are pork, but you know me: I couldn’t resist giving it a seafood spin.

Each layer tucks in a juicy shrimp-and-broccoli filling, then steams into something so silky and spoonable — tender, slippery wrappers, sweet succulent shrimp, spicy chili crisp drizzled on top, and all the coziness of a dish you want to disappear into.

🍝 Random fact: “lasagna” isn’t even originally Italian. The name traces back to laganon, an ancient Greek dish of thin dough sheets that predates Italy claiming it by over 2,000 years.

So really, we’re just the latest in a very long line of people reinventing lasagna — this time, giving it an Asian twist, one shrimp-forward layer at a time. Cozy, elegant, ridiculously satisfying. ✨
#italianfood #kfood #cheflife #lasagna2 months ago via Instagram
@judyjoochef Instagram profile imageWelcome back to the K-Viral Kitchen — today we’re giving French onion soup a serious glow-up. 🧅

Think deeply caramelized onions and rich, beefy flavor — all the soul of the classic — but swap the baguette for chewy tteok rice cakes and (optional) ramen noodles, slicked in a glossy, onion-forward soupy sauce that clings to every bite.  It’s the ultimate mash-up of tteokbokki and French onion soup. 

🧀 Random fact: that iconic cheesy crust you know and love is technically not actually “classic” French onion soup. The cheesy crown wasn’t added until 1831 — for centuries before that, it was just onions, broth, and bread, no cheese in sight.

Here, I’m correcting that oversight immediately. Finish with melty cheese and pull it sky-high, because French food meeting Korean cuisine should always end in a stretch. 🧀
#foodie #koreanfood #chef #recipe3 months ago via Instagram
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