The Korean street-food pancake filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts is called hotteok.
Hotteok is made from a wheat-based dough, usually fermented with yeast, then filled and fried on a lightly oiled griddle. Vendors press the dough flat as it cooks, creating a crisp, browned exterior and a molten syrup-like center. The filling commonly includes brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped peanuts or sunflower seeds.
Hotteok became especially popular as a winter snack in South Korea. Its history is often linked to Chinese merchants who arrived in Korea in the late 19th century, although the modern Korean version developed its own sweet filling and preparation style.
Hotteok is sometimes confused with bindaetteok, a savory mung-bean pancake, or pajeon, a scallion pancake. Those foods use different batters and fillings, while hotteok is best known for its sweet, sealed center.