The Korean street food consisting of a sweet filled pancake with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts is hotteok.
Hotteok is made from a wheat-flour dough containing water, milk, sugar, and yeast. After the dough rises, vendors fill it with a mixture commonly based on brown sugar, cinnamon, peanuts, walnuts, or sesame seeds. The filled dough is fried on a greased griddle and pressed flat, producing a browned exterior and a molten, syrupy center.
The dish is generally believed to have entered Korea through Chinese merchants during the late nineteenth century, around the late Joseon period. Korean cooks adapted the snack to local tastes by emphasizing sweet fillings, distinguishing it from many savory Korean pancakes. Hotteok is especially popular as a winter street snack, although modern versions include vegetables, green tea, corn, pizza-style fillings, and other creative combinations. It should not be confused with mandu, a dumpling, or tteokbokki, a spicy rice-cake dish.