Food: Homemade Hoddeok

This has been sitting on my draft for like forever.
(-__-")

I'm beginning to lag again when it comes to posting. Anyway, i figured that i should post it now before i left this buried & forgotten in my draft..hehe

So, this time, i'll be showing you how to make homemade Hoddeok. I made the classic hoddeok (left) & the one with cheese filling on it (right).

Hoddeok is a Korean pancake, actually it's more of like a popular street food in Korea mostly during winter season. To be able to enjoy this treat at its maximum its best served when it's piping hot & has just been out of the pan.

It's really easy to make this & it would be perfect for kids during snack time for you can put in a filling that you want. You can buy the ingredients in the grocery. I have most of the ingredients here at hand because i am mostly the one who cooks & i love trying out different recipes.

So, let's get on the recipe...
Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. instant dry yeast
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• a cup of lukewarm water (or milk- but i prefer water)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• chopped nuts (you can go for cashew, peanut, walnuts, almond, etc)

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl combine the lukewarm water (make sure that it's not too hot so that the yeast will live), sugar, salt, yeast & vegetable oil. Stir well. Let it sit for 15 minutes at the most until there would be some bubbles forming at the top (which would mean that the yeast are already active).

2. Then add the flour on the mixture then mix it well.

3. You can use a spoon on whatever you feel like using in mixing it. Mix, Mix, Mix....

4.  Once everything is all mixed, let it sit for an hour or two or up until it's double in size. Waiting time will depend on your kitchen temperature. The hotter your kitchen is, the more likely it will rise faster. Cover it with a plastic wrap

5. Then you can prepare your filling. You can put any filling that you feel like eating. In this case, i want to go for the classic hoddeok filling which is just brown sugar, cinnamon & nuts. Just mix them altogether...

6. When the dough has risen (sorry i forgot to take a pic of it), knead it to remove the gas. I suggest that you cover your hands with flour/oil before you start kneading it with your hands so that it won't stick. Then let it rise again for another 20 minutes.

7. After it has risen the second time, knead it again to remove the bubbles then that's when you will start dividing them. This recipe will yield 10-12 pancakes so i suggest that you roll out the dough then divide it into equal parts.

8. Take one dough then roll it in a circle... flatten it then make a small well in the middle where you can put in the filling like so....

9. Then pick the edge of the dough to seal the filling in.

10. As what i said, this recipe will yield 10-12 pancakes. In my case, i was able to make 12 but of course it will depend on your personal preference, the bigger pancake you make, then the less you'll be able to have. My pancakes are ready to be cooked!

11. Heat the pan then add a bit of oil... just a little bit of oil so that it won't stick on pan. When the pan is hot, then put it. If you were not able to seal dough in a neat way, then put the sealed part facing the bottom of the pan.

12. Flip it after 20 seconds then flatten it using your spatula. Pancakes are flat so just do it. Flatten it with all your might!Then continue cooking until it's golden brown...

13. Then flip it again so the other side will cook too. See the brown sugar? They're already melting & beginning to caramelize in this stage.

14. Serve hot!

Itadakimasu!
*bites*
Be careful when you bite it for the hot caramel might burn your tongue if you are not careful!

Unlike the usual pancakes which has a liquid-y texture, this one is easy to cook since this is like a bread. It's better than the usual pancake too because this one is firm to the bite & it's chewy.I can't quite describe it, but it just something that i will be making over & over. You won't need any syrup at all since the inside of this pancake is already sweet & caramel-y with that cinnamon on it!

You can put different fillings like cheese or finely chopped ham or whatever you are craving for! I know that this one takes more work but, believe me, this is worth all the work! You won't ever want ordinary pancakes again once you eat this. hahaha!

You can prepare this in the morning to be served for your kids for their after-school snack. You can prepare this ahead of time, just cover it with wet towel so it won't dry out.

Hope you give this a try!
^_^

I want to be able to make Taiyaki (or Bunggeopang in Korea) but i don't know where to buy that fish shape mold. Do you know where i can buy it here in the Philippines? Buying it online (internationally) is out of the question for i don't want to be charged a fortune once i go to the PO to get it.

Hope you all will have a good start for this week!
I can't believe that November is almost over & we are already on the last month of this year. Christmas is definitely in the air!

Jaa ne~!
^_~