Best Korean Street Food: Hotteok in Seoul (Insadong) – Seoulistic

Best Korean Street Food: Hotteok in Seoul (Insadong)

Korea has some amazing street food. And a favorite of Korean street food lovers stuck out in the cold is hotteok, that warm, gooey and sweet dessert pancake. Koreans love it because it’s hot enough to warm you up and it is boom boom in your mouth. In this video, we show you the best places in Seoul to find this awesome Korean street food!

Hotteok is a Korean street food snack made of dough and is usually filled with sugar, honey, nuts and cinnamon. That of course is the textbook definition of hotteok. In reality, there’s so many places to eat hotteok in Seoul that they all have their own unique ways of making people warm and happy. We hit the streets of Insadong to show you the best places to eat hotteok in Seoul!


#1 – Chewy Hotteok

This hotteok is made from glutinous rice, so it’s softer and chewier than the crispier modern hotteok. Although the sweet inside is pretty similar to what was eaten in years past, traditionally, this Korean street food was soft and chewy. So if you’re in the Insadong area and looking for really good traditional style hotteok, check out this street stall. (Click here for Google Maps location.)

 
#2 – Crispy Hotteok

Right in the heart of Insadong is Teolbo’s Hotteok  (털보네). The dough here is made with corn starch and is fried deep and hard. So instead of this Korean street food being soft and chewy, it turns out the way most vendors sell it these days: hot and crispy. The filling here has all the delicious sweetness that all hotteok have, but you have to be careful. It’s really hot! Don’t burn yourself 🙂 (Click here to see Google Maps location.)

#3 – Fluffy hotteok

Some of the best Korean street food come from trucks, and hotteok is no exception. This hotteok in Insadong usually very little filling so it’s not overwhelming. And the man bakes the hot cake in an oven and then steams them to get a nice fluffy hotteok that’ll make you feel like you’re chewing on clouds. Find this fluffy hotteok right near Insadong. (Click here to see Google Maps location.)

#4 – Hearty Hotteok

Samcheongdong Hotteok (삼청동 호떡) is a famous Korean street food stall located a few minutes walk from the Insadong area. Walking there, you might get a bit hungrier. And that’s a good thing if you’re eating here. While they have the usual sweet/honey fillings, they also have a vegetable version filled with sweet potato noodles, onions, carrots among other vegetables. It’s very hearty and savory, so it’s more of a snack than a meal. Also, their sauce is pretty famous; it’s made with soy sauce, apples, jujubes, peppers, etc. Remember to do the hotteok dance while you’re there. (Click here to see Google Maps location.)

Keith
Keith
Keith Kim is a Korean-American who has been living in Korea for almost a decade. Being in a unique position as both a Korean and a non-Korean, he's put all his experience and knowledge for surviving in Korea in Survival Korean . Read it to learn how you can survive in Korea. Follow him on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

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  4. Just like the thrill of watching AMA Supercross 2024 Teams and Riders Spotlight tasting hotteok on a chilly street in Seoul sends an equally exciting rush! The way that hot, sweet syrup explodes in your mouth is similar to the rush of adrenaline you get from the intense energy of a Supercross race. This video perfectly captures that unique blend of warmth and excitement. Can’t wait to see more and experience the live action of Supercross in the coming year – it’s sure to be as mouthwatering as the best hotteok in Insadong!

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