When I was doing my study abroad stint in Seoul for half a year, I did a lot of walking.  That translates into I had a lot of street food.  Not out of hunger, necessarily, but more like I had a few wons in my pocket to spare and something caught my eye that I had to try.  I’ve eaten a lot of hodduk (호떡), which are fried pancakes filled with brown sugar and cinnamon, sometimes some nuts (or some variation).  These days, many hodduk vendors offer some sort of variation on the traditional hodduk to distinguish themselves from the rest.  Green tea… well-being… whole wheat… or corn: Enter Teolbo’s Hodduk in Insadong.

For starters, Teolbo’s (Mr. Beard’s) hodduk are a bit smaller than the usual, but thicker.  They fry up beautifully and are always crispy and hot.

I love your cat apron, hodduk lady.

One bite reveals a molten, almost dangerously hot filling of melted brown sugar, cinnamon, and peanuts.  The hodduk batter is made with corn and sweet rice flour (찹쌀) and is always crispy and hot.  There are no hodduks premade and sitting out for hours here at Mr. Beard’s.  Beware of the long line, but the wait is always worth it.  There’s nothing like grabbing a fresh and hot hodduk in the middle of Insadong, and savoring each bite as you look at all the Korean traditional souvenirs, or those guys that spin the white thread from honey and malt.

Editor : Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

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