붕어빵 is similar to the Japanese sweet, taiyaki. It is a sweet bread made in a special fish-shaped iron pan with the traditional filling of red bean paste. This is a very popular street food snack, especially in the cold winters of Korea!
I was able to get my own pan from a local Korean supermarket, but you will be able to find similar irons online:
Traditional 붕어빵 is usually made with glutinous rice, giving the bread a nice, chewy texture, however I found a recipe that gives a similar taste and is not too greasy; it can also be used to make taiyaki.
Recipe under the read more:
Ingredients:
2/3 cup cake flour (110g) (I used all purpose flour)
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
3/4 cup milk or water (180ml)
1 egg
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of red bean paste (though I eyeballed the amount while cooking - you can find this paste in your local asian supermarket)
oil to cook
Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, and sugar). I sifted each one to ensure that my batter turned out smooth.
2. Beat the egg in a separate bowl, then add the water/milk.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and whisk/mix well.
4. Preheat your pan and then turn down to a medium-low heat. (This varies depending on stoves - my first batch of 붕어빵 came out burnt T__T I ended up turning the heat down to low)
*Note: Street vendors use pans with heat going directly through the metal, as shown in the picture below. I did not have one, so I simply used my flat stove top - it still turned out well! Maybe you could use a barbecue/grill but I haven`t tried that yet.
5. Lightly oil both sides of the pan to prevent the fish from sticking (you can dip a paper towel in oil and then spread it around so that there is not a lot of drippy oil)
6. Pour some batter into the deeper end of the pan, just enough to cover the bottom. Scoop some red bean paste (you can take however much you like, but I found that if you scoop too much, the fish may break and the beans will spill out when you remove it from the pan) into the batter.
7. Pour a little more batter on top to cover the red beans.
8. Press down the other side of the pan and flip over. Cook for around 30 seconds each side and continuously flip each side for around 3-4 minutes or until the fish is golden brown. (some batter may spill out onto the outer edges - don`t worry! just scrape it/clean it off after)
9. Trim the edges to keep the shape, then let them cool down or enjoy right away!!
mmmm warm red bean filling...
NOTE: you can use other fillings! The Japanese variation, taiyaki, has more fillings than the Korean version, but it`s all up to you!! Other possible fillings could be: chocolate, custard, green beans, sweet potato, nutella, sesame paste...
the dough is not too sweet, which is the perfect, chewy casing for the sweet, melty filling!!
Good luck everyone!! If you have questions, please feel free to ask, since I have just made this (and a disaster) in my kitchen ^^
-Mandy
(PS if you`re reheating them/want them to be extra crispy, you can put them in the oven for a few minutes so that they`re nice and toasty and crisp on the outside!)
