Hey and welcome back! I am so glad you decided to join me this week as I have something different and special to share with you. As organizers for the first Pride event in Lewisburg are gearing up for the festivities this weekend, I began seeking out the flavors of Pride and let me tell you I have found a real gem. So, pour a drink and prepare for a real treat.
When I was first approached about writing about flavors of Pride I planned on talking to vendors about what they planned to prepare and giving you a sneak peak at what they had in store for you, but then I heard that there would be several “bake sales” by locals and my interest was peaked. While I love supporting local businesses, I am always rooting for the individual who is trying to take a stand and stand out and that’s how I met Finney.
Finney Staunton is 17 years old and lives part-time in Greenbrier County and part time in Pennsylvania, and said that last year she and her family began making Hotteok, pronounced ho-tok, last year. Hotteok is a Korean street food known as a sweet pancake. This pancake is to be eaten like a cookie and is filled with brown sugar and cinnamon. When I asked Finney why she chose Hotteok she said, “I wanted to speak our culture because a lot of people aren’t used to ethnic street foods.”
So I went out on a limb and asked Finney if she would be willing to share her recipe with us and she agreed so that you can try making these at home, but please go out to the Pride event in Lewisburg Saturday, June 26 beginning at 3 p.m. and try them for yourself.
For this recipe you will need:
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)
To make the Hotteok dough:
Place 1 cup of lukewarm water into a mixing bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2 teaspoons yeast, ½ teaspoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and stir it well.
Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix it by hand.
Let the dough rise. It should sit with the lid closed at room temperature for 1 hour.
After an hour the dough will rise to double its size. Knead it to remove the gas bubbles in the dough.
Let it rise for another 10-20 minutes.
Make traditional filling (for 8 hotteok):
Mix ½ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts in a bowl. The walnuts are optional
To form the hotteok:
Knead the dough again to remove the gas bubbles.
Place and spread about ½ cup flour on your cutting board.
Put the dough on your cutting board and knead it. Make it into a lump, and cut it into 8 equal-sized balls.
Take 1 dough ball, flatten it, put some filling in the center of the dough, and then seal it to make a ball.
Heat up your non-stick pan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil.
Place 1 ball on the pan and let it cook for 30 seconds.
When the bottom of the dough ball is light golden brown, turn it over and press the dough with a spatula to make a thin and wide circle
Let it cook about 1 minute until the bottom is golden brown.
Turn it over again and turn down the heat very low.
Place the lid on the pan and cook 1 more minute. The brown sugar filling mixture will be melted to syrup, best served when hot!
I don’t know about you, but I am excited to try these!! So, when I asked Finney why this event and preparing Korean street food to sell at the event was so important to her, here is what she had to say “Because I haven’t experienced Pride in West Virginia like I have in Pennsylvania. I haven’t been exposed to as much queerness here and it’s always been something I’m a little ashamed of — my ethnicity and my sexuality — and this is a way to put them together.”
I think Finney is a true beacon for youth in our community. To take two things she hasn’t been secure in and join them together to spread culture and awareness is awesome in my book, and I hope you will stop at her table during the Pride event and try Hotteok and even try making some at home. There is always love and Pride in my kitchen and always I am sending love from my kitchen to yours!
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