One dish that I believe is universally adored in Korea is hotteok. Hotteok is a leavened dough cake that is stuffed with cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Them the dough is flattened and fried. Through the frying process the sugar melts to create a delicious caramel filling. According to some accounts from food historians, this snack was brought to Korea by Chinese immigrants who first landed in Incheon's international port. And even though the snack and the name resembles western “hot cake,” hotteok’s etymology is Chinese/Korean. “Ho” comes from the Chinese for barbarian and “tteok” is Korean for rice cake. The original version of this dish had meat inside like the Mongolian Khuushuur but it later evolved to a sweet snack.

These days there are many different versions of hotteok all over Korea from sweet to savory. You will find versions of this snack on the streets, convenience stores, cafes and even in fine dining establishments. Typically this was a wintertime only snack but these days you can find them year round. However, I recommend that you find a busy hotteok stall in January and wait in line for 20 minutes as your fingertips and face freeze. The first bite of this crisp and chewy, “caramelley” snack is like a shot of adrenaline. Here is a list of some of my favorite hotteok places in Seoul.

One of the most famous hotteok stands is by Namdaemun Market Gate 2. Rumor has it that the Ajumma that started the honey hotteok and vegetable hotteok stand makes 1 million dollars a year. I guess it seems possible since you'll usually encounter queues down the block. They are so busy that they need helpers to manage the lines. At this Hotteok stand you'll see tourists and locals all waiting for this amazing treat. So what makes it so special? The Ajumma is most known for her vegetable japchae hotteok. The light dough is stuffed with a heaping helping of seasoned sweet potato noodles and vegetables and fried until there is a crisp crust on the outside. The noodles are flavorful but not too mushy and they brush on some sweet fruit-soy sauce on it. Although this dish is supposed to be a snack, this dish is big enough for a meal (and for only 1,000 won, it's a steal).

You might also see trucks in Korea selling hotteok out of the back. The people running these stands are protected by the government disability law. The operators are deaf and are the only ones authorized by the government to do this sort of work.

And if you happen to strolling down from Anguk Station Exit 4, you might see a little truck parked. In the back is a jovial grandpa making hotteok on a circular pan. Here the hotteok is quite light and fluffy-they are more baked than fried. The way the grandfather bakes them makes them have a pocket of air inside. The little cakes have a light sugar and cinnamon flavor that is quite reminiscent of Christmas. These hotteok are a great walking food- just a quick snack to get you to your next destination. Also, I don't think this grandpa has quite caught up with the times for he is only charging 500 won per cake. There is another truck that you can usually find park by Cheonggycheon river near Jongno 3-ga. Here the truck sells crispy hotteok that are baked in covered metal pans.

A new and interesting hotteok is the "well-being hotteok", because the way to entice Koreans to try something is to add a “well-being” or “good for health” moniker to something. Come on, do you think there really is a “healthy” chocolate pie or potato chips? Well, this trend can also be applied to hotteok. The healthy version of this dish started in Busan and has made its way to Seoul. The dish takes a regular hotteok and dusts it in sugar and then adds a mix of pumpkin, sunflower seeds and walnuts on it. The healthy and fortifying nuts nearly doubles the price to 2,000 won per cake. I have to admit, the crunchiness adds complexity to the dish (but I am not going to buy the idea that it is healthier since it is still fried in oil). You can find places selling nutty well-being hotteok across from Noryangjin Station and in Namdaemun.