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A single whole bungeoppang on a cloth, showing the golden-brown fish-shaped exterior with a clear scale pattern from the mold

Bungeoppang

A bungeoppang recipe for making the fish-shaped red bean pastry at home, including what to use if you don't own the cast-iron mold and where the crisp-vs-cakey debate comes from.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 pieces
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g / 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 280 ml / 1 1/8 cups milk
  • 2 tbsp melted butter or neutral oil, plus more for greasing
  • 300 g / 1 1/4 cups sweetened red bean paste, canned or homemade

Method
 

  1. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk and melted butter until smooth, then combine with the dry ingredients just until no streaks of flour remain. Let the batter rest 10 minutes.
  3. Heat a bungeoppang mold (or a fish-shaped waffle iron) over medium-low heat and brush both sides lightly with oil.
  4. Spoon a thin layer of batter into one side of the mold, just enough to cover the base.
  5. Add a generous line of red bean paste down the center, running it close to both the head and tail ends — this is the step people skip, and skipping it is why the ends of a bungeoppang so often come out with no filling at all.
  6. Spoon a little more batter over the top to cover the paste, then close the mold.
  7. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, checking and flipping the whole mold, until both sides are evenly golden brown.
  8. Open carefully and let each piece sit a minute before eating — the filling holds heat much longer than the shell does.