붕어빵
When I was stationed in Korea I lived in the Korean community on the Bus routes or roadways giving access to the military base.  I would often walk with my sons to the local open market and we would usually pass a cart with the vendor offering Bungeo-ppang to passers-by. My sons would stop and ask me to buy them the fish shaped cakes filled with either sweet bean, or brown sugar and pine nuts. 

Servings: 6

Recipe Type: Holiday, Korean, Recipe, Snack, Street Food

Suggested Equipment:
Bungeoppang Mold (Handheld for gas stove, or electric "waffle-maker style")
Gas stove or butane/propane tabletop stove

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
9 ounces milk or water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For Bean Paste Filling
6 ounces adzuki bean paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar

For Brown Sugar Filling
1 1/2 tablespoon crushed walnut, pecan, peanut, or pine nuts
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey

Fruit Fillings
Apple:
1/2 cup minced apple
1 tablespoon sugar or brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Strawberry
1/2 cup minced strawberry
1 tablespoon sugar
 
Any Other Fruit
1/2 cup fruit
Sweetener
Any thing that goes well with selected fruit

Optional
Add a bit of cinnamon to the batter.
Add chopped walnuts, pecans, peanuts, or pine nuts to the bean paste.
Substitute honey for the brown sugar.
Substitute 1/4 cup rice flour for 1/4 cup of the all purpose flour.
Use fresh chopped or pulped fruit for the filling
Use jams or jellies for the filling
Add savory seasonings (cumin /oregano /chili powder /etc) to the batter, and use your favorite cheese for a filling.

Directions
Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar in a bowl.
Add milk and mix well.
Pre-heat the mold over medium heat, then reduce to low.
Use a brush or lint free cloth, and lightly oil both the top and bottom sections of the mold. (For electric model, follow manufacturers instructions)

Pour the batter into one side of the fish mold until just short of half full. Fill the second to the same level.
Add about 1 tablespoon of sweet red bean paste to the center of each mold.
Carefully cover the bean paste with more batter, and finish filling the mold
Close the mold and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes over low heat.
Turn the mold over and cook another 3 or 4 minutes.

The cakes should be a rich golden brown color, but not too dark.
Open the mold and tilt over a plate. The cakes should slide off easily.

While traditional Bungeoppang is great, you can change it up a little by using chopped fruits for the filling: Blueberries, cherries, strawberry, banana, raspberries, gooseberry, huckleberry, etc

Make it more savory by lowering the sugar and adding seasoning like oregano, cumin, black pepper, dried onion, garlic, etc, and using cheese or chopped cooked meats for the filling (leftover beef japchae makes an excellent filling).