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Bungeoppang Fish-Shaped Korean Street Food (POPULAR in Korea!)

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Korean street food fish-shaped pastry filled with a combination of sweet red bean and green tea matcha pudding. Have it when still hot for crunchy edges and a soft warm filling.

bungeoppang korean fish-shaped bun filled with sweetened red bean paste and green tea matcha pudding

Everyone who’s been to Korea knows bungeoppang! These fish pastries/buns are sold by the small merchants in the streets of Seoul. These are just as popular as these trendy Korean corn dogs. It’s been quite a while since I could not go back to Korea and have these! But luckily my Korean grocery stores sell the ice cream version, which I’m also in love with! I love Asian pastries in general, they are in general much less sweet than pastries in Western countries.

Recently I came across this fish-shaped mold on Amazon, it reminded me how much I miss Korean street food. So I went ahead and purchased it to enjoy some bungeoppang at home.

What is bungeoppang?

Bungeoppang 붕어빵 literally means carp bread. 붕어 bungeo refers to a type of carp fish – which is the reason why its mouth looks a little sad just like a carp’s mouth – while 빵 ppang means bread. Japanese also make these and call them taiyaki.

These cute fish-shaped pastries/buns are a very popular street food snack, that you find particularly in the winter. The best thing when wandering outside in winter is finding some of those in street stalls and warming up eating these delicious treats! They are different versions, some smaller or some bigger like the ones we made in this recipe. When small size, you normally get a whole bunch of them for just a buck or two.

Which type of filling can I use?

In this recipe, I am making a matcha green tea pudding/custard combined with some red bean paste. Just like the ice cream fish sold in many Korean grocery stores which has some matcha ice cream inside and red bean paste.

Make sure you buy the rough red bean paste 팥 (pat) don’t confuse it with the smoother red bean paste sold in Asian grocery stores that does not contain any bean chunks in it. In fact, you could use any of them, but the texture of the rough red bean paste suits better these fish pastries.

You can use other variations of fillings:

  • vanilla custard
  • red bean paste only
  • savory fillings such as cheese with minced meat and tomato sauce, just like a pizza topping
  • ham and cheese
  • Nutella
  • or any fillings you fancy

If making savory bungeoppang, make sure to omit sugar from the batter recipe.

How to prepare Korean fish-shaped pastry?

Make the pudding

  1. In a bowl, mix egg, sugar and flour together.
  1. In another small bowl, sift the matcha powder to obtain a fine powder and avoid it from forming lumps later on.
  1. In a saucepan, combine milk and vanilla essence together. Before heating it up, remove 3 tbsp milk and add it to the matcha powder. Whisk matcha powder and milk together until it becomes lump-free.
  1. Pour the matcha mix into the saucepan containing the milk. Whisk together.
  1. Heat up the saucepan on medium-high heat. When the milk starts boiling and bubbles appear, pour the egg mixture in and whisk for 1-2 minutes until the consistency thickens up.
  1. Transfer pudding into a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Make the batter

  1. Mix flour with salt and baking powder.
  1. Beat the egg with the sugar. Add milk and water then beat with the egg.
  1. Sift the flour into the egg/milk mixture, and whisk together until the batter becomes lump-free.
  1. Turn the heat on low. Oil the mold. Once it is becoming hot, pour some batter to cover ⅓ of the mold, add your filling in the center, and fill in the rest of the mold. Close the mold and turn it right away on the other side so that the batter is still liquid enough to coat the other side of the fish. Cook it for 4-5 min, turn the mold around and cook the other side for 4-5 min.
  1. Check if the fish is golden, if not cook each side a bit longer.
  1. I added some edible food coloring to draw the eyes and lips of the fish as I had those pens at home, however, this is totally optional.

Do you love Korean street food? Check these

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Korean street food fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean and green tea matcha pudding.

Bungeoppang Fish-Shaped Korean Street Food

Korean street food fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean and green tea matcha pudding.
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Korean
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8 fish
Calories per serving: 144kcal
Author: Emma Choi

Ingredients

batter

  • 170 g flour
  • 100 ml milk
  • 170 ml water
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 egg
  • a pinch of salt
  • cooking oil | for oiling mold

pudding

  • ½ egg
  • 20 g sugar
  • 7 g flour
  • 90 ml milk
  • 1 tsp matcha powder

Instructions

Make the pudding

  • In a bowl, mix egg, sugar and flour together.
  • In another small bowl, sift the matcha powder to obtain a fine powder and avoid it from forming lumps later on.
  • In a saucepan, combine milk and vanilla essence together. Before heating it up, remove 3 tbsp milk and add it to the matcha powder. Whisk matcha powder and milk together until it becomes lump-free.
  • Pour the matcha mix into the saucepan containing the milk. Whisk together.
  • Heat up the saucepan on medium-high heat. When the milk starts boiling and bubbles appear, pour the egg mixture in and whisk for 1-2 minutes until the consistency thickens up.
  • Transfer pudding into a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Make the batter

  • Mix flour with salt and baking powder.
  • Beat the egg with the sugar. Add milk and water then beat with the egg.
  • Sift the flour into the egg/milk mixture, and whisk together until the batter becomes lump-free.
  • Turn the heat on low. Oil the mold. Once it is becoming hot, pour some batter to cover ⅓ of the mould, add your filling in the centre, and fill in the rest of the mould. Close the mould and turn it right away on the other side so that the batter is still liquid enough to coat the other side of the fish. Cook it for 4-5 min, turn the mould around and cook the other side for 4-5 min.
  • Check if the fish is golden, if not cook each side a bit longer.

Notes

1. Make sure to fill up the mold enough rather than not enough even if the batter goes a bit over, you can trim the excess easily once cooked. If there isn’t enough batter, the fish don’t look nice and “full”.
2. Avoid turning up the heat too high, the fish edges may burn faster than the middle.
3. For the design of the fish to look more golden and defined, only oil the mold the first time. The fish will look more golden if you do not use oil in the next batches but the mould will still remain oily from the first batch.
4. Make sure you buy the rough red bean paste, called 팥 (pat) in Korean. The one that contains actual red bean chunks. As opposed to the smooth red bean paste that you also find in an Asian grocery store. In fact, you could use both, but the texture of the rough red bean paste suits better these fish pastries.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 fishCalories: 144kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.5gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 36mgPotassium: 72mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 110IUCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Take a pic and mention @thatcutedish on Instagram, I’d love to see all your creations! Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below : )

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