| Jogi-jeot | |
| Alternate Name: | Salted yellow croaker |
| Country: | Korea |
| Type: | Jeotgal |
| Main Ingredient: | Yellow croaker |
| Serving Size: | 100 g |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | Korean: 조기젓 |
| Hanja: | none |
| Rr: | jogi-jeot |
| Mr: | chogi-chŏt |
| Koreanipa: | pronounced as /ko/ |
Jogi-jeot or salted yellow croaker is a variety of jeotgal (salted seafood), made with yellow croakers. In Korean cuisine, jogi-jeot is widely used as banchan (side dish), as a condiment, or as an ingredient for kimchi.[1]
Korean people have eaten yellow croakers for a very long time, as Shuowen Jiezi, an early 2nd-century Chinese dictionary, reports that yellow croakers were caught in Lelang, and that a Han commandery existed within the Korean peninsula.[2]
Fresh yellow croakers, with lustrous scales and a chubby belly, caught in May to June. are preferred.[3] Croakers are washed and drained on sokuri (bamboo tray), then stuffed with coarse salt, and laid on a salt-lined onggi (earthenware jar). One layer of fish is followed by one layer of salt, and so on. When the jar is around 70% filled, split and sterilized bamboo stalks are laid over the croakers, followed by boiled and cooled brine (mixture of 2/3 water and 1/3 salt). In total, the salt used should weigh around 15‒20% of the fish.[4] The jeotgal is left to ferment at for two to three months and up to a year.