Southeast Asian fish sauce is often made from anchovies, salt, and water. It is often used in moderation because it is intensely flavored. Anchovies and salt are arranged in wooden boxes to ferment and are slowly pressed, yielding the salty, fishy liquid. In Korea, it is called aek jeot, and is used as an ingredient in Kimchi (usually from myul chi, or kanari, meaning anchovies), both for taste and fermentation. Sae woo jeot (shrimp) is also popular as side sauce.
- Use:
Kimchi, Soup Broth, Seasoning- Storage:
Keep in the cabinet.
Short Korean Lesson
- MyeolChi (멸치) = Anchovy
- AekJeot (액젓) = Salted Sauce
Vivien says
Hi Aeri
Is it possible to make the fish broth for Tteokbokki using this (after diluting with water and boiling with kelp and fish cake)? Thanks!
Aeri Lee says
hi Vivien,
To be honest, I will not recommend you try this..because it’s too salty and has too strong fish flavor in it.. if you want.. you can try..but I will not try for mine.. ^^;; thanks..
Ann Choe says
HELLO!!!! My bf is vegetarian so I was wondering if you had any other idea for FISH SAUCE substitution. Would soy sauce work? What do you think? Thank you aeri!!!
Aeri Lee says
hi Ann Choe,
It is depending on what you make.. if you make kimchi, soy sauce is not right to substitute for fish sauce.. if you are using for soup or side-dish, yes you can use either soy sauce or salt. For kimchi, I will say use salt instead. thanks ^^
Roroshi says
if i can’t get this ” Salted Anchovy Sauce ”
can i use something else ??!
Thanks 🙄
Aeri Lee says
You can use salt instead..but you can’t get the same taste though.. ^^;;
Ivy Nguyen says
Hello. Although I’m not Korean but I love Korean food esp the side-dish!!! In this recipe, can I use the Thai Fish sauce (Three Crabs brand) instead? Is Korean fish sauce taste different than the other ones?
Aeri Lee says
hi Ivy Nguyen,
I tasted that three crabs brand fish sauce .. since i heard of it from other people.. it seems slightly different from Korean ones for flavor ..but I thought it is similar enough to use for Korean cooking.. I just noticed that though .. that three crabs brand fish sauce has MSG in it.. and that makes food taste more delicious and that’s why that is popular and people use it for cooking often. anyway.. yes you can use it. 🙂
Gin Shimada says
where do you order this salted anchovy sauce from? Looked everyone and can’t find anyone with the bottle in your picture.
AeriLee says
Hi Gin,
I will share some links from amazon for my recommended fish sauces you can use for Korean recipes.
https://amzn.to/47z5OH2
https://amzn.to/47cmbJS
I hope this helps. Thanks 🙂