Manneung-ganjang (All-Purpose Soy Seasoning)

Manneung-ganjang is a modern name for an old Korean habit: keep a good soy seasoning ready, and dinner moves faster. My teacher did not call it all-purpose. She called it being prepared. A spoon over fried eggs, a splash into wilted spinach, a little brushed onto tofu, and suddenly rice has company.

The misunderstanding is in the word manneung, all-purpose. It doesn't mean one sauce should make every dish taste identical. It means the base is balanced enough to serve many dishes, then you finish each dish properly: sesame oil for greens, vinegar for cucumber, gochugaru for something that wants heat, nothing extra when the ingredient is already enough. Let it taste like itself.

This batch asks for one careful half hour tonight. Pull the kelp before it turns bitter, simmer the onion and scallion until the soy tastes round, strain out the fresh aromatics so the jar keeps cleanly, and add sesame oil only when serving. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.