Open a tub of doenjang and you know right away this is not a polite little condiment. It smells salty, earthy, fermented, and alive. Not in a cute “hint of umami” way. In a real Korean kitchen way. The kind of smell that makes a pot of stew taste deeper than its ingredient list, turns plain vegetables into banchan, and gives broth that settled-in flavor you cannot fake with just salt.
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