Eat Voraciously: More little joys, attention and a bean salad

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

Kimchi and Kale Dense Bean Salad.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Tuesday tidbits

Hi, all. Today's recipe is for Kimchi and Kale Dense Bean Salad.

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Before we start cooking, I have a few tidbits to share:

I'm carrying on as best as I can in these dim last days of January. I hope you are, too. I read and reread last week's list of little joys a few times, trying to absorb their gentle warmth. Then, a friend sent me "On Little Joys" by Hermann Hesse, published in 1905: "The high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy of joy. … My advice to the person suffering from lack of time and from apathy is this: Seek out each day as many as possible of the small joys."
This month, my book club read "The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource" by Chris Hayes. The book was a little bloated, especially in the middle, but Hayes might be onto something in his prediction that if we want to reclaim our attention, and therefore our lives, we'll have to teach ourselves to slow down.
You may have heard: Gourmet magazine is back. In newsletter form. As a fan of both Gourmet magazine and newsletters, this news briefly cheered me up the day I read about it. Something I noted in the second edition, which featured a recipe for baked rice pudding, was a lengthy screed about recipe trends today and the types of recipes the new Gourmet will feature. It made me think about the sorts of recipes I feature in Eat Voraciously, which tend to be for dishes that take less than an hour to prepare and, ideally, contain fewer than 10 ingredients. Busy people, particularly parents, appreciate shortcuts, easy ways to maximize flavor in fewer steps, any option to avoid dirtying another dish. But Gourmet has always been for the leisure class, so I admire this pointed return to cooking as a leisure activity, as a way to disconnect and let your mind focus on just one thing for an extended period of time. If you have time to spend several hours in the kitchen making a pie, crust and all, or confiting duck legs or slowly stirring together a lush, layered sauce — by all means, put your screen down and do it!

Back to the recipe: Today's dish does not contain fewer than 10 ingredients, but it does take only 30 minutes to put together. The key is the dressing, which is sweet, spicy, tart and full-bodied thanks to the addition of gochujang. (If you don't have gochujang in your pantry or fridge, use white miso for a milder dressing. Or add another tablespoon of maple syrup and a tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce to approximate the sweet heat of gochujang.) Consider the combination of greens, vegetables and beans a template. See suggestions for substitutions below the recipe.


	Today's Recipe

Ingredients for Kimchi and Kale Dense Bean Salad. (Photos by Scott Suchman/For The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky)

Kimchi and Kale Dense Bean Salad

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

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Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days. The salad gets better as it sits and absorbs the flavors of the dressing.
Where to buy: Furikake and gochujang can be found at Asian markets, well-stocked supermarkets and online. Baked marinated tofu, from brands such as Nasoya, Wildwood and Hodo, can be found at Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.

Servings: 4 (makes scant 12 cups)
Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

For the gochujang vinaigrette

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
1 tablespoon soy sauce, preferably reduced- or less-sodium, plus more as needed
4 teaspoons gochujang (see Where to buy)
1 garlic clove, minced or finely grated
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

For the salad

5 ounces kale, stemmed and finely chopped (2 cups)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Fine salt
One (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups (12 ounces) frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to the package instructions and drained
Generous 3/4 cup (6 ounces) vegan kimchi, roughly chopped, plus more as needed (see tips, below)
8 ounces plain firm tofu, or homemade or store-bought baked marinated tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (see Where to buy)
8 ounces English or mini cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 medium carrots (6 ounces total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
4 large red radishes (3 ounces total), cut into thin matchsticks
4 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped
Furikake, for serving (see Where to buy)

Steps

1. Make the gochujang vinaigrette: In a large Mason jar or other lidded container, combine the vinegar, oil, maple syrup, soy sauce, gochujang, garlic and salt. Seal tightly with a lid, and shake vigorously until emulsified and no lumps of gochujang remain. You should have about 3/4 cup.

2. Make the salad: In a large bowl, combine the kale with the oil, lightly season with salt, and use your hands to massage the greens until they start to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the black beans, edamame, kimchi, tofu, cucumber, carrots, radishes, scallions and vinaigrette, and toss well to combine. Taste, and add more soy sauce and kimchi, if desired.

3. Divide the salad among individual shallow bowls, sprinkle with furikake and serve.

From former Food editorial aide Anna Luisa Rodriguez, inspired by recipes from recipe developer and content creator Violet Witchel. Tested by Anna Luisa Rodriguez.

Nutrition information per serving (3 cups): Calories: 464; Total Fat: 25 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 45 g; Sodium: 879 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Protein: 24 g; Dietary Fiber: 14 g; Sugar: 15 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

Kale >> thinly sliced napa cabbage.
Maple syrup or agave >> honey (if you're not vegan) or sugar.
If you don't like spice >> use shiro (white) miso instead of gochujang.
Black beans >> chickpeas, or cannellini or navy beans.
Canned beans >> 1 1/2 cups home-cooked beans.
Tofu >> shredded chicken.
No baked marinated tofu or plain firm tofu? >> Use extra-firm, super-firm or high-protein tofu.
Furikake >> sesame seeds and/or finely chopped or crumbled nori.
To make this gluten-free >> use a gluten-free gochujang and tamari.
Soy sauce >> tamari or liquid aminos.
Not all kimchi and furikake are vegan, as some brands include seafood products. Read the label to check the ingredients.