Garlic-Gochujang-Kale

Everyone talks about how everyone else should be eating kale. It’s true that there are tons of health benefits. Kale is loaded with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and is a true powerfood. But it’s one of those ingredients that can easily be ruined, and one where the popular preparations (I’m talking about you, kale chips) suck.

So, with a head of lacinato kale from Little Seed Gardens in my fridge, I took some inspiration from a tub of gochujang.

I figured I could include the gochujang into my standard saute-braise technique for cooking kale.

So I used a razor blade to slice some garlic then toasted it a little in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil that I heated over medium for a couple of minutes.

In the meantime (before the garlic browned), I mixed about 1 teaspoon of gochujang with about 2 tablespoons of warm water and created a mess in a bowl, a tasty mess in a bowl.

I removed the ribs from the kale and sliced it into strips about 1 centimeter in width. I added the kale with a pinch of salt (not much since kale tends to be a little salty sometimes) and some cracked black pepper to the oil and garlic and sauteed for about a minute.

The gochujang-water went in, and I stirred it into the greens quickly and vigorously.

Once the liquid has fully cooked into the kale, it was ready to be devoured.

This preparation packs the punches of lightly toasted garlic with the sweet spiciness of gochujang. On top of the strong and slightly bitter kale, these flavors really help to create a well-roundedness and depth of flavor that takes your standard boring sauteed kale to the next level. I usually eat this with a couple of fried or poached eggs or some grilled chicken breast for a super healthy, nutrient packed meal.