Gochujang Braised Baby Potato and White Bean Stew

Using a chef knife and cutting board, halve 600 g baby new potatoes into uniform bite-sized pieces, strip and chop 150 g Tuscan kale leaves into 3 cm ribbons, mince 4 cloves of garlic, grate 15 g peeled ginger, and slice 4 scallions, reserving the green tops separately from the white bottoms.

Place 250 g cannellini beans into a colander, rinse under cold tap water to wash away excess canning starch, and drain thoroughly.

Set a Dutch oven over medium heat at 160°C (320°F) and add 15 ml toasted sesame oil, warming for 1 minute until fragrant and shimmering.

Add the sliced scallion whites, minced garlic, and grated ginger to the Dutch oven, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 90 seconds until aromatic.

Add 45 g gochujang directly to the aromatics in the pot and stir constantly for 2 minutes to bloom the fermented chili paste in the warm oil.

Pour 750 ml low-sodium vegetable broth, 30 ml soy sauce, and 15 ml mirin into the pot, stirring with the wooden spoon to dissolve the caramelized gochujang completely from the bottom of the pot.

Add the halved baby potatoes to the Dutch oven, bring the broth to a rolling boil at 100°C (212°F), then immediately lower the heat to medium-low at 90°C (194°F), cover tightly with the lid, and simmer undisturbed for 20 minutes.

Remove the pot lid, stir in the 250 g drained cannellini beans and 150 g chopped Tuscan kale, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until the kale wilts into the stew and the beans are thoroughly heated through.

Turn off the heat, fold the reserved sliced scallion greens into the stew, and sprinkle 5 g toasted white sesame seeds across the surface.

Ladle 400 g of the stew into each of four shallow serving bowls, distributing the potatoes, white beans, and braised kale evenly with generous broth.