Innovator’s Kitchen: Simple Miso Soup
Do you know where your last meal came from? I’m not asking about the exact farm the ingredients came from, but I am asking how much thought went into the source of the meal and it’s ingredients. What story does this food bring? What journey could it have traveled before landing on my plate?
What is the source of this pizza? The burger on my plate? What about all the other variety of cuisines? What ingredients and processes helped create that flavor in this dish that we don’t find in the other dishes we also enjoy? Or, why does the same dish taste different in one restaurant vs the other?
Where did this come from?
On the second show of Innovator’s Kitchen, we celebrated the power of curiosity and story as we learned how to cook a simple miso soup.
This technique mirrors the art of balancing your truth while considering all of the wisdom and insights we gather. How can you ensure you are speaking from your authentic voice and not living a life influenced by expectations?
Let’s take a bite into this wisdom.
We present to you, from our April menu, a Simple Miso Soup!
Innovator’s Kitchen is InnovatorsBox’s original documentary series pairing a cooking demo with savory leadership lessons. Created by Monica Kang, Founder & CEO of InnovatorsBox, Season 1 will feature our friend, Chef Eliza Martin, a Champion of Food Network’s Chopped!
As Chef Eliza dove into the preparation of Miso Soup, and as we chatted about how rarely do we pause to think about the food’s origin story or how it got here, it reminded me the importance of food curiosity.
Often, we simply pick our restaurant, enjoy our meal (or not), and leave. Some restaurants become our favorites and we frequent them while avoiding the others. We remember to hop on this little app called Yelp and read or leave a review, but tend to take for granted our food sources and rarely think about them.
You might be asking, “why does it matter?”.
Take an informed perspective
“How did I get this in front of me?”
Food curiosity can help us make better choices and enjoy what’s in front of us from an informed perspective. As important as it is to teach kids that food doesn’t just come from the grocery store and that it doesn’t grow in a can, bottle, or bag, it’s also important for us adults to ask this curious question of “where?” as an exploration of dietary mindfulness.
This question of “where” may also lead to a list of restaurants, cafes, and other food suppliers that we’ve never or rarely been to. It may lead us to understand more deeply why we support these businesses? Or have more clarity around how we eat when we’re at home vs. at the restaurants. At restaurants, do we always order the same thing or have we tried everything on the menu? At home, is our fridge always stacked with same staple items, or are we explorative?
It may also help us be more appreciative of all the different foods we’re drawn to. And with curiosity, some products may even surprise us and deepen our appreciation for the global village.
Celebrate our own unique stories
When you cook this week, take the time to review where you got your ingredients. And we encourage you to continue being mindful of your reasons and the values that drive your food choices.
While we take a moment to pause and get curious about where our meal and its ingredients come from, what origin story these flavors have, and how they land on our table, let’s also remember to acknowledge and appreciate the diversity of perspective.
As citizens of a multicultural society like ours, we’re blessed to have people who come from a variety of backgrounds, race, cultures, and walks of life. Just like our food, we all have our own unique stories to tell, we’ve all traveled different distances in life and experienced different journeys. And our ability to understand and encourage the perspective of others is crucial not only to operate effectively cross-culturally, but also to make progress!
As we bite into this wisdom, we also encourage you to download our recipe and try making the simple miso soup at home!
Want to try the recipe? Download it below!
WATCH THE FULL SHOW :
About the Author
Monica H. Kang
Monica H. Kang, Founder, and CEO of InnovatorsBox® and Author of Rethink Creativity is transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. She helps companies rethink culture, leadership, and team development by making creativity practical and relatable regardless of industry or job title. She has worked with clients worldwide including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, government, and nonprofits. Monica’s work has been recognized by The White House, Ashoka Changemakers, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Prior to InnovatorsBox®, Monica was a nuclear nonproliferation policy expert. She holds an M.A. from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in Strategic Studies and International Economics and a B.A. from Boston University.
