Palace or Gunjung Tteokbokki and "Typical" Bodies.

I’ve never had what some might call a “typical” body. I outgrew my mother’s bras and panties when I was only 9 years old, and was therefore never lucky enough to borrow her skirts or blouses in high school. Going to the Korean grocery store was terrifying to me—I felt like an oversized beast, always worried I’d bump into someone or knock a tiny, little Asian woman off her feet with my size. Despite the near constant pressure to diet throughout my childhood, in college I gained the freshman 15—3x over, and so many people didn’t bother to hide how my very atypical Asian woman’s body affected their views and opinions of me.
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By the time I started running nearly a decade later, I was conditioned to believe that my body was not just an immense source of discomfort to myself, but that I would always be viewed as somehow “less than” those with lean, long bodies. People may look at me and think “well, she can’t be a serious runner, she’s not skinny,” when, in fact, I’ve been running marathons for 6 years. Maybe it’s just me, the criticism I’ve internalized over the course of my life. Regardless, the struggle to accept my body—as it is—remains ongoing.
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The “typical” body takes on yet another dimension when people discover I’m vegan. “Oh wow, so healthy!” But I don’t have a body that would grace the cover of “healthy” magazines and I definitely don’t look like a spokesperson for smoothie bowls (though I’m actually quite good at making them!). Again, I realize that I may be projecting my own stereotypes of what “typical” may mean, but. I recently had the chance to speak with Kim-Julie Hansen (@kimjuliehansen)—a vegan for 12 years—who similarly struggles with judgments (whether real or simply perceived) arising out of her “atypical” body. You can listen to full episode here: https://youtu.be/iKmyC8bxq9U.
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Ultimately, typical, atypical, or stereotypical should be irrelevant. Our value as women, runners, vegans, or humans should be a function NOT of what we weigh, but what we do. Our choices to eat, move, or sit on the couch and binge Netflix should inform our pursuit of joy, not approval. This is a lesson I am trying to learn.
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Also, this is Palace or Gunjung Tteokbokki. I used stuffed ricecakes for this version and I loved it! Instead of the spicy sauce you typically see for tteokbokki, the sauce is made of soy sauce, sweetener (I used brown rice syrup), and sesame oil.


Joanne Lee Molinaro is a Korean American trial lawyer, New York Times best-selling author, James Beard Award-winner, and host of the Are You Ready podcast. With nearly 5 million fans spread across her social media platforms, Joanne has appeared on The Food Network, CBS Saturday Morning, ABC's Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Today Show, PBS, and The Rich Roll Podcast. She's been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, and CNN; and her debut cookbook was selected as one of “The Best Cookbooks of 2021” by The New York Times and The New Yorker among others.

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