'Cooking Returnee' Yoon Nam-no revealed the reason why he always carries a towel while cooking.
On the afternoon of the 30th, the MBC entertainment program 'Junjichan' featured actor Choi Kang-hee and chef Yoon Nam-no.
On this day’s broadcast, Yoon Nam-no said, "I think of the towel as my girlfriend. I once had a serious hand injury. Stainless steel pans go into the oven. A friend I was working with put one on, and it was really hot, but I grabbed it with my hand. My hand got stuck, and I suffered a severe burn, so I can't cook without a towel now. I check if it's hot with the towel," sharing his painful past of always carrying a towel while cooking.
The first guest video featured Choi Kang-hee. Arriving in front of a mysterious building, Choi Kang-hee picked up Song Eun-yi in the passenger seat and attempted to drive, to which Song Eun-yi expressed her anxiety, saying, "But do you know where you are? You don't know, right?" Song Eun-yi added, "No matter how busy you are, I wanted to do something with you. I was curious about our aptitudes. Let's do an aptitude test. I haven't done this before, but Hyun-hee recommended it! It's a test that kids can do," as they entered an office together.
Aptitude test expert Kwon Soon-yong explained, "We test using fingerprints to see my temperament, tendencies, and talents. Fingerprints are formed at 13 weeks of pregnancy. If late, they are formed by 21 weeks. Fingerprints do not change until death. There are external environmental factors that can change temperament," providing information about the fingerprint test.
Song Eun-yi first took her left thumbprint, followed by Choi Kang-hee's fingerprint. They also completed palm prints. The expert suggested, "It would be good for Choi Kang-hee to do a sole print test," and Choi Kang-hee proceeded with the sole print test.
The expert stated, "Song Eun-yi is someone who has no compromises on things that deviate from justice. She is a very strong principled person. To put it differently, she is rigid and lacks flexibility. However, comedians need to be quick-witted and flexible, but she has no sense of humor at all," surprising Song Eun-yi.
Next, the expert analyzed Choi Kang-hee's fingerprints, saying, "Kang-hee has a lot of round patterns. The biggest characteristic of this shape is kindness. A very outstanding trait is positive mimicking ability. If there is a mentor or role model, she mimics well. Among the contents from the sole print, a very good trait is her independent and original kindness. It is related to artistry and imagination. It may be described as quirky, but it is creative. She has many unique thoughts," analyzing Choi Kang-hee's fingerprints.
Afterward, the expert recited the report generated from the fingerprint analysis. "Kang-hee has a rich vocabulary. Song Eun-yi has good language skills but uses factual language. Looking at the brain structure, the frontal lobe is the mental area. Kang-hee has a strong will to do things but lacks drive. If she receives help from someone, it leads to results, but otherwise, it often ends up being 'a head without a tail,'" he analyzed. To this, Kang-hee responded, "People say I'm like a jellyfish. I'm really 'a head.' There's almost no 'tail,'" and the expert added, "Kang-hee is strong on the outside but soft on the inside. If you think about it, you two are like an older brother and a younger sibling," sharing the rest of the analysis results.
After completing the fingerprint analysis, Choi Kang-hee went out to give a career lecture to high school students. She said, "I thought I wouldn't be able to give a good lecture, but I had something I wanted to tell the kids, even if it meant cutting my bangs. I didn't have a dream when I was in high school, but everyone blooms at different times. I was worried I might give up too quickly," explaining her reason for the lecture.
Heading to a packed auditorium, Choi Kang-hee asked, "Do you know me? I'm more than twice your age. Do you get nervous too? Is there still a ranking? 9th grade? I was at 15th grade. And I was at 15th grade. I was terrible at studying. But I was good at decorating my diary. I loved writing beautifully and liked Jeon Ji-hyun and Shim Eun-ha. I became a celebrity because of my diary. Back then, there was a magazine selection contest, and a friend who liked me suggested I try it, and I got second place. After that, I received offers for minor roles, and I left my diary on the bus. When I went back to find it, the broadcasting station people had read my diary. I cried a lot because I thought they had stolen my diary. But my crying was caught on camera, and I was cast because I wore a school uniform," surprising the panelists.
She continued, "When I went to find my diary, I met director Park Chan-hong. He's the father of Park Wi. My life changed after filming the first day of the drama. I went back to school after filming, and I saw kids all stuck to the window, wondering who they were watching, and it turned out they were watching me," revealing behind-the-scenes stories.
After successfully finishing her lecture, Choi Kang-hee camped in front of her house. While boiling low-sodium cabbage ramen, she said, "What should I do? It's a total mess... First, throw in the octopus," showing her lack of cooking skills. While boiling the ramen, even though it was night, Choi Kang-hee said, "Octopus, I'm going to eat you deliciously," took a big bite, and honestly commented, "It's really not good," making everyone laugh.
The second guest video featured 'Cooking Returnee' Yoon Nam-no. He visited the fish market auction at 2 AM and started shopping for ingredients with a close friend and regular matchmaker. Upon hearing that camellia fish costs 250,000 won for 7 kg, Yoon Nam-no exclaimed, "Let's not buy it..." in shock at the price.
In the end, he purchased mackerel and patterned squid and ordered a bowl of ramen at the fish market. While eating, he kept glancing around, and junior chef Kim Tae-yeop remarked, "He has an external strength but internal weakness. He's the embodiment of anxiety," describing his personality.
Afterward, he appeared at the restaurant and immediately started preparing the mackerel. With dazzling hand movements, he accurately split the mackerel in half, wrapped all the portions for the day's business, and finally left work at 4 AM.
Waking up at 9 AM, he opened the refrigerator right away but surprised the panelists with the empty kitchen. After finishing his preparations to go out, he went upstairs to see his mother and said, "Did you eat? I'm going," showing a cool demeanor. His mother replied, "You should eat before you go! Be careful with the knife... Work hard," expressing her concern for her son.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, he made seafood rice and beef rice with junior chefs. Even while eating, he noticed himself clinking his utensils nervously and said, "Why am I doing this? I think it's because the juniors are comfortable," feeling flustered.
Later, as the restaurant's evening service began, he made beef tartare and gnocchi, casually asking customers, "Does it suit your taste?" He praised his juniors, saying, "Why are you all doing so well today?" After finishing the service, he appeared at a luxury hotel and met chef Lee Kyung-jin.
Yoon Nam-no joked with his friend, saying, "I have an allergy to caviar and an allergy to less matsutake mushrooms," and chef Lee Kyung-jin prepared matsutake mushroom tenderloin ankake. After taking a bite, Yoon Nam-no remarked, "This is the most delicate dish I've eaten this year. I was tired, but now I'm wide awake."
Seeing his friend making grilled red sea bream, Yoon Nam-no said, "That's a heartbreaking dish," recalling the ambiguous reviews he received on 'Black and White Chef' due to the seasoning.
Chef Lee Kyung-jin said, "I thought you went to raise the ratings? But you stubbornly survived. Not everything was delicious," sharing a genuine moment that made everyone burst into laughter.
Yoon Nam-no reflected, "I've had a lot of ups and downs while cooking... I've been scolded a lot and hit a lot... In my mid-20s, I threw away all my knives. I lived in a PC room for a year instead of home. I had social anxiety. Two seniors came to catch me. People around me said, 'The best revenge against them is for you to rise again,' so I applied for 'Master Chef,' but the sound of grilling duck sounded like rain. I've been cooking since middle school, but I hated hearing that I gave up," reminiscing about his painful past and touching the hearts of the panelists.
'Junjichan' airs every Saturday at 11:10 PM on MBC.
[Seo Yeo-ji, Star Today Guest Reporter]
