Baek Jin-hee collects fabric softeners to preserve travel memories

Actress Baek Jin-hee revealed on TV CHOSUN's 'Home-Style Meal Travels' that she collects fabric softeners from different countries to remember her trips. During the program, she also sampled various long-arm octopus dishes in Gwangju, including beef tartare and octopus tangtang-i.

Actress Baek Jin-hee has revealed a unique hobby of recording her travel memories through scents. During this journey shared via TV CHOSUN's 'Home-Style Meal Travels', Baek Jin-hee showcased her extraordinary senses while enjoying long-arm octopus dishes in Gwangju.

"Every country has a different scent" Moments of travel remembered through fabric softener

Baek Jin-hee stated that she possesses a highly sensitive sense of smell. She noted that when traveling to different countries, she feels a unique scent belonging to each nation, which she identified as the smell of the local fabric softener. "When I arrive in each country, I feel the scent of that country; when people pass by, it is the smell of that country's fabric softener," Baek Jin-hee explained, adding that she has a hobby of collecting fabric softeners from each country to remember these moments.

She added that she also pays close attention to scents within her home. Her comment that she enjoys the scent spreading throughout her house by using plenty of fabric softener when doing laundry shows how her delicate senses translate into her daily lifestyle and collecting habits.

The expertise of Gwangju long-arm octopus: 'Sonakbi', a harmony of beef and octopus

The culinary journey led to long-arm octopus dishes in Gwangju. The menus introduced during this visit were 'Sonakbi', where beef and long-arm octopus are mixed together, and Yeonpotang. As Gwangju is a city with strong pride, being called the home of food, the menus from restaurants that have maintained deep-rooted flavors even in an environment where it is difficult for outsiders to survive were introduced.

In particular, the freshness of the ingredients and the cooking technique were cited as the keys to the long-arm octopus Yeonpotang. To achieve a chewy yet soft texture, the process of lightly blanching the octopus before the leg meat turns a deep red color determines the taste. The owner shared the know-how of using only vegetables instead of anchovy to prepare the broth to maintain a clean taste. The long-arm octopus from the Sinan sea, which is plump in the autumn, boasted an even softer texture due to its characteristic of using long legs to catch prey.

The taste of 'Tansuham' blending beef tartare and octopus tangtang-i

The meal continued with 'Tansuham', which features beef tartare and octopus tangtang-i enjoyed together. Prepared alongside the sound of octopus being pounded on a cutting board, this menu created a harmony where the soft texture of the beef tartare contrasted with the bouncy texture of the octopus. This was presented in a composition where seasoned rice and seaweed added sweet, salty, and savory flavors.

Baek Jin-hee reacted that the beef tartare and octopus paired unexpectedly well, enjoying the flavor as a health-restoring food. Through pleasant conversation with the production crew on-site, Baek Jin-hee expressed her satisfaction with the long-arm octopus dishes tasted in Gwangju along with daily scenes from the filming site.

Source: TVCHOSUN JOY (YouTube)