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Martin Yan
Martin Yan, celebrated host of more than 1,500 cooking shows, highly respected food and restaurant consultant, and certified master chef, enjoys distinction as both teacher and author. His many talents are showcased in over two dozen best-selling cookbooks, including Martin Yan’s Feast: The Best of Yan Can Cook, Martin Yan’s Invitation to Chinese Cooking, and Chinese Cooking For Dummies. Yan is the founder of the Yan Can International Cooking School in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yan Can Cook has received national and international recognition, including a 1998 Daytime Emmy Award, a 1996 James Beard Award for Best TV Food Journalism, and a 1994 James Beard Award for Best TV Cooking Show.
Articles & Books From Martin Yan
Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-20-2023
If you're in the mood for Chinese food, don't go out — try cooking it yourself! Cooking Chinese food at home can be quick, easy, and fun. To get started, you need to know the basic ingredients, tools, and techniques to make your Chinese cooking the best it can be.Basic Tools for Chinese CookingIn Chinese cooking (or any other cuisine), you can usually use the kitchen tools you already have.
Article / Updated 08-23-2023
Chinese cooking involves all kinds of techniques from stir-frying to steaming to simmering. This table lists a variety of Chinese cooking techniques and what you use them for, and a few tips as well.TechniqueThe ResultsWhat You NeedHow Long?TipsStir-fryingCrisp, brightly colored foods with lots of nutrition and
flavor, but little fatA wok or large frying panLightning-quick — there’s not time.
Article / Updated 08-23-2023
Stock your pantry with basic ingredients for Chinese cooking so that you can whip up an authentic Chinese meal on a moment’s notice. Just add whatever fresh meat, fish, and produce you feel like — and before you know it, you’ll have a balanced, quick, and easy-to-make dish on your table.Sauces and CondimentsS
Article / Updated 08-23-2023
In Chinese cooking (or any other cuisine), you can usually use the kitchen tools you already have. But some Chinese recipes do call for specialized tools, such as a claypot casserole. Other items, like a rice cooker or wok just make cooking easier. If you don't already have some of the utensils in this list, head to the cooking supply store — which is always a fun trip!
Article / Updated 04-26-2016
This drunken chicken recipe doesn’t call for chickens who’ve had one too many martinis. It actually gets its name from the step of marinating moist, cooked chicken pieces overnight in Chinese rice wine mixed with sugar, ginger, and other flavorings.
Credit: PhotoDisc, Inc.
Preparation time: 25 minutesCooking time: 50 minutesYield: 4 servings
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 pounds)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup Chinese rice wine
3 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons soy sauce
6 pieces ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Discard any lumps of fat from the chicken.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
Removing shells from shrimp is pretty easy, whether they’re cooked or raw. To shell shrimp, you need just your hands. If you want, put on a pair of vinyl gloves to prevent shrimp-scented hands. If you have a fresh lemon, though, you can use some of the juice to wash away the “fragrance.”Hold the shrimp by the tail with one hand, and then use the thumb and forefinger of the other hand to grasp the shrimp’s legs and edge of the shell.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
The Chinese have a long tradition of using herbs and spices to boost a dish’s flavor (and provide nutritional benefits). You can now find many Chinese herbs and spices at supermarkets and specialty food stores. For Chinese culinary creations, you can’t go wrong with these Chinese herbs and spices:
Chinese five-spice powder: The Chinese have long believed that the number five has special curative and healing powers, which is why this light cocoa-colored powder originally contained five specific spices.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Potstickers are Chinese dumplings that are steamed and then fried. The combination of steaming and pan-frying the potstickers gives the dumpling wrappers an irresistible balance between smooth and noodlelike on top, and crispy and caramelized on the bottom. Potstickers, despite the name, shouldn’t actually stick to your wok, though.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Chinese cooking encompasses thousands of sauces and condiments, and thanks to your supermarket’s Asian food aisle, many classic Chinese sauces and condiments are readily available. Some of these flavors are strong, some are subtle. Either way, it’s fun to experiment with these intriguing ingredients.
Black bean sauce: Made of salted black beans and rice wine; has a savory, slightly salty flavor that sometimes gets a little kick from garlic and hot chiles.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Sometimes called egg drop soup, this version of egg flower soup is surprisingly quick and easy to make. Egg flower soup is a great dish when your cupboards are almost bare and you just can’t summon the energy to fix anything more complicated.
The name “egg flower soup” often confounds Western diners: For one thing, the soup contains no flowers.