Martin Yan Quotes

At thirteen, when I arrived in Hong Kong after leaving China, I made a living by working in a restaurant.

If I could only have one type of food with me, I would bring soy sauce. The reason being that if I have soy sauce, I can flavor a lot of things.

I can represent my culture while helping not only the Chinese-American community, but also the community at large.

I live a very low-key life.

I am just a normal professional with a great job and a great life.

Always start with the freshest ingredients.

You don't have to show people how successful you are.

So when I do Chinese cooking, I mix everything together, then the kids have to eat their vegetables. They won't have the patience to pick them out.

The problem with a lot of Chinese is that they put up divisions between Taiwanese, Hong Kong natives, mainlanders. We are never united. I really hope that the Chinese can be more united.

Happiness is within. It has nothing to do with how much applause you get or how many people praise you. Happiness comes when you believe that you have done something truly meaningful.

I think a lot of times it's not money that's the primary motivation factor; it's the passion for your job and the professional and personal satisfaction that you get out of doing what you do that motivates you.

A lot of people don't enjoy their job, they may even hate it, but I am lucky enough to be able to make a living through my passion.

I've never considered myself a celebrity or even part of the entertainment business. I'm a cooking teacher.

I remember when I was in college, I used to watch Julia Child's cooking show during dinner and joke with my roommates about becoming a TV chef.

I have a lot of cooking tools. In fact I have a whole drawer full of knives. Cooking tools, especially cutlery, are my toys.

I also have a lot of preserved foods, things that will keep for a long time like dried fish, seaweed or lotus seed.

I don't like to waste anything. Any food left over from the night before is always eaten the next day.

As long as the food is well prepared and not overdone, I think it tastes good. It doesn't matter if it's Chinese, Japanese, anything.

When you enjoy what you do, work becomes play.

The hoopla, the applause, the praises have never excited me.

The only thing that counts is if you know how to prepare your ingredients. Even if with the best and freshest ingredients in the world, if your dish is tasteless or burnt, it's ruined.

I normally don't eat junk food.

Just like if you were brought up on a farm, you would most likely carry on your father's business as a farmer; I was brought up in the kitchen and ended up becoming a chef.

Some people never contribute anything positive to society, they may even drain our resources, but most of us try to do something better, to give back.