The Yan Can Cook Book

by Martin Yan

A comprehensive compendium of over 200 carefully  tested recipes, lavishly illustrated with  diagrams, drawings, cartoons, and photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 1982

About the author

Martin Yan (Chinese: 甄文達) is a Chinese-born Hong Kong-American chef and food writer. He has hosted his award-winning PBS-TV cooking show Yan Can Cook since 1982.

Reviews

[Praj]

IF YAN CAN COOK, SO CAN YOU!!! Boy! I loved him.

[Stephanie Jones]

I read every single page and I appreciate that Martin Yan was cooking for an audience that is unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine. He takes you by the hand and walks you through what it is and how to cook and just try. I watched and enjoyed it as a kid and while some recipes seem dated, they are great. He is a perfect crossover from traditional Chinese cooking into an American home. He demystify the mystery and empowers you to feel that you can cook Chinese food.

[Serge Pierro]

Martin Yan made Chinese food in TV interesting. The book contains simple Chinese and Asian influenced recipes. Also, includes various techniques that are relevant to the cuisine at hand.

[Robert Lewis]

Some of you probably remember watching Yan demonstrate the basics of Chinese cuisine on his public television program. That was certainly my introduction to his work and what motivated me to want to read his cookbook. The book is pretty different from the television program, though, and not just in term of the obvious difference in medium, though that does play a role.

Where the book and show are similar is that Yan’s love of good Chinese cooking and mild sense of humor show through in both media. But that’s about where the similarities end because while the show provides a visual and instructive demonstration of each of the recipes, this book consists almost entirely of just simple recipes. It does have a couple chapters explaining basic techniques and a few sketches (but VERY few photos) of a couple more complicated techniques, but the vast majority of the book consists simply of a collection of recipes. The advantage here is that, unlike the show, it collects lots of recipes in one place complete with precise measurements for easy reference. But the disadvantage is that if you’re looking for the book to be as instructive for a beginning chef as the show, it’s probably going to disappoint.

So at the end of the day, is it good? That depends entirely on your purpose. If you want a bunch of great recipes, it’s great. If you’re looking for a real how-to guide, you’d be better served elsewhere. Personally, while I always like a cookbook with more photos or illustrations than are provided here, I’m pretty happy with the large number of recipes contained in these pages.

[Shane]

Not bad!

[Amy]

I almost forgot about this book! This was one of my very first cookbooks!