Martin Yan

“Chinese culture has a lot of virtues that are tremendously valuable to not only us as Asian-Americans, but also the world in general.”

“I think being famous is more of a hindrance, a constraint, than just letting yourself be free.”

“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.”

“When I retire or pass away, I will be able to look back and say that this has been an exciting life. That's all that matters.”

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

“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.”

“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...”

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

“I enjoy the quiet life.”

“Soy sauce is really a multi-purpose seasoning.”

“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.”

“In general I love to eat anything. I enjoy anything that is well prepared, a good spaghetti, lasagna, taco, steak, sushi, refried beans.”

“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.”