MARTIN YAN

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.

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.

Why is America such a great country. It is because we stand united.

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

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

When you have a good stock, you can make a good soup.

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.

Soy sauce is really a multi-purpose seasoning.

First of all, I can't really claim to be a great chef.

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.

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

I normally don't eat junk food.

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.

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.

You can do almost anything with soup stock, it's like a strong foundation. When you have the right foundation, everything tastes good.

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

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.

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.

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

Because normally with Western cuisine, you'll serve vegetables separate from the meat, so kids will eat the meat and never touch the vegetables.

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

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.

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.

People who don't travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what's in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live.

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