MILLIE: I approached the legendary chef Martin Yan in person at a dinner hosted by the Asian Food Channel at the New World Hotel last week. In town for a series of live cooking demonstrations, chef Yan is one of AFC’s most popular celebrity chefs, known for his amazing knife skills and wit. Believe it or not, Karla and I watched him debone a whole chicken in 18 seconds. Now, that’s fast!
We were honored to break bread with chef Yan and listen to his many stories and anecdotes about his culinary travels — his many awesome food adventures that have taken him far and wide.
KARLA: Chef Yan, together with the team of New World Hotel, prepared for us a six-course dinner with two kinds of appetizers, pomelo and prawn delight, and a trio of seafood fresh rice rolls with two dipping sauces. Next came the hot and sour pineapple fish soup and two kinds of main courses, char-grilled spring chicken over a bed of mixed greens and the wok-seared “shaking” beef with sweet jackfruit in sago coconut milk as our dessert.
Between courses, after we were served our appetizers and soup, chef Yan called everyone for a demo. He was only supposed to demo the wok-seared “shaking” beef dish but before that, he taught us the basics of knife skills and made a whole entertaining segment out of it. He’s such an entertainer that even though I had already learned all these basics, I was still captivated by his demo. He has a way of catching and keeping your attention, even more so up close and personal. I was in the front row!
His basic knife skills tips were to hold the blade of the knife while chopping. Don’t be scared to touch it. If the knife is held at the handle, you will have less control over it. He also said it is important to keep your knife sharp because a sharp knife is a safe knife, since you won’t have to wiggle your way in as much and there’s less chance of slipping when chopping something. Chef Yan also emphasizes how important it is to curl your fingers when you chop something: push your knuckles against the blade so you can control the size of whatever you’re chopping, at the same time knowing exactly where the blade is. One should not raise the blade higher than your knuckles to avoid accidents.
MILLIE: Originally from Guangzhou, China, chef Yan’s restaurateur father passed on when Martin was only 13 years old. His passion for cooking was evident at an early age and he went to Hong Kong to refine his talent at the Overseas Institute of Cookery and also worked as a kitchen apprentice at a popular Hong Kong restaurant.
Chef Yan also has a talent for teaching and he admits that his other passion is to share his knowledge with others. His advice to those in the field? “Enjoy your work. “
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Chef Yan hosts A Taste of Asia, a 26-episode series currently airing on Asian Food Channel every Friday until Nov. 27 at 7 p.m.
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