Four Decades on, Martin Yan Faces a New Audience and a New World

The man who used television to help many North Americans start cooking Chinese food at home is as cheery as ever, but aware of some harsher truths.

HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. — Live from his home kitchen in the Bay Area, Martin Yan flashed a smile, raised his cleaver and chanted the catchphrase that the 150 or so people watching him online were clamoring to hear: “If Yan can cook, so can you!” For Mr. Yan — who over a four-decade career has played the roles of television personality, cookbook author, restaurateur and now YouTube host — this longtime slogan is more than just a shtick. It’s a summary of all he believes in. If a soft-spoken boy from Guangzhou, China, can make it big in America cooking stir-fries and dumplings, he figures, anyone can do just about anything. Mr. Yan doesn’t have an enormous social media following or a list of viral recipes to his name. But his impact on the culinary sphere is immeasurable. In 1982, at age 33, Mr. Yan became one of the first people of Asian descent to host a cooking show in the United States. “Yan Can Cook,” on PBS, was a contemporary of programs like “Julia Child & More Company” and later on, “Today’s Gourmet,” starring Jacques Pépin. His show is still syndicated around the world, making it one of the longest-running American cooking programs.