Uncle Roger Review OG UNCLE Mongolian Beef (Martin Yan)

The one motto I will always remember from my childhood is "If Yan can cook, so can you!". The man is a legend.

It's amazing that this chef still has his PBS show today at age 74! He's never stopped cooking and inspiring people and that's truly admirable and remarkable. Mad respect

Saturday mornings, after cartoons were done, PBS time and it was Martin Yan, Justin Wilson, and Julia Child exposing my tiny rural Indiana brain to culture and flavor. His skill with a knife and his positive, affirming voice were mesmerizing. That szying "If Yan can cook, you can too!" Was burned into my brain and inspired me to try tasting and cooking food from cultures I had no experience with. It led to a lifelong love of cooking and an openness to new things that would lead me out of my little rural town and into a much wider world.
Legend almost seems to humble.

We need a Yan/Roger collab more than ever... I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this show growing up.

Martin Yan was the man who introduced me to cooking and enjoying great food. I remember buying his book and trying as many recipes as I could. The man is a legend and great entertainer.

This guy is like the Chinese version of Justin Wilson of The Cajun Cook fame.
Down to earth, personable, likeable, well beloved by his fans, and an excellent cook!

Yan cooking wasn't the only good thing about him, his personality and how entertaining he is as well

I teared up. I watched him to learn how to cook in general. He was so straightforward about the ease of cooking. Loved his show.

I've had the pleasure of watching Martin Yan cook in person. He's even more awesome in person! He's also hilarious. It's almost like watching a comedy team cook where his "partner" is the food.
If you want to see something REALLY hilarious, dig up the episode of "Emerald Live" where Emeril cooks alongside Martin Yan. Yan constantly makes fun of Emeril's (lack of) technique through the whole show.

I love how Nigel casually insults the Chinese government with the credit score and Taiwan stab 😂 such an underrated move!

I grew up watching Martin Yan alongside Julia Childs. He always made me feel like I could legitimately make Chinese food (like Bob Ross made me feel like I could paint) and I never could, but I thank him for the inspiration. Uncle Martin Fuiyoh!

Yan's knife skills was the one thing I remembered from when my parents watched him. Next level and very entertaining.

Yan didn't cook to show off his skills, he cooked to inspire us. A legend

Met Martin purely by random chance my first week of Culinary School in San Francisco. He was recording a special at one of the cooking stores. He was the nicest person you could imagine. Let my friends and I hang out and watch the shoot. At the end he gave us some great tips and advice.

As a former Vietnamese kid, his show was such a hit here. We barely understand English back then but we all known the phrase "Yan can cook". I dont even remember the content now but still remember his chopping

This took me back to those lazy Sundays watching PBS and checking out some OG chefs like Yan, Julia Child, and Nick Stellino! Martin Yan was awesome!!!

Love Mr. Yan! Coolest guy EVER. When I was 9 or 10 he had dinner at our house, he loved my mother's Chicken Prosciutto recipe. And yes, he smiles all of the time just like he does on his show 😂

"If Yan can cook so can you" is such an absolute power move after he spent the whole video showing up his audience with knife wok and plating technique.

I was lucky enough to meet and interview Mr. Yan back in the 2000s. He's a friend's Uncle (really) and he was gracious enough to let us bother him for a couple of hours. Mr. Yan was an incredible guy - nice, knowledgeable, and a force of nature. I was really impressed at his breadth of knowledge - from production, to business, to cooking. One of the highlights of my career.

When I was young all the cooking shows were on PBS. It was Julia Child, Galloping Gourmet and Yan Can Cook. Martin was my favorite. I was fascinated by how great he chopped and how funny he was. 25 years later I got to assist Martin for a whole day of cooking demos, and even got to show him how I taught myself how to chop like him with a Chinese cleaver. He gifted me a signature cleaver and I got an autographed Martin Yan cookbook and lots of pics. One of the best days of my cooking career

I grew watching him and had the extreme pleasure of cooking for him in my chef career! He's a culinary legend!! FUIYOH!!!

Mr. Yan was definitely my cooking inspiration. Best cooking show on TV. So much passion, so many laughs. Love it!

I met this man a few months ago at a culinary conference. Was such a pleasure. He taught me so much.

"Yan can cook" by Martin Yan is really an OG!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Glad to see Uncle Roger bring him back!

Martin Yan introduced the world that Chinese food wasn’t just fried rice and chow mein. Martin Yan is a legend and the only person on tv with an Asian face in the 80’s and 90’s.

I miss this guy he was one of the best cooks to watch on television I grew up as a kid watching him taught me a lot about cooking and Chinese food

Met Martin Yan at the 1989 pork expo. After his show in the expo, my family and I talked to him for hours. Such a nice guy, and he let us eat his food he cooked. He didn't have any forks or chopsticks so we ate it with toothpicks. Memory I will never forget. So delicious.

I’m almost 54 years old and uncle Martin is the first cooking show I ever watched. Legend.

There was an afternoon cooking show out of Vancouver, BC in the late 70's-early 80's called Wok With Yan featuring Stephen Yan (who owned several restaurants around Vancouver) that introduced a LOT of people to Asian cooking. And although they weren't related, Martin Yan and Yan Can Cook sounds like it was very similar, just in a larger market.
Both were fantastic ambassadors for Asian food and also showed that making it at home was not that difficult. And you know that you've had an impact when it was before the internet but people remember you fondly 40+ years later.

I love how at 5:05 he continues the joke for the people then quickly switches back to cooking mode; man's a legend ✌🏼

Uncle Roger really went from (sort of) generic youtube react content to a serious food chanel for homecooks (with a laugh) and actually giving great advise about asian cooking. I think you motivated a lot of people (like me) to cook asian food as correct as possible. I even got a rice cooker. I loved the video you did with guga and josh, and you actually kept up compared to josh his cooking.
Great direction this channel is heading towards.

As a kid I loooooved watching Yan can cook!! Never missed an episode

The best thing I heard of Martin Yan is that he was awarded the James Beard Life time achievement award in 2022. Many Americans have forgotten about the legend but his peers have not.

OH MY GOD THANK YOU FOR THIS!! I grew up watching Yan can cook but never met anyone else who did.

I used to volunteer as a kid on the public station in Sacramento, CA, in the mid/late 80s and got to mee him!!! He was one of the nicest, most fun people EVER!!!! I ADORE HIM, and I'm so glad that you finally got around to him. Thank uou Uncle Roger for bringing back a wonderful childhood memory!

I have loved Yan Can Cook on PBS since my childhood!! He is the real OG alright, Uncle Roger, thank you for giving him due respect!!

Martin Yan's knife skills were always above and beyond all the other chefs on TV at the time. The way he would count along with every slice getting faster and faster. Crazy skills.

One of my first and favorite celebrity chefs too. Taught me how to peel an onion and so much more. If Yan can cook, so can you!!

I loved watching Yan when I was a child. This man was such an inspiration to me to learn to cook in general. I hope you do work with him someday. That'd be wonderful to see! ❤

Wok with Yan was such a beautiful thing to watch as a kid in the 90s. His apron sayings were amazing!
"Over wok, under paid"
"Woks new pussycat"
"Wok on the wild side"
"Wok the heck"
"All wokked up"
"Wok goes in must come out"

Uncle Yan is the Bob Ross of cooking. If he can cook (or paint) so can you!

I remember growing up watching him and Justin Wilson on PBS with my dad. Still to this day one of my all time favorites.

Was born in 1971. Martin Yan is awesome and a life saver. Moved to Alaska in 1982, was one of the few shows that we got. When i joined the Army in 1989, used to watch his show when stationed in Korea. He fostered an enjoyment in cooking and learning about dishes that has helped me to this day. Awesome episode, he is one of the OGs.

I watched him back in the 80s and 90s. I was entertained to no end. Martin is definitely a classic!

Back in the '80s, there were two famous Chinese Cooking Shows broadcasted in the Philippines. They were "Yan Can Cook" with Martin Yan (USA) and "Wok with Yan" with Stephen Yan. (CAD). "Wok with Yan" was shown first and was more popular. I always wanted a cook-off between the two Yans. 😊

Thanks for bringing back a wholesome legend Uncle Roger.

I have to take a moment to give my respect for Martin Yan. Yan can cook was my number one all time favorite cooking show. It's because of him my kids wonder why I show off with my knife while I cook.

I loved watching Martin Yan as a kid. And whenever my dad made Chinese food, he'd say while he was making it, "Look at that!" 😊
Good times.

Thank you for featuring Martin Yan. I grew up watching him in the 80s in Trinidad. So many people don't know this awesome man. You've inspired me to go back and watch his old episodes.

This brought back a memory. My late sister was a cook. She cooked at a Chinese restaurant for several years and I worked there as a server for awhile. One day I was setting up for dinner, making rice, preparing garnishes, stocking the drinks fridge. She and another cook were chopping up huge carrots into julienne with cleavers. After a few minutes of the rhythmic chopping my sister broke into song "That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang..."
We all three had to stop working for a minute until we could stop laughing and get our breath. My sister went to the office to explain to the owner but the owner was still getting *her* breath back 😂

Martin Yan is my childhood, used to watch his show on TV with my mother, it bring back old good time

Grew up watching Martin Yan, Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Jeff Smith, Justin Wilson, and so many other great chefs, the 80s were a great time to learn to cook!

Yan inspired my cooking career from watching him in the 80's. He is the OG Boss (Uncle).

Martin Yan is a true legend!

I watched him as a kid in the 80s on PBS. Every Saturday morning. I even taped his shows on my VCR so I could rewatch them. He is the single reason I love Asian food and culture so much as an adult. Almost 50 years old now.

Yan, along with the rest of the line up in the 80's was the peak of quality and wholesome shows that no only entertained you but was just as informational as well. I wish life was that simple still. I can still remember watching hours of shows on PBS laying in my grandmothers floor on a quilt that she made, taking a break from riding my bike around the neighborhood in the summers heat.

Real talk, as a kid born in the 80s, Yan Can Cook was one of my favorite shows on PBS because the food looked so good and Martin Yan could "julienne" vegetables like a MF.

When he said, “Zai Jian!” At the end. I got a lil nostalgic being raised on 80s TV and of my old Chinese class. Plus the joy he said it in. Just warmed my heart. 💗

I so loved watching Yan Can Cook. He made it sound so simple and accessible to everyone, and just felt warm and welcoming.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Martin Yan when I was helping teach at a high school last year. He's still just as witty and charismatic as he has always been. He even took a picture with me. Nice guy, he was showing a variety of students how to make various dishes and adding a bit of his own pizazz to it.

your relentless mocking of Jamie Oliver's cooking skills always brings a smile to my face

I loved watching him. He’s was the start of my cooking show addiction lol

I used to watch Yan can cook every day after school. He was so funny, the field trips were awesome. I wanted to be a chef like him 😂

Martin Yan was a big part of my childhood, love this tribute to the OG Uncle Martin.

i love martin yan, and he clearly influenced your cooking show style, i love it!

As a Taiwanese, I get satisfied easily just to hear Uncle Roger mention Taiwan in his weejio💕😳

This show is what made me love cooking, used to watch it as a kid and still watch it on KRclip lol

I really appreciate Uncle Roger talking about the real history of Mongolian Beef, but not shitting on the dish itself. Being a Chinese girl from SF, it’s great to see someone not crapping on Chinese American food for not being “real”. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Yan is such a legend. My interest in food and cooking in general can be attributed to him. Still love watching him make food.

Marty was good enough to enthral me as a teenager, he had the skills and personality as well.

I used to love Martin Yan! Just downloaded this video to make this dish 😋

Martin Yan was the inspiration for me becoming a chef, such an amazing man and chef. I remember the episode after his son was born they carried him on to the set in a giant wok so Martin could introduce him to the world.

Martin Yan is truly the OG uncle chef!! I used to watch him on PBS back in the day.😊

He was my absolute favorite. I think he's one of the reasons I love to cook. I would watch him every time I could.

martin is really a legend u should have him on this channel! u guys should cook together

What a blast from the past. I just realised the reason I know how to Julienne was from watching Yan can cook growing up in Nigeria. absolute legend!

Yan Can Cook was literally my childhood. Thanks for bringing me back 🥰

OMG, I grew up watching Martin Yan! Thank you so much for this Uncle Roger! Because of Yan can cook, I always found it weird that TV chefs/cooks never shared their food with the audience after the show, haha!

Since I was born in the early 1990s, got to know more about Yan himself and his iconic catchphrase growing up even though I was watching reruns of a popular 1980s cooking show here.
Now I can cook, and so can you even if it's for yourself because you don't trust others eating food you make. 😂

When Star TV launched in India, in the beginning their programming was just their HK feed lifted and beamed directly to India…Yan Can Cook was something my mother and I would never miss - the dishes he would cook up, his knife skills, all of it was so fascinating!

That social credit score joke had me dying 😂😂😂

I loved watching this show as a kid. If Yan can cook, so can you!❤

Martin Yan is one of my childhood heroes! Number 1 chef!

I met him last year (2022) for a cooking demo. hes still as sharp and witty as ever.

Growing up in Canada, Martin Yan and The Urban Peasant were what I watched when I wanted to learn to cook. Little 8 year old me would watch him every chance I got. I honestly have to credit him for my love of Asian cuisine.

Never heard of him before this video but I know he must’ve been a great and funny chef and I can see why Uncle Roger likes him a lot.

Uncle Yan will forever be my first and favorite chef I've ever watched! I watched him between age 11-14, such a fun man!

Being Canadian I grew up with this show since it was filmed in Vancouver BC. He was awesome.

As someone turning 40 next month, I can say, Yan can Cook was my very first favorite cooking show!

Thank you so much, Uncle Roger, for bringing the awesomeness that is Martin Yan to a new generation. I grew up with him and loved him, watching this is so nostalgic. He is such a great entertainment chef. And he still is with his KRclip channel!

I watched Yan as a kid and I really loved it. Like 8 year old with no cooking experience, but martin Yan made me love it.

This brings back memories. When we were fresh off the boat (the plane) from Jamaica 🇯🇲 to the USA, a whole new world of opportunities and food opened up to us. My father and I would watch Yan Can Cook on PBS. My father was so inspired that he bought a wok and started shopping at smaller local markets. We Jamaicans love our spices, seasonings, ginger, bok choy, cabbages, etc. so lots of wonderful fusion foods were born. Uncle Yan is the best ❤

Yan can cook!! ❤ I grew up watching him

Yeah that guy is a OG chef here in Canada and his dad had a cooking show on TV he's the master they still have the restaurants to this day

I just made Yan's mongolian beef recipe a week or so ago. My wife met him years ago, he signed a cookbook and left me a voicemail while I was at work before I was getting ready to go back to school for a business degree. He's a legend and a great human being! And his recipes are great.

As a very white kid growing up in very white suburbia Yan Can Cook was a look into a different way to approach food. One of the first things I did once I was on my own was get a wok and find an Asian grocery. Eventually I became a professional chef, not really because of Martin Yan but he certainly helped, and now that I have moved on to a profession that doesn't involve being on my feet all day I still love cooking recreationally and I'm still exploring the cuisines of the world. PBS producing these cooking shows really opened the world to a lot of people.

uncle martin yan was the best , i loved watching all his shows and food. definitely inspiring chef

When I was a kid the local PBS channel (WTTW 11 Chicago) used to show Yan Can Cook followed by Justin Wilson the Cajun Cook every Saturday. The two of them were both so funny. Still to this day my favorite cooking shows.

This was actually my first "favorite show" that i ever had. I was born in 1991 and from 2-6 all i wanted to watch was Yan Can Cook. 😂

Martin Yan is one of the all-time great TV chefs.