Martin Yan's Greatest Dumpling Hits
Revisit classic episodes featuring dim sum, xiaolongbao, and more.
Welcome to Above the Fold, a newsletter—and now, brand-new print zine—that’s all about dumplings and the people who make them.
Last month, I shared the first excerpt from Above the Fold in print—an interview between dumpling scholar Lilly Jan and legendary Chinese chef Martin Yan (if you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage it, of course—see below).
If you didn’t spend your youth glued to PBS, you can learn more about Martin Yan’s storied, influential career and background via the library at UC Davis, where he’s recently donated his full archive.
But really, the best way to get to know him—and understand why he’s so beloved—is to watch him in action. While I shared this link to a video playlist I made in last month’s newsletter, I wanted to give it a bit more prominence in a newsletter all its own—particularly because, after it was published, I heard from someone with a personal connection to one of the episodes and wanted to share her story (below).
And so! As we head into a long weekend—and another weekend of Lunar New Year celebrations, of course—here is a selection of Yan Can Cook, Martin Yan’s China, and Spice Kingdom episodes to cozy up to and watch (or rewatch).
Yan Can Cook: How To Make Dim Sum
In this early episode from 1985, Martin brings on chefs from the legendary San Francisco dim sum house Yank Sing to make four color shumai, goldfish-shaped har gow, and taro root dumplings (wu gok). In the episode and show notes, the chefs are introduced as “The Maguire sisters.”
That was all I could discern via online research around the participants in this episode, until Lilly shared the interview on Instagram—and a fortuitous comment appeared: “Hey! My mom was in that episode of Yan Can Cook! That was her co-worker and lead dim sum lady in the burgundy apron 😀”
Luckily, said commenter, Mary Yan (no relation), was gracious enough to not only hop on a call and tell me a bit more about her mom’s story and experience, but to also to ask her mom questions about her time at Yank Sing and on the episode while she was busy getting ready for Lunar New Year celebrations. Below, in Mary’s words, is a bit more about her mom, Mei Yan (pictured, above):
On Mei Yan's dim sum background:
“She was at Yank Sing for 10 years. Before that, she learned how to make dim sum on the job professionally at Hang Ah Tea Room. [At Yank Sing] she made har gow, (shrimp dumplings), and the bunny and goldfish versions of har gow. She also made a lot of bao. Toward the end of her time at Yank Sing, she got to do the trollies. That was making it big because you got tips. If you were a dim sum maker, you didn’t get tips.
I learned when I spoke with her that career-wise, she doesn’t feel like that was the right pick, to go into dim sum. She felt like there were more lucrative types of careers that had more growth. One of the things she didn’t like was that she was stuck in the kitchen so she didn’t get to learn English—in the back of the house, you just talk to everyone else. She has photos from the first few years she came to the US and started working specifically at Yank Sing–after work, they’d go explore the parks around the restaurant and take pictures. She had a good time with her coworkers.”
On appearing on Yan Can Cook:
“I don’t think any of them were aware that they were given an English surname for that episode. None of the women in the episode are related. My mom is the younger woman on the left side, and the older woman next to her at the end is related to me by marriage. Her daughter ended up marrying my dad’s brother. But that was way after this episode was shot and aired!”
On her restaurant post-Yank Sing:
“My parents opened a restaurant in San Francisco—Yan’s Kitchen. Yan’s Kitchen was open for more than 20 years. They just closed it a couple of years ago. They were going to sell it and retire before the pandemic hit and then after 2020 nobody would buy it so they had to stick it out. It was a Hunan restaurant. (An American-Hunan restaurant, much like Panda Express is American Chinese.) We're not from Hunan, but it was the easiest cuisine for a couple to be able to dish out—there's no way my dad and mom could do Cantonese cuisine themselves. But my mom snuck in dumplings anyway.”
Ed note: The above text has been condensed and edited from a phone conversation and email exchange.
Yan Can Cook: Make Dim Sum at Home
This episode, from 1989, is one of several that Martin devoted to dim sum (always taking pains to share its translation, touch of the heart). Here, he's pointing out har gow. “This is one of my favorites—this is har gow; shrimp dumpling. The dough is translucent, because this is made from wheat starch.”
Yan Can Cook: Cooking for One
Martin heads to a potsticker factory, where he has a Lucille Ball moment with the dumpling wrapper machine and makes a giant tray-sized dumpling that is “large enough for the entire population of China—and the studio audience!”
Martin Yan's China: Xi’an Warriors & Local Meals
Martin visits De Fa Chang in Xi’an, renowned for its banquet serving dumplings in the shape of frogs, goldfish, penguins, and more. “I’m watching this with total amazement! I cannot believe the skill and concentration,” he says. “Most of the chefs here have 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-years experience. Just to learn the basics here, it takes at least six months to two years.”
Martin Yan's China: Shanghai - Part 2
Martin visits Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai, heads into the kitchen to demonstrate his own strong xiaolongbao pleating skills, and devours a platter of dumplings doused with black vinegar.
Spice Kingdom - Making Dumplings
Martin goes to Long Chao Shou restaurant in Chengdu, famous for its wontons in fragrant chili oil, and competes with two chefs to see who can fold the most chaoshou in 5 minutes. It’s a prime example of him putting makers on a pedestal: “Chef Yi is definitely the champion in Chengdu, and maybe even China—she can fold three chaoshou in less than 10 seconds!”
Images sourced via episode screenshots from KQED and Yan Can Cook.
