Wok with Yan

"Wok with Yan" was a Chinese cooking show starring Stephen Yan. The show was first produced in Vancouver, Canada by the CBC from 1980 to 1982. A second edition of the show was also produced in the early 1990s. The popular series was syndicated internationally in United States, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore for years. Even though Wok with Yan has been out of production for many years, episodes continue to be rerun on Omni Television.

The show was famous because Canada has had few well known Canadian cooking shows and in each episode, Yan had a different pun on the word "wok" on his apron. The humorous aprons also complemented his humour that consisted of spontaneous one-liners spoken with his trademark Cantonese accent or him playing with his food or cookware. That, combined with his energetic personality, endeared himself to Canadian viewers. Prior to him preparing his stir fry cuisine, the show usually featured a vignette of Yan travelling to different vacation spots from around the world (eg, Thailand). He always invited an audience member to come up and eat with him near the end of each episode (there was a ticket draw in the studio audience to sit with him), and had a fortune cookie reading before the meal (first done in Cantonese, then translated in English).

The show also aired in the Caribbean during the same period on TTT Trinidad and Tobago Television.