Wok with Yan


Wok with Yan was a Chinese cuisine cooking show starring Stephen Yan. The show was first produced in Vancouver, British Columbia by CTV affiliate CHAN-DT in the late 1970s, before moving to CBC in 1980 and continuing there until 1982.
The show then moved into syndication, running until 1995 in that format.
Later sources have occasionally confused the show with Yan Can Cook, an American series hosted by Martin Yan which also aired during the 1980s.

Format

A running gag featured on the show was Yan's wearing of an apron featuring a different pun on the word "wok." Some examples are:
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 him 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. He always invited an audience member to come up and eat with him near the end of each episode, and had a fortune cookie reading before the meal.