The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

Well-written and extremely well-researched, Jennifer 8. Lee’s “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” is more of a dim sum collection of affiliated essays that a sumptuous banquet on a consistent theme.

Beginning with the obscure origins of the humble fortune cookie, the book quickly diverts to other subjects such as chop suey, chow mein and General Tso’s chicken. It then blasts way off tangent with investigations into the dark side of Chinese immigration to the US from the Snake River Massacre to the modern-day Snakeheads and the sinking of the Golden Venture. It continues with the origins of the take out menu, the trade wars regarding what exactly makes soy sauce authentic, the similarities of Chinese take- out and open source show more software, and the quixotic search for the world’s best Chinese restaurant.

It’s a lot to digest, but it’s fascinating and fun nonetheless, with Miss Lee providing enough anecdotes, insights and information to prove that Chinese food is one of the most American of cuisines. Recommended. show less

Don’t read this book on an empty stomach or you’ll find yourself raiding the refrigerator! Author Jennifer 8 Lee uses her quest to find the origins of the fortune cookie as the impetuous to explore the history of Chinese food in the United States and the cultural encounter between East and West.

Interwoven into her detective work on the oddly mysterious fortune cookie are chapters on a range of topics -- from the first introduction of Chinese food to America in the 1880s to the desperate struggle of modern-day Chinese to immigrate to the States, only to end up working low-level jobs in Chinese restaurants. Her quest is also to understand her own cultural origins as an ABC (American-born Chinese). Luckily, this theme isn’t show more heavy-handed or overly self-conscious, while still being deeply felt. Indeed the entire book has a lovely light touch, serious without being ponderous, fun without being frivolous, deeply researched without seeming like a doctoral dissertation.

If you’re ever gotten Chinese take out, delivery, or munched egg rolls in a Chinese restaurant, this book will be full of fascinating information. And you’ll never think about your meal and the people who prepared and served it in the same way again. show less

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of finishing Jennifer Lee’s enchanting book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.

What a book! It takes the reader literally around the world to answer the perennial question of where fortune cookies truly come from. (I won’t spoil it.) But it’s not just about fortune cookies, oh no – it’s an examination of the history of Chinese restaurants (of which there are more in the United States than there are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King combined); Powerball winners (one year, there were ~110 Powerball winners who got their lucky five-of-six numbers from fortune cookies); and more.

Well-written and engaging, the book pulled me in from the beginning. I was hooked – couldn’t wait to go back show more for more.

I will say that it was a little longer than I expected, coming in at 291 pages – but I flagged only briefly about 2/3 of the way in. There was enough new and different material to keep me engaged, and Lee did a good job at circling back to the initial premises of the book, notably the fortune-cookie origin dilemma and the Powerball numbers. show less

On March 30, 2005, 110 people from all over the United States won the Powerball Lottery. Officials immediately began to fret over the possibility of fraud but soon a pattern emerged. It seemed the winning number had been inside of a Fortune Cookie. Jennifer Lee, an American-born Chinese, used the lottery story as an opportunity to delve into the mystery that is American Chinese food, one of her particular passions.
I'd estimate that in my household we eat Chinese take-out at least once a week. I love the stuff. So when this book appeared on my LT recommendations I went ahead and gave it a go. I am so glad that I did. This book is wonderfully entertaining and enlightening too. There were entire passages I read aloud to my husband because show more I found them so intriguing. This is not just a book about fortune cookies or the Powerball lottery. It's about the evolution of American Chinese food, about Chinese immigration and about the common denominator that food can be. I loved this book. But be warned - you will crave takeout the entire time you're reading it! show less

This took months to read as it traveled with me everywhere in my purse, ready to be read in an emergency waiting situation. I don't know how I ended up with this book, but it was well-written and absolutely fascinating. I hadn't previously cared to know anything about Chinese restaurants, illegal Chinese immigration, fortune cookies, soy sauce, etc., but each chapter's introduction enticed me to the point where I immediately had to know all about this next subject. I learned about this intense Jewish connection to Chinese food, all about, and I mean ALL about fortune cookies, our own government (especially regarding these food departments that I never knew existed), the Chinese restaurant network, immigration policy & its failures, show more General Tso's chicken, Chinese, American and Chinese-American culture, and so much more (although it did make me hungry for Chinese food throughout). I was especially delighted with the author's own research process; she's my new hero. I recommend this book to anyone. I certainly can't think of anyone who's particularly looking to learn about these things, but the book will intrigue anyone interested in learning about culture and the story behind things around us. show less

Fortune Cookie Chronicles is a wonderful combination of the cultural history of food and the cultural history of immigration. The book is fun, touching, well-researched and well-written. Lee's book exemplifies all that I love about "creative non-fiction". It acknowledges that even the most authoritative non-fiction is influenced by personal experience. And that the best autobiography benefits from the author's research and attempts to view her experience from outside herself. Lee's book is personal, political, cultural, and above-all, loves good food unpretentiously. Read it to find out the history of General Tso's chicken and what life is like for the people that invented it.

Don't read it expecting it to provide a guide to the best show more Chinese-American food, but she throws in a few intriguing references, go check them out. show less

Scattershot but fun. (Though parts of it -- especially the search for the world's greatest Chinese restaurant -- seem to exist largely to justify the author's expense account, without really adding much of value.) Might have benefited from being both more organized and more thorough... I enjoyed it, and do recommend it, but an hour later I was hungry again.