This typical “Chinese” food was put up on my table in a busy round-table Chinese restaurant in Montreal when I was 23 years old, by then I had lived in Beijing for 22 years. If you say Beijing is not typical in China, that could be an excuse though. I asked two of my Canadian friends what was that. They told me it was Chinese dessert. I said: “Really? As a born-and-bred Chinese, I have never seen that before!” I was surprised and so did they.
Apparently, “A fortune cookie is a crisp Asian American cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a “fortune” wrapped inside. A “fortune” is a piece of paper with words of folk wisdom or a vague prophecy. In the United States and Canada (although also available in other parts of the Western world), it is usually served with Chinese food in Chinese restaurants as a dessert. The message inside may also include a list of lucky numbers (used by some as lottery numbers) and a Chinese phrase with translation. The exact provenance of fortune cookies is unclear, but various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized then in the early 20th century, basing their recipe on a traditional Japanese cracker. The cookies are little-known in mainland China or Taiwan.” —-Wikipedia
According to Jennifer Lee from the New York Times, Fortune Cookies may in fact come from Japan.
By Zhao Xue
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