Chronicles of a Fortune Cookie

Chronicles of a Fortune Cookie was highly intriguing and compelling. Once I started reading this book I just couldn’t put it down. While I was reading this book a question was asked which stated “Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?” As I thought of that question I realized I had never even tasted Apple pie, and I have Chinese food a couple times a month. In addition to that as I continued to read the book I realized that Chinese food isn’t really all that much Chinese food because majority of the things we eat isn’t being eaten in china for example the cream cheese wontons called Ragoons in the Midwest, Philly Cheesesteak rolls (egg rolls on the outside Cheesesteak inside) in Philadelphia, and the Chow Mein sandwiches in New England. None of those meals served in Chinese restaurants are actually from Chinese origin as said in the book “Chinese food, perhaps does not have to originate in China”. What really draws me into the book is when I read about the people who won the lottery in 2005 because of the lucky numbers in there fortune cookies. And I normally read my fortune cookie laugh and throw it away but these people used it to play the Powerball and they won. Jennifer 8. Lee went around the states meeting some of these people. As I read the book it help to see the world in a different perspective and it opened my eyes and see how money can start its own sect of a culture and become they way we perceive the culture or the food. I loved this book because it opened my eyes to the world around me.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles is by Jennifer 8. Lee. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles observes the background of what we Americans call Chinese food. This books is about much more than Lee going to different places to see if the food that we as Americans claim to be Chinese food are Chinese food. In this Book Jennifer 8. Lee argues that Chinese food is actually American food. In the book it talks about how there are many “so called” Chinese meals in the American culture such as General Tso and chop suey many more. She gives us the possible origin of chop suey, a joke played by a Chinese chef in San Francisco whose boss wanted him to put something together that “would pass as Chinese.” While Lee explores the origins of Chinese food, especially the fortune cookie (which she finds isn’t actually Chinese. Chinese food is technically American food. Authenticity' is a concept that food snobs propagate, not one that reflects how people really cook and eat on a daily basis," Lee says. "Improvisation and adaptation have defined cuisine throughout history." She also talks about the connections between Chinese food and the Jewish people in great detail. Like how they eat Chinese food on Christmas is much an American