We get Panda Express take out on those nights when Chris and I are too tired to make dinner or do anything else in the kitchen. When we order their family meal, they usually dump a handful of fortune cookies into our bag. Next time I’m definitely making a request to eliminate those from our order; fortune cookies peek out of our pantry in random places. Both kiddos will pick through each and read their fortunes, comparing them to each others. 

Each time, they have to read it out loud and ask what it means, although I don’t feel like interpreting some fortune after a heavy meal. But they look curious and eager, so fine! After I tell them the encouraging fortune, they hold the slip of paper like its something precious, pinch the slip of paper carefully between both thumbs and index fingers, and nod their heads like they were handed a brilliant insight.

Who would’ve thought that a simple fortune cookie we easily take for granted would have this much controversy and complicated history surrounding it? My initial purpose to writing this post was sharing the brief conversation I had with Ellis and share some interesting facts about fortune cookies. Instead, a brief search turned into a history lesson about Asian immigrants’ history in America in the early 1900s. Now my appreciation for fortune cookies has grown tremendously and I’m excited that a simple conversation with Ellis has given me content for a homeschooling social studies’ lesson. I hope you learn something new too!

The other day, Ellis broke open a fortune cookie, took out the message, and left the cookie uneaten on the table.

Ellis: “Mommy, what does this mean?” she says pointing the paper to my face.

Me: I read, “Your charming nature will open many doors for you.” “Wow, that’s pretty nice.”

Ellis: “What does that mean?” she asks. I could tell by her facial expression that she wanted to hear something affirming about herself.

Me: “It means that you’re very charming and that your charm will bring good opportunities to you in the future.”

Ellis: “Ooooohhhhh, I like that,” she said holding the paper. “I didn’t know Panda Express was so inspiring. I thought they just sold food”

Me: “Yea, hey this is good. Can I write a post about it?”

Ellis: “You can if you want, I guess,” she grumbled, walking away.

Some fun facts about fortune cookies:

• origin is Kyoto, Japan: Japanese tea cakes “tsujiura senbei” made with white miso and sesame flavors and a fortune tucked inside the treat
• origin is not China, as would be assumed since fortune cookies are served as dessert in Chinese restaurants
• in the early 1900s, Japanese bakeries in CA, like in SF and LA, were making these cookies
• If it originated from Japan, why did it become a Chinese dessert served in Chinese eating establishments? – A possible theory: During WWII, while Japanese-American were incarcerated in internment camps, Chinese began to manufacture them

Conflicting theories of who invented fortune cookies:

• 1. Japanese Tea Garden owner, Makoto Hagiwara, who served the cookies to the public (1907-1909) with “thank you” notes for supporting him after he was fired by a racist mayor and then reinstated back to his position by a new mayor
• 2. In Los Angeles of 1918, David Jung, a Cantonese immigrant who was the founder of Hong Kong Noodle Company, handed out free cookies with inspirational Bible verses to unemployed men outside his establishment. He wanted to feed and provide encouragement to these men.
• 3. In the early 1900s, another Japanese immigrant named Seiichi Kito, founder of Fugetsu-Do in Little Tokyo claimed that he invented it. He got the idea from Japan’s shrines where messages were put into treats and he used this idea to sell to Chinese restaurants in both northern and southern California, which became extremely popular and widespread.
• In 1983, a judge claimed that San Francisco was the birthplace of fortune cookies and gave the credit to Hagiwara.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great start to the long weekend! Take care and God bless – Esther

Categories: Random Thoughts

singlikewildflowers

Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!