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Or maybe it's a good thing that I didn't feel compelled to read this by sorely inadequate candlelight. The author, an American-born Chinese woman ABC, as she calls it , makes a nice comparison between her hybrid cultural identity and the uncertain origins of so-called Chinese cuisine in America. She explores the various aspects of the Chinese food we know and love -- soy sauce packets, Jews and Chinese food, whether Chinese individuals would recognize chop suey or General Tso's chicken, and many chapters on fortune cookies which admittedly got a bit tiresome for me -- their origins, their production, their distribution, who writes the fortunes, etc.
It's possible I would have enjoyed this more had I been in a better mood when I read it, so I'm giving it three stars even though I think my reaction is probably more of a two. View all 23 comments. Oct 15, Dinah rated it really liked it Shelves: I was pretty shocked too. A four star bestseller? Lee exceeds the expectations of her campy cover in this roundabout study of the Chinese Restaurant business in America.
The incredible saturation of new immigrants in this business allows the author to delve into human trafficking stories, follow families across continents and generations, through the US legal system and a vast web of Chinatowns across the globe.
All told, Lee makes a strong case for Chinese food as a distinctly American cuisine, tied up in our seemingly contradictory historical desires for comfort and adventure in our food. Most impressively of all, Lee grapples with her own writerly vices, questioning her need to pin the history of an immigrant group or cuisine into neat individual stories. The book's central search is for the origin of the Fortune Cookie, on the assumption that untangling its history will reveal some essential truth about the industry.
Lee recognizes the flaw of this search throughout, and makes the reader take in the fruits of the journey all along the way, rather than making weak justifications for process at the end. I was happy to see this kind of transparency and introspection in a widely-read book, that really asks us to question what we think we'll learn from these stories. I especially recommend the chapter on the Kosher Duck Scandal of , which occurred at the Royal Dragon across from my high school and unearths some really fascinating stuff about Jews and their Chinese food. Apr 19, Betsy rated it liked it Recommends it for: Not as much info on egg foo young as I'd like just kidding but this casual cultural history of American-Chinese food offered entertaining insights not only into the origins often American of dishes like chop suey and general tso's chicken but into the life of Chinese immigrants in general and Chinese immigrant restaurant owners in particular not an easy life The author travels all over the world from small-town China to small-town Georgia to try to better under Not as much info on egg foo young as I'd like just kidding but this casual cultural history of American-Chinese food offered entertaining insights not only into the origins often American of dishes like chop suey and general tso's chicken but into the life of Chinese immigrants in general and Chinese immigrant restaurant owners in particular not an easy life The author travels all over the world from small-town China to small-town Georgia to try to better understand her our?
Although this won't be a draw for many, I got a particular kick out of the odd fact that the book begins and ends in Des Moines at a chop suey joint I've never dared to enter but feel that I now must. May 04, Pamela Pickering rated it liked it Shelves: An interesting historical and sociological look at the Chinese restaurant in mainly America and elsewhere. I learned some new things about the Chinese restaurant business, for example the huge "huge clearing house" type of network to find jobs in Chinese restaurants for Chinese immigrants and what many Chinese have to go through to even get to America.
The next time I sit in Chinese restaurant to eat I will do so wi 3. I only give it 3. Oh, one side effect of the book, you will crave Chinese food like crazy! I bought take-out cashew chicken at 9pm simply because I couldn't stand it any more! View all 4 comments. Jul 10, Sarah Nealy rated it really liked it.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I gave this four stars because it was so informative, things I would never had known if I did not read this. My eyes have been opened so much from reading this book, not only are fortune cookies not Chinese or even Chinese food for that matter but soy sauce in America for the most part isn't even made from soy! Although there were some parts I skipped over just do to the fact some things interested me more than others I still enjoyed the lesson in history such as the golden venture, although v I gave this four stars because it was so informative, things I would never had known if I did not read this.
Although there were some parts I skipped over just do to the fact some things interested me more than others I still enjoyed the lesson in history such as the golden venture, although very interesting and it's part of our history I felt that chapter dragged on a little. Overall a very informative fun fact read! Oct 20, Mike rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Was it a culinary travelogue?
A series of tales about meeting famous Chinese Chefs e. Or perhaps a personal history of learning to cook Chinese dishes? It was like an unopened fortune cookie. Inside I found a well-written book about Chinese Food and how and where it is made. For me it was a thoroughly enjoyable book, but some of the content may be unwelcome to others.
Growing up here, she experienced the mysterious gulf between home-cooked Chinese Food and Chinese Restaurant fare. And so did her parents. Yes, there are exceptions to this statement. In the northeast US, years and years ago the style was mostly Cantonese-influenced. Yes, these standards still exist, but it has been decades since any restaurant has served French bread as an appetizer yes, that really was the norm.
But back to the book. Do you read the fortune in your cookie?
Do people at your table insist on reading them and passing them around to compare? But other people save especially meaningful fortunes or play the numbers and that is where this book begins. For those numbers are indeed lucky. Not once and not every time, but people use them to play the popular lotteries. Meaning that potentially a lot of people might play identical or almost-identical sequences and that is not part of the normal statistical model. You did know that lotteries are carefully designed to generate revenue for the state or states that offer them, right? So, when a specific lottery has many times more winners or 2nd-prize winners than it should, what is the reason?
I understand the attraction for dishes that were designed for American tastes and the book does a fantastic job of telling you why dishes exist as they are rather than as they were. But if that all that you could find in the states, then Chinese restaurants would be only found in small numbers, buried in Chinese-based communities.
Not all of them are pretty. I liked the book and the work that the author did to create it. Jan 05, Jonathan rated it really liked it Shelves: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it this much. Jul 05, Allisonperkel rated it liked it Shelves: I can tell from reading this book that Ms Lee will eventually become a writer I will love to read however she isn't quite there yet. In fortune cookie she was able to write an emotional, heart wrenching chapter on Chinese huma "Fortune Cookie" really is several books in one, with the idea of fortune cookies coming back to somewhat tie the stories of the book together.
In fortune cookie she was able to write an emotional, heart wrenching chapter on Chinese human smuggling and the price of life in America. Her chapter on going to Japan in search of the fortune cookie was also fun and whimsical. The story of the family who bought a Chinese restaurant will break your heart. And then you have the fortune cookie which supposedly ties the book together. Again, this felt a little forced, especially when she was writing about the lucky numbers and the lottery.
However at other times you could begin to see how this little cookie related to Chinese in America. This was particularly true when she found out that the fortune cookie originated in Japan, was brought to the US by Japanese and then, during the Japanese interment it was the Chinese who gave it popularity. Its that last theme that Ms Lee comes back to, several times. She never overplays it; she let's her statements remain subtle, unspoken really. To me, this worked, it helped bring home what happened without hitting the reader over the head.
The book is a quick, fun light read that is worthy of a beach or plane flight or just a distraction from the everyday. I know I learned some interesting trivia on American Chinese food, the Chinese diaspora, and a little about myself as well. If I could give this 3. Nov 12, D. What you will find is the author's journey to discover the answers to such culinary questions as: Where did the fortune cookie originate?
Who was General Tso, and why does China remember him differently than America? Lee has a strong journalistic voice, and in her quest to explore all things regarding Chinese food, she travels down a variety of avenues. Part of the fun of the book is that it isn't a dry overview of the subject, it's a narrative of discovery. As one question is answered, another question arises, moving her from topic to topic, and helping the reader to see just how complex, complicated, and occasionally problematic, America's relationship with Chinese food is.
As a person that has eaten Chinese food across America, its was a fascinating, and occasionally enlightening book. I had to knock off one star because of the section towards the end of the book where she seeks out "The World's Greatest Chinese Restaurant. It felt like an article that was stashed in the book to "pad it out," not to enhance it.
Apr 01, nicole added it Shelves: I love Chinese food, non-fiction, foodie reads, the friends who championed you and insisted that I read you.
But you read like a string of weekly serials, each hammering home the same point, that Chinese food is not from China, that Chinese food is more telling of the American history that has shaped it and the exported elements of American culture that other countries can identify. But you said it to me again, and again, and again.
And your writing was poor. You start with this long winded story about lottery winners that comes to a point, the point that I thought the story would be fixed on. But then you bob and weave between interesting facts hidden in poorly conjoined sentences. I spent ten minutes reading this gem over and over and over until finally I looked up the rule. You have been on my to read queue since December , when one of my good friends who moved to China to teach English was reading it while home for the holidays.
Jan 12, Judy rated it really liked it. I was really surprised by this book. I didn't expect to like it. Why did I select it from the shelf in the library? But, I really was intrigued by this study of Chinese immigration to the United States as reflected in Chinese cusine. I knew that chop suey was invented in the U. In fact, fortune cookies are looked at with curiosity in China. Also, who knew that most houses and apartments in China don't have ovens? This book examines such topics as the relationship between Jews and Chinese food the Great Peking Duck scandal, for example and the dark side of Chinese cuisine with so many illegal workers in a type of indentured servitude all across the country.
Jul 19, Sharon rated it really liked it. I learned so much from this book and given that I'm Chinese and into food, that says quite a lot. Interesting stuff about the origin of fortune cookies, how Jews and their love for Chinese food came about, Chinese immigrants in the restaurant business, the author's search for the greatest chinese restaurant in the world, American vs.
Asian soy sauces, etc. The author's writing style makes for an easy read. Highly recommend it if you want to learn more about Chinese food and culture. I am currently on MSG overload so pardon the caps. View all 3 comments. Feb 11, Hadessephy rated it liked it Shelves: I honestly skim a few of the chapter's in this book. I love food and do get excited reading about it. But some of the content just wasnt interesting. Fast and entertaining, had no idea about the popularity of Chinese American restaurants in suburban and rural America -- and how much the industry drives migration patterns.
Nov 06, J. This is a Civilization Clash story, one that revels in the wide disparities and ironic juxtapositions of asian culture in the american context. First, though, something from the news, not the book. In October of a Chinese Restauarant in upstate NY was closed, having been found with a complete Deer carcass being butchered in its kitchen. What were they up to? Diseases such as E. It's "black water with salt" in the description offered by one traditionalist. Hydrolized protein is the helpful description of the industry lobbyist for what is known as 'chemical soysauce', the liquid in those packets.
The Fortune Cookie itself turns out to be a 19th century Japanese invention that got picked up by the newly emerging Chinese restaurants of America, when the Japanese-Americans were confined to internment camps in worldwar two. An interesting comparison is made between the non-franchise Chinese Takeout 'network' and the more lockstep, legally-bound fastfood franchises in the US, such as McDonalds, etc. There are Takeouts in literally every sizeable town in America, many in the larger towns, hundreds in the cities. The hubs of NY LA and SF have one in every other block, and the Chinatowns in these cities are the focal points of the huge, non-franchise organization.
Lots of interesting narrative angles in this book, though nothing in-depth, but an intriguing organizing principle. Seems that in , there were an astonishing individual winners of the multi-state PowerBall Lottery. All of whom were eventually traced back to the numbers on the flip-side of the fortune on one single run of Fortune Cookies. In the end, it would seem that Chinese-American is a loose style, and not a regulated discipline. Chinese cooking is not a set of dishes, but a philosophy that serves local tastes and ingredients" says Texan Tommy Wong of his popular szechuan alligator dish.
And like other open-source philosophies, maybe this approach is the more influential in the long run. Aug 06, Ann Canann rated it really liked it Shelves: There is much to learn.
Feb 15, Cathie rated it liked it Shelves: The book's central search is for the origin of the Fortune Cookie, on the assumption that untangling its history will reveal some essential truth about the industry. Lee TED talk 1 5 Oct 28, Nov 12, D. The coolest part is the time-step map over the years, which plots all the restaurants in the Los Angeles area he has eaten at. To sign up for announcements of future food tours, sign up below.
I had to give up the cherished belief that May you live in interesting times is a Chinese proverb. For all that, Ms. There was a short-lived Panda Express here in Cupertino, with its cloying sweet and sour pork, and deep fried General Tso. Happily we are blessed with the more authentic Chinese food Jennifer explores in the capitals of the world. She brought up the point my father often made. If you want good Chinese food, look to see if the customers are Chinese. She also made the point that is not usually what we Americans do want. She guarantees their availability as there are more of these Americanized restaurants in America than all the McDonald's, Burger Kings and Kentucky Fried Chickens combined.
It is a lucky number, because when said in Mandarin is sounds like prosperity. May your fortune cookie predict prosperity for you. Aug 27, Tanya rated it really liked it. I have a confession to make I am a slow reader. No truly, I keep taking those online reading tests and I continually test at a middle school level. I have above average retention rates but my speed is turtle slow. With that in mind it's no wonder it took me a month and a half to read this book. Non-fictions, no matter how interesting, always take me a long time finish. I picked this one up because I was continually arguing with people about whether or not Orange Chicken and General Tso's was I have a confession to make I picked this one up because I was continually arguing with people about whether or not Orange Chicken and General Tso's was "Chinese food" and whether or not it was created by Chinese railroad workers.
This is a long project in the making. April 19 at 3: But how did this dish reach such levels of ubiquity and who was General Tso in the first place? This delightfully insightful documentary seeks to uncover the origins of a dish that Americans have warmly adopted as their own. In English we spelled??
But in Indian the spelling went a bit awry. As he explains it,. Though his list starts in , which is decades before spreadsheets were even invented. The coolest part is the time-step map over the years, which plots all the restaurants in the Los Angeles area he has eaten at. It which is made possible because he has kept such meticulous records including the addresses. One of my favorites.
The New York space is 11, square feet and seats But still, I think someone must have thought this was a good idea. On television is the strangest part. What could be the oldest American fortune cookies still in existence 50 years old! I spoke at the National Archives today. How cool is that? McGowan Theater as part of their ongoing series looking at food. I am writing to say how much my students and I enjoy your wonderful book. Your interwoven exploration of second-generation issues particularly resonates for many students who are the children of immigrants and refugees. Hope your writing and food adventures are going well!
To sign up for announcements of future food tours, sign up below. Must be willing to share portions. Please wear comfortable shoes. Meet Saturday, April 2 at 2 p. There is also possibility of adding April 3 if there is enough demand. Food costs included in the tour.