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In The Fortune
Cookie
Chronicles,
author Jennifer
8. Lee takes
readers on a
remarkable
journey that is
both foreign and
familiar:
penetrating this
subculture by
traveling the
world (and
almost every
American state)
in her quest to
understand
Chinese food and
the people who
make it.
Her journey took
her to the
hometown of
General Tso (a
military hero
immortalized as
much for crunchy
chicken as his
conquests), the
surprising
origins of the
fortune cookie
(it’s not
China), and to
six continents
in search for
the world’s
greatest Chinese
restaurant. The
book also sparks
debates as to
who really
invented chop
suey and why
Jews love
Chinese food, or
as she puts it:
Why is chow mein
the chosen food
of the chosen
people?
The book is a
tribute to
immigrants and
to America. If
our benchmark
for Americanness
is apple pie,
ask yourself,
how often do you
eat apple pie?
Now how often do
you eat Chinese
food?
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