Another Book Recommendation

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I like to talk about and think about food. I also like to cook (baking is my PASSION) and consider cookbooks “recreational” reading. 

Did you know that a lot of the foods we think of as Chinese are actually American and virtually unknown in China? For example, General Tso’s chicken, chopped suey, egg rolls, broccoli beef (broccoli is originally an Italian vegetable) and the origins of the ubiquitous fortune cookie—now exported to China as American fortune cookies—were all created in America.

What I like about the book Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee (the 8 symbolizes prosperity to the Chinese) is that it is an entertaining and well-written narrative of a world most of us are familiar with but none of us really know. One chapter is devoted to everything you need to know about the distinctive shape of Chinese take-out containers in the U.S. Another chapter is on the Soy Sauce Trade War of 2005 (bet you never heard of that one). And my favorite chapter covers who it is who writes the fortunes found inside each cookie. Bet you'll be surprised!

The book also delves into the dark side, highlighting statistics on how many Chinese deliverymen, many of whom barely speak English, are murdered in New York City simply for the cash and takeout meal they carry. The racism and discrimination faced by Chinese immigrants in America is also noted, where many Asians are invisible, including the Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, etc., and treated as if they are all the same.

In the first chapter, the author challenges the perception of apple pie as the ultimate in “Americanness." If that is your benchmark, ask yourself, how often do you eat apple pie? Now how often do you eat Chinese food? Great food for thought, huh?

So go support your and check this book out.