Many people know the name "fortune cookie" from BNK48's hit song "Koisuru Fortune Cookie", which was hugely popular a few years ago. Today we take a closer look at this treat.
What Is a Fortune Cookie?
A fortune cookie is a crisp, sweet cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla and sesame oil, with a small slip of paper tucked inside. The "fortune" is an aphorism or a vaguely worded prediction. The message may also include a translated Chinese phrase or lucky numbers, which some people use as lottery numbers.
Although fortune cookies are served in Chinese restaurants and eaten with tea, they did not originate in China. Their true origin is a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, California, in the early 20th century.
Where Fortune Cookies Come From
Back in the 19th century, a cookie very similar to the modern fortune cookie was made in Kyoto, Japan, and Japanese temples had a tradition of random fortunes called omikuji. The Japanese version differs in several ways: it is a little larger, made from a darker dough, and flavoured with sesame and miso rather than vanilla and butter. It also holds a fortune, but the slip of paper is tucked into the bend of the cookie rather than placed in the hollow. This cookie is called tsujiura senbei and is still sold in parts of Japan, especially Kanazawa in Ishikawa, as well as around Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine in Kyoto.
Makoto Hagiwara of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is reported to be the first person in the United States to serve the modern version of the cookie, which he did at the tea garden in the 1890s or early 1900s. The fortune cookies were made by Benkyodo, a San Francisco bakery.
David Jung, founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles, claimed he invented the cookie in 1918. San Francisco's Court of Historical Review tried to settle the dispute in 1983. During the proceedings, a fortune cookie was presented as a key piece of evidence, with a message that read "S.F. Judge Who Rules for L.A. Not Very Smart Cookie". The judge of the Court of Historical Review determined that the cookie originated with Hagiwara and ruled in favour of San Francisco. Los Angeles subsequently condemned the decision.
Seiichi Kito, founder of Fugetsu-do in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, also claimed to have invented the cookie. Kito said he got the idea of putting a message inside a cookie from omikuji (fortune slips) sold at temples and shrines in Japan. According to his story, he sold the cookies to Chinese restaurants, where they were welcomed with great enthusiasm in both Los Angeles and San Francisco before spreading further. Until World War II, fortune cookies were known as "fortune tea cakes", which probably reflects their roots in Japanese tea cakes.
During World War II, fortune cookies shifted from a treat dominated by Japanese Americans to one dominated by Chinese Americans. One theory for this is the internment of Japanese Americans during the war, which forced more than 100,000 Japanese Americans into camps, including those who made fortune cookies. This created an opportunity for Chinese manufacturers.
Before the early 20th century, fortune cookies were all made by hand. The fortune cookie industry changed rapidly, however, after Shuck Yee of Oakland, California, invented a fortune cookie machine. The machine allowed mass production, which brought the price down until the cookie became the novelty treat and custom that many Americans now know from eating at most Chinese restaurants today.
