Are fortune cookies a Chinese tradition?

You finally got to try the new Chinese place next door. You sit down check out the menu and think about getting some Chow mein to chow down. You pick out some iced tea while waiting for your food. The waiter hands the food at your table. You are confused about why there are no fortune cookies. You ask the waiter and she hits you with, “What’s a fortune cookie?” You are flabbergasted while you wonder, did fortune cookies come from China. Let’s pop this balloon to find out.

What are fortune cookies?

Fortune cookies are crispy folded cookies made out of flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil. It is baked flat and folded when pliable around a small strip of paper before it cools and hardens into that hollow shape we are familiar with. It generally has a small paper with a saying or a prediction. You most likely get this at the end of a meal in a “Chinese” restaurant.

Are fortune cookies a Chinese tradition?

No, fortune cookies are not a Chinese tradition. In the 1900’s they were actually a tradition for California/Japanese restaurants. They were made by Japanese immigrants. The cookie was called tsujiura senbei, which was a cookie/cracker, similarly with a fortune paper inside. Through restaurant culture it became known as a Chinese tradition. Although, fortune cookies were unknown to Chinese.

Fun Facts

Occasionally, the papers might have printing errors which results in a blank fortune, treated like a good or bad luck. Legends say that centuries ago, many used to hide hidden messages in mooncakes, while fighting against the Mongol, during the Yuan Dynasty.