The History of Fortune Cookies

While it is enjoyed at the end of meals in many Chinese restaurants, fortune cookies are not thought to have originated in China at all. While conflicting origin stories exist, it is generally accepted that the kind of cookies we are now familiar with were created in California during the early 1900s. But what inspired these cookies and who was responsible for creating these fortune telling snacks?

One theory is that the original fortune cookie was created by Makoto Hagiwara, who was the caretaker of the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco. He served the cookies there around 1907, and they were based on a Japanese grilled rice wafer known as senbei. Rather than fortunes, these cookies were said to have thank you notes inside.

Another popular theory is that it was David Jung who formed these famous fortune tellers. Jung, from Canton, had immigrated to Los Angeles at the start of the 20century and opened his restaurant, the Hong Kong Noodle Company, in 1916. He maintained that he was responsible for creating the cookie, and placed the motivational fortunes inside to give to unemployed men.

A second Los Angeles resident is also claimed to have invented the cookie. Japanese-American bakery owner Seiichi Kito, who founded his family-run business Fugetsu-do in 1903, also lays claim to being the creator of these cookies. His family maintain that he sold his fortune cookies to Chinese restaurants, providing a letter dated 1927, that mentions a Japanese-American in Los Angeles as the inventor of fortune cookies, as evidence. Sources believe that Kito was inspired by omi-kuji, a small piece of paper with fortunes written on them that were found in Buddhist temples in Japan. Nowadays, bakeries in Japan sell ‘fortune crackers’ under the name of omikuji-senbai.

Another source of inspiration for modern fortune cookies is thought to be from the Chinese Mooncakes. As with many food origins in China, this comes from a legend. As the story goes, Chinese people in the 14century were oppressed by the Mongols. They hid messages in Mooncakes, which the Mongols did not enjoy eating, allowing them to organise and overthrow the government on the night of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

Fortune cookies have also been traced to tales of Chinese railway workers working on the American railways in the 1850’s. Unable to buy mooncakes, they created their own biscuits filled with messages of luck.

With so many conflicting stories and dates, the exact origins of fortune cookies are still unknown, however, a quote from the film seems to summarise it well: “The Japanese invented the fortune cookie, the Chinese advertised it, and the Americans tasted it”.

If you are wanting to put together your own oriental-inspired feast, (whether you decide to end the meal with fortune cookies or not!), check out the wide range of Chinese and Japanese foods available at our Asian supermarket online.