Fortune cookies, a staple of American-Chinese dining, trace their origins to Japanese crackers rather than Chinese tradition. Early 20th-century Japanese immigrants in California introduced these snacks, but the forced internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II effectively removed them from the market. Chinese-American entrepreneurs subsequently adopted and commercialized the cookies, integrating them into a broader menu of "Americanized" Chinese dishes—such as chop suey—developed to cater to local tastes amidst widespread xenophobia. Today, these cookies remain a pervasive American ritual, with billions produced annually, yet they remain virtually nonexistent in China. The evolution of the fortune cookie reflects a complex history of immigration, cultural adaptation, and the unintended consequences of wartime displacement on culinary identity.
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