The Fortune Cookie Chronicles


  • #26 on the New York Times Best Seller List
    and featured on The Colbert Report, Martha Stewart, TED.com, CNN, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose Tomorrow, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR stations coast to coast. Also selected for Borders Original Voices and Book Sense. Follow me on Twitter! Fan me on Facebook.

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    The Search for General Tso. In Theaters January 2, 2015!

    Thursday, December 4th, 2014

    Happy to say that The Search for General Tso has been acquired by IFC/Sundance for distribution and will be in theaters (and VOD) on January 2, 2015. Director Ian Cheney did a great job of shepherding through the film, which was repped by Cinetic Media, of indie film fame. Here is the trailer below. Plus […]

    My General Tso’s chicken talk on TED.com in classrooms

    Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

    I recently learned that my talk at TED.com on General Tso’s chicken, which was filmed at Taste3 conference in July 2008, is being used in two different university settings. It’s being shown to computer science teaching assistants as an example of an engaging presentation style. And a professor tweeted me that she was using it […]

    Sometimes You Just Need a Picture of a Dog

    Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

    This picture was sent to me by Roy Zuckerman. It is Lola from Basel, and she is apparently a big fan of my book.

    Martha Stewart Rerun, Fried Turkey Dumplings, August 6

    Thursday, August 6th, 2009

    Martha Stewart segment is re-airing today, August 6. It was taped originally live-ish in late February. We make fried turkey dumplings. If you look closely, you will be able to see my mom!

    Satellite Kids, a Chinese Restaurant By-Product

    Sunday, July 26th, 2009

    In The New York Times, Nina Bernstein writes about the troubled development of satellite kids, (often) of Chinese restaurant workers, who are sent back to China to be raised (often) by grandparents. This was the case with the Hiawassee family in book (earlier article about the family here). A 1999 article by Somini Sengupta covers […]

    Song Lyrics Exclusively From Fortune Cookie Fortunes

    Monday, May 18th, 2009

    This is an amusing stop animation video on YouTube where all the song lyrics are derived from fortune cookies. The funny thing is I’ve seen some of these fortunes before, like “The first and only love is self-love.” At 7 minutes, it looks like it took a long time to put together!

    Randomly Cute Kid Pic of My Sister in Kinmen

    Saturday, March 7th, 2009

    As part of my appearance on Martha Stewart, they asked me to scan in old family photos (which really hadn’t been scanned in before) in case they wanted to show them with the turkey dumpling recipe. So that kicked my parents into the digital age. Among those scanned: this random photo of my sister playing […]

    Men at Wok

    Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

    This is another hilarious name for Chinese restaurant, courtesy of Michael Epstein. I still think Wok n Roll is still better, but getting cliched. This one is located in Brooklyn, though apparently there are others: one in Williston, Vermont and one in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

    My Taste3 Talk is Up On Ted

    Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

    Went up today! Beautifully edited by Jason Wishnow. Jennifer 8. Lee: Who was General Tso? and other mysteries of American Chinese food Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have (so tastily) combined to form a new cuisine.

    Colorado Public Radio KCFR Colorado Matters, Denver anti-Chinese Race Riots 1880

    Sunday, October 26th, 2008

    And here is my Colorado Matters Interview with KCFR Colorado Public Radion from May 8, 2008. Denver is interesting because it was home to one of the most vicious race riots against the Chinese in 1880. The picture below is drawn from those riots.

    Boston’s WBUR Here and Now, trip to Zoe’s in Somerville

    Sunday, October 26th, 2008

    I just realized I never posted my interview with WBUR’s, Here and Now, from August 4, 2008 (loved listening to the show when I was in college). I actually did the interview with Emiko Tamagawa in March at Zoe’s Chinese restaurant in Somerville, where the Chinese people go to eat. But it ran a few […]

    Pictures from My Appearance on The Colbert Report

    Thursday, August 28th, 2008

    Here (finally) are some pictures from The Colbert Report when I appeared on March 4, 2008. (Thanks to Alexis Ohanian for taking them and for backing them up because I lost the memory card on which they were stored, so I’m actually putting them on the blog so I wont lose them.) And yes, the […]

    Good Morning America Weekend: Fortune Cookies Aren’t Chinese

    Monday, August 25th, 2008

    Here is the Good Morning America Weekend piece that ran during the Olympics. Produced by Imtiyaz Delawala (who was on my school paper!) and correspondented by Juju Chang. Also involves Wonton Food. This piece that actually was initially discussed during the March release of my book. But they decided to peg it to the Olympics. […]

    ABC: The mystery of the fortune cookie’s history

    Sunday, August 17th, 2008

    Television loves fortune cookies as a result of the Beijing Olympics. I did a segment with ABC on the history of the fortune cookie with Juju Chang. I swear, fortune cookies and “man date” are going to be part of my obituary, or at the very least the college reunion report.

    A Fortune Cookie Chronicles book club at the Fortune Cookie Chronicles Powerball Restaurant

    Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

    This is very adorable. I got a great email leading me to the photo above. “I’m the organizer for my neighborhood’s book club. We read your book last month and then ate at King Buffet, which is one of the fortune cookie winning restaurants here in Lawrence, Kansas.” The photo is of them holding up […]

    Radio: Radiowest, a one-hour interview with SLC’s NPR affiliate

    Monday, June 23rd, 2008

    This is my hour-long interview with Doug Fabrizio on KUER, an NPR affiliate out of Salt Lake City, for Radiowest. It’s very, very rare that someone will give you a whole hour — so I deeply appreciated the time. The audio file will be up for roughly three months the producer told me.

    WAMU: Kojo Nnamdi Show, and musings on radio interviews

    Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

    I finally got my chance to appear on the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU in Washington, which means that except for Chicago, I’ve been on all the major NPR markets: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia (WHYY’s building is soooo nice) + assorted markets in New Hampshire, Colorado. I have to […]

    Library of Congress Cybercast is finally up

    Thursday, May 29th, 2008

    A bit delayed, but my first talk from my book tour is finally up. It was actually, looking back, a fantastic event to kick off my book tour. About 150 people in the middle of the day (almost all of whom I didn’t know). That and the Politics and Prose event, also ~150 people, made […]

    Charlie Rose Tomorrow is different from Tomorrow’s Charlie Rose

    Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

    I did a segment for Charlie Rose Tomorrow, which is an online-only interview done by Charlotte Morgan of younger-ish people. But a lot of people have e-mailed/IMed me congratulating me for being on tomorrow’s Charlie Rose. And I realized that they think the sement is previewing what is showing tomorrow on the television show. But […]

    Eric’s book party toast — a lesson in humor

    Friday, May 23rd, 2008

    Dave Lu of Fanpop finally put up the toast that my friend Eric, who hosted my book party gave. I swear. Like 20 people independently have come up to me and said his toast was fantastic or funny or memorable. It was actually an amazing toast. Part of it was extempted.

    Fortune Cookie Chronicles in Accra, Ghana

    Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

    Yay. Fortune Cookie Chronicles hits sub-Saharan Africa before I do (I have only been to Mauritius). Sent to me by a fan. This is the independence monument with Kwame Nkrumah, pan-Africanist.

    A Chinese Restaurant in Venice (with a boat docked out front)

    Sunday, May 4th, 2008

    My friend Kathleen took a photo of this Chinese restaurant in Venice for me (love the boat out front).

    My Asia Society Conversation Now Partially in Podcast Form

    Friday, May 2nd, 2008

    I’m in a recent Podcast episode from my conversation at the Asia Society. 4/22/08: India Goes Hungry; Secrets of Chinese Takeout The world food crisis and Asia, with analysis by Asia Society Fellow Mira Kamdar… Food author Jennifer 8. Lee solves a Chinese takeout mystery… and upcoming Asia Society programs in Mumbai and Hong Kong. […]

    YouTube Celebrates Asian American-ness (and you can win an iPod Nano)

    Friday, May 2nd, 2008

    YouTube and The Asia Society collaborated for a video series on Asian Americanness for Asian American Heritage Month. And I got to be included in it (very flattering). It’s a pretty fneat group — including a senator, Hollywood actors and a Silicon Valley start-up folk. The main video is a montage of interviews from a […]

    Food Network: Online interview with the Amateur Gourment

    Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

    Here is an episode of FN Dish, the Food Network’s edgier online cousin, hosted by Adam Roberts of the Amateur Gourmet. Adam and I went to New York City’s Chinatown and eat my favorite buffet place on Grand Street between Chrystie and Bowery: $4 for five items! He tried pigs heart (his Jewish grandmother rolling […]

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