Indy Star, Highlighting the Web Site
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 29, 2008
Follow author Jennifer 8. Lee on a culinary journey into Chinese-American cuisine in her new book, “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” (Twelve Books, $25). Lee, whose middle name “8” connotes prosperity in Chinese, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and grew up in New York eating her mother’s authentic Chinese food. The New York Times reporter shares her research on the history of Chinese food in America, including such tidbits as the namesake of General Tso’s Chicken and the revelation that those classic white takeout boxes are a U.S. invention. Check out Lee’s Web site — which lists some of her favorite cyber destinations, such as eatingchinese.org and howtoorderchinesefood.com — at www.fortunecookiechronicles.com.
Topics: Media & Interviews | No Comments »
Modern Jewish Life: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 28, 2008
I was very amused by this exhibit at the Denver Jewish Community Center, where I went to speak today.
Also Iesson. Not all the LIRR trains stop at Jamaica during rush hour. I learned this as I ended up in Bethpage in Long Island — 40 minutes out. I totally missed my flight to Denver from JFK.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
I’m sick in bed so I spent the night compiling all the media stuff
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
I’ve spent the last few weeks suffering from bronchiospasms (a.k.a. coughing fits). So I’m forced to stay in bed to rest. As a result, I thought I would take the opportunity to put together a page of all the media stuff on The Fortune Cookie Chronicles online. And it’s not until you see it all together that see the cumulative effects. Thank you Cary…
Hence for the burst of random reviews further now. I went through a surfing trip through Nexis.
Topics: Media & Interviews | No Comments »
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: It’s Our Kind of Chinese
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
From the Columbus Paper! (No, not Ohio, in Georgia). It’s more a summary, but I like the fact she quotes on my obsession point at the end. I’d thought no one has ever noticed.
Columbus (Georgia) Ledger-Enquirer
April 3, 2008
It’s Our Kind of Chinese
By Sonya Sorich
Nearly everybody has one. Maybe yours is marked by a double-digit menu number. An appetite-inducing photo. A name you probably don’t pronounce correctly.
You eat it at the coffee table. In bed. Straight out of the white take-out carton.
It is your favorite Chinese restaurant entree.
Collectively, those dishes help create Jennifer 8. Lee’s “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food.”
Topics: Chinese Food, Reviews | No Comments »
Washington Times: “With wit and style, she delights with tales about Chinese food in America, and its sometimes hilarious origins.”
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
This is from August 31, 2008. It’s a very nice review. One of the kindest in how stylishly it’s written.
Washington Times
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Chinese food in America
By Corinna Lothar
Jennifer 8. Lee (8 really is her middle name; when pronounced in Chinese the number denotes prosperity) is a special kind of journalist. She writes with a delicious sense of humor and irony, following her story over hill and dale, ocean and mountain, from town to village. With wit and style, she delights with tales about Chinese food in America, and its sometimes hilarious origins.
more »
Topics: Chinese Food, Reviews | No Comments »
The Times of Trenton: Readers are likely to increase their tips after reading about the plight of Chinese restaurant workers
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
This is the same as my Newsday review. But wanted to put it down, again.
The Times of Trenton
March 23, 2008
Chinese food book has right ingredients
By HELEN McALPIN
Years ago, at a Japanese Benihana steakhouse, my mother-in-law mortified her children by asking for fortune cookies at the end of the meal. As Jennifer 8. Lee reveals in this filling – and sometimes gut-busting – stir-fry of a book about Chinese food, she wasn’t as off-base as it seemed: Fortune cookies evolved from grilled Japanese biscuits called tsujiura senbei.
more »
Topics: Reviews | No Comments »
School Library Journal Reviews: For those who liked Freakonomics and The World is Flat
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
Just discovered this too. I was reviewed by School Libarary Journal as an adult book for high school students. I should really look through Nexis more often. I like this: “This title will appeal to teens who are interested in history, Chinese culture, and, of course, cuisine.” I liked this line too: “Recommend it to sophisticated readers who revel in the details and history that help explain our current global culture, including fans of Thomas L. Friedman’s The World Is Flat and Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Freakonomics.”
School Library Journal Reviews July 1, 2008
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
Lynn Rashid
Adult/High School- Lee takes readers on a delightful journey through the origins and mysteries of the popular, yet often overlooked, world of the American Chinese food industry. Crossing dozens of states and multiple countries, the author sought answers to the mysteries surrounding the shocking origins of the fortune cookie, the inventor of popular dishes such as chop suey and General Tso’s chicken, and more. What she uncovers are the fascinating connections and historical details that give faces and names to the restaurants and products that have become part of a universal American experience. While searching for the “greatest Chinese restaurant,” readers are taken on a culinary tour as Lee discovers the characteristics that define an exceptional and unique Chinese dining experience. Readers will learn about the cultural contributions and sacrifices made by the Chinese immigrants who comprise the labor force and infrastructure that supports Chinese restaurants all over the world. This title will appeal to teens who are interested in history, Chinese culture, and, of course, cuisine. Recommend it to sophisticated readers who revel in the details and history that help explain our current global culture, including fans of Thomas L. Friedman’s The World Is Flat (Farrar, 2006) and Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Freakonomics (Morrow, 2006).-Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD
Topics: Reviews | No Comments »
Toronto Star Review, with Jen Lin Liu and Fuschia Dunlop
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
Only in looking through Nexis, did I discover this Toronto Star review from July, subtitled “A female trio of Chinese food lovers – two in China itself and one in New York – explore the eats and the culture.”
It reviews my book, Fuschia Dunlop’s “Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Memoir of Eating in China”, and Jen Lin Liu’s “Serve the People: A Stir Fried Journey Through China.” A very natural Fit
A Groaning Board of Chinese Cuisine:
A female trio of Chinese food lovers – two in China itself and one in New York – explore the eats and the culture
By Christine Sismondo
July 20, 2008
On March 30, 2005, 110 Americans hit a national lottery jackpot.
That may not sound like all that many. In fact, that number was 30 times higher than the probability for hitting five correct numbers in a U.S. Powerball lottery. The unexpected, statistically anomalous pay out? Nearly $20 million in total. Numbers like that just don’t happen without some kind of explanation. So the lottery officials launched an inquest.
more »
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Colorado Public Radio KCFR Colorado Matters, Denver anti-Chinese Race Riots 1880
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 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.
Anti-Chinese Race Riots in Denver in 1880
Topics: Audio, Media & Interviews, Multimedia | No Comments »
Philadelphia WHYY Chef’s Table Interview from April
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
And I should put up the Chef’s Table interview from April 19, 2008 [here’s the audio file]. I actually did the interview when Barack Obama was giving his famous race speech across the street at Constitution Hall. Lots of police.
Here is the description of the episode.
Food is all encompassing…how we buy it, store it, celebrate with it. That says a lot about who we are. On today’s show, we’ll look at our relationship to food…from simple bananas to an unusal place to dine where the waiters are visually impaired and you eat in the dark. A cultural psychologist examines how we perceive what’s on our plate and we’ll hear about “The Short History of the American Stomach.” And, if you think you’d like to win the Pillsbury Bake-off contest hear how one woman took the prize. Plus, the fortune cookie chronicles, the perfect recipe for losing weight, and much more.
This week’s featured recipe:
Foie Gras and Dumplings with Champagne Dipping SauceThis week’s featured books:
A Short History Of The American Stomach by Frederick Kaufman
Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures In The World Of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee
The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir by Ellie Matthew
The Perfect Recipe For Losing Weight And Eating Great by Pam Anderson
A World Of Dumplings by Brian Yarvin
Banana: The Fate Of The Fruit That Changed The World by Dan Koeppel
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Boston’s WBUR Here and Now, trip to Zoe’s in Somerville
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 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 months later, and I’m posting it up now.
Topics: Audio, Media & Interviews, Multimedia | No Comments »
Me, Oliver Stone and Richard Branson & Stephen Colbert
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 26, 2008
I learned that Oliver Stone was advised to watch my Colbert interview for his appearance on October 9 for his film, W, as a coaching example. He was also advised to watch, in contrast, Richard Branson.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Some people have 8ness thrust upon them.
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 23, 2008
I just saw this, and was amused. I am honored to be the subject of an ode.
Ode to Jennifer 8. Lee
Be not afraid of eightness: some are born eight, some achieve eightness, and some have eightness thrust upon them.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Feds Bust Gangsters Who Were Shaking Down Chinatown Bus Companies
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 23, 2008
The New York Post, in its bouncy law enforcement prose, reports that the feds have busted a Chinese gang which had been beating Chinatown bus operators. The article says that beginning in 2005, the so-called “Banya Organization” – named after its members’ hometown in China’s “Fuchow region” (which is“Fuzhou” in pin yin) allegedly began targeting operators of two interstate bus companies to extort partial ownership and a share of the profits.”
A five-count racketeering indictment filed in Manhattan federal court adds that the gang members with nicknames like “Fatty,” “Big Flower” and “Vegetable Duck” also dealt drugs and ran illegal gambling dens.
Chinatown Buses have a special place in my heart, because they were originally created to ship Chinese restaurant workers through the eastern half of the country.
Chinatown buses have been a brutal nasty business. Rivalries have caused one driver to back up on another, causing fractured pelvis, internal bleeding, and several other injuries. The attacking driver was murdered in 2003, shot five times in the chest. An excellent 2005 paper by Cyrus Farviar talks about the past, present and future of Chinatown buses, including much of the violence.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Voila! The Chow Mein Sandwich.
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 20, 2008
People have asked me on my book tour what is the strangest Chinese-American food I’ve encountered. While Szechuan alligator is up there (Cajun Chinese food!), I have to say that I would have to say it’s the chow mein sandwich, which is a speciality in southeastern New England. Here is a thoughtful article from Flavor and Fortune by Imogene Lim, a third-generation Canadian Chinese scholar who speaks (no joke) better Swahili than Chinese.
It’s essentially a starch-on-starch sandwich and people there love it. It’s served on the school the cafeteria menu. They even shipped it overseas to hometown boys during the first Gulf War.
Topics: Chinese Food, Quirky | No Comments »
General Tso’s Inn: He’s Moved Into Real Estate
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 16, 2008
This was originally uploaded by HolmesBartonHolmes. I was surfing along on Flickr looking at General Tso photos, and was amused to discover General Tso’s Inn. He’s moved into real estate investments apparently. This is located in Southeastern Indiapolis. (GENERAL TSO’S INN. 642 TWIN AIRE DR. 317-917-1546)
Topics: Chinese Food, Chinese Restaurants | No Comments »
Me & My Egg Roll
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 15, 2008
I saw this while walking around in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and thought it was the most adorable name for a Chinese restaurant.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Fortune Cookie Chronicles-inspired art
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 14, 2008
A Fortune Cookie Chronicles sketch by a Cleveland artist.
Google alerts let me know that we inspired a little piece in the sketch blog of Cleveland artist.
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
Print Magazine: The History of a “Racist Font”
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 14, 2008
Samples of Mandarin, Chinese-y font
Print magazine had an article by Paul Shaw on ethnic fonts (It ran in August but I’m just getting to it now), which highlights the history of the ching-chongy chop suey fonts — which had become synonymous with Chinese restaurants during the first half of the 20th century. This is of particular issue to me, as one reader once wrote, “Angry Asian Man has criticized others for using the pseudoâ€Chinesey†letters like your Fortune
Cookie Chronicles heading. How about the actual Chinese characters with the English translation in parentheses underneath.”
Topics: Chinese | No Comments »
Who was the mysterious fortune cookie king?
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 13, 2008
Got an email from a reader. Does anyone know who this mogul could have been?
In the late 1980s and early 90s I worked for a small arts publisher then located on the north side of Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette in Soho. On the floor below us there was a small, ancient, one-man printing shop with an antiquated single-color (maybe two) color press, a folding machine, a cutter, that’s about it. A dusty relic from pre-fashionable Soho, it was owned and run by a printer who was then, I¹d guess, in his late seventies if not his eighties.
One of his regular jobs was to print sheets of fortunes for fortune cookies. These were, as I recall, 20×30-inch uncut white sheets of simple black type (must have been at least a hundred fortunes on a sheet), no graphics, no lottery numbers. Every time I was in his shop ‘¹d see stacks of them waiting
for delivery; it’s the delivery part that¹s interesting. Every so often I’d see a chauffer-driven shiny black Cadillac limousine (maybe a Lincoln) with tinted windows parked on Spring Street in front of the building. The client had come to collect the latest job.The client would never enter the building nor set foot in the shop to pick up his order – in fact he¹d never leave the rear seat of his car. The printer would deliver the uncut sheets of fortunes to the car himself and load them into the trunk. (This kind of curbside service is unusual in the trade, to say the least.) He would spend significant time standing at the rolled-down rear window of the car, deferentially (it seemed to me) talking with his client (the fortune cookie king, we called him) who I estimate was
at least as old as the printer. All I ever saw of the mysterious mogul was what I could glimpse through the rolled-down rear passenger window during these ritual handoffs. Round face, Asian features, slicked back thinning hair, small but heavy stature, always an elegant black business suit, cufflinked white shirt, and (I believe) aviator-style sunglasees. My question: any idea who this could have been?
Topics: Fortune Cookies | No Comments »
Another talk, in Walnut Creek, Nov. 2 @ 5 p.m.
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 9, 2008
Just got another booking for a talk, sandwiched between another event in Solano County earlier that day and a red-eyeflight later that night. (Northern California loves this book). Here are the details:
TIN’S TEA HOUSE LOUNGE
1829 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Walnut Creek
5:00 pm Sunday, November 2, 2008
Topics: Chinese Food, Chinese Restaurants | No Comments »
æŽç«¶8 on Wikipedia
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 7, 2008
Jennifer 8. Lee
Today in playing with the link: command in Google search, which reverse looks-up what pages are linking to a particular page (more advanced Google commands), I discovered have a Chinese Wikipedia page, and my name is translated as æŽç«¶8, which is endlessly amusing, as that is my Chinese name æŽç«¶, with an 8 appended afterwards.
If you pump it through Google translator this is what you get.
Li Jing-8
Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaLi Jing-8 (Jennifer 8. Lee), writer, New York Times reporter, (March
15, 1976 -), was born in New York City, by ancestors of Taiwan.Li Jing-8 and graduated from Harvard University, Harvard University, a
former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media.Li Jing-8 well-known in her blog fortunecookiechronicles.com compiled
and published the book “lucky sign Chronicle cake.” Â The article
reported that the United States in food and cultural roots of the
truth, such as General Tso Chicken, American-Chinese restaurant chain
PF Chang and so on.References
* fortunecookiechronicles.com Li Jing-8 blog, fortunecookiechronicles.com
* “Yes, my name is 8 of the word.” “Yes, 8 is my middle name.” Boston Globe. August 8, 1996, page E1.Li Jing is an 8 on the U.S. citizenship of the United States or
American writer, poet, writer, and other characters of small works.
You can edit or amend the expansion of its contents.Category: born in 1976 | People living | American writers | Chinese writers | Li | Chinese-American
Topics: Chinese Food | No Comments »
A fortune cookie still life, by Abbey Ryan, for sale on Ebay
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 6, 2008
Fortune Cookie No. 2 by Abbey Ryan
Abbey Ryan, who creates a painting a day, has a fortune cookie still life on sale on eBay called Fortune Cookie No. 2. It is currently at $107. There seems to be quite a bit of fortune cookie-inspired art. My personal favorite remains a portrait of Mao, made out of hundreds of cookies.
Topics: Fortune Cookies | No Comments »
My Fried Turkey Dumpling/Potsticker/Guotie Recipe
By Jennifer 8. Lee | September 30, 2008
I might be making fried turkey dumplings on TV. Cross fingers. Just dropped the fried dumplings off today.
Fried turkey dumplings, of course, were my family’s solutions to elementary school bake sales — as Chinese people don’t bake (as I’ve explained before). They don’t bake brownies. They don’t bake pies. They don’t bake apple crisps. They don’t bake cookies (fortune cookies are grilled). This was a dilemma when the school teacher wants us to bring stuff in. Which is why we decided to make fried turkey dumplings. Which of course, though only in retrospect, is funny. Because Chinese people in China don’t eat turkey. It’s a New World bird. We used ground turkey because it was available in the local American supermarket.
Here is a detailed Wikipedia article on dumplings.
Making potstickers/dumplings involves a special frying technique that is a combo of frying and steaming.
I’m not one who gets picky about exact amounts. Turns out that dumplings are pretty forgiving.
Ingredients
– One packet Ground turkey
– 1/2 head of lettuce (or bok choy or whatever), chopped up
– 1/2 cup of soy sauce
– Sesame oil
– Vinegar
– Chopped scallions
– Two or three eggs (egg is what makes the entire thing stick together)
– Random shredded veggies (carrots, mushroom, leftovers green stuff)
– Shredded Ginger (if you want)
– Some salt
– Some sugar
– One or two packets of round Shanghai style dumpling skins (40 for $.99)
more »
Topics: Appearances, Chinese Food | No Comments »
General Tso goes on a shopping spree?
By Jennifer 8. Lee | September 18, 2008
A style article on shopping in boutiques in Chinatown uses General Tso in the headline, even though he has nothing to do with the story. It’s interesting how General Tso has become a shorthand for “an abstract Chinese figure that Americans can relate to, ” as opposed to let’s say Mao Zedong or Confucius. Can you imagine “Confucius goes on a shopping spree?” Or “Mao goes on a shopping spree?”
Topics: General Tso | No Comments »