Fortune Cookies

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Issue Date
2008-04-02Author
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Publisher
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Type
Recording, oral
Is part of series
Postcards from Asia;0117
Published Version
https://audioboom.com/posts/828973-0117-fortune-cookiesMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Broadcast Transcript: For everyone who thinks that everything was first invented by the Chinese, here's a surprise: fortune cookies were NOT. That's right. New research shows that fortune cookies, those ubiquitous desserts that come with the check at every Chinese restaurant in America, were invented in ... Japan. And not recently either. There are references to tsujiura senbei or fortune crackers in a 19th century book of stories that show a baker making the cookies in the same way they are currently made at a shop in Kyoto. No one is exactly sure how the senbei made the leap to U.S. Chinese restaurants, but even the Japanese agree it was fortunate, marketing-wise: by 1960, this dessert had become so much a part of American culture, they were used in two presidential campaigns. Sweet! #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
Description
This is one of hundreds of 60-second radio spots created by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) for Kansas Public Radio (KPR). The purpose of this outreach program is to introduce the people of Kansas to the culture and current issues of East Asia.
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