We’re so excited to announce the launch of our “A Better Fortune” campaign! This initiative aims to raise awareness about racism and hate targeting the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities across the UK, urging individuals to reach out to On Your Side if they encounter or witness such incidents.

In the UK, one prominent and celebrated aspect of ESEA communities is their food culture. Despite the nation’s love for Asian “takeaways”, support services for ESEA communities have been historically lacking and underfunded. Our support service aims to provide needed support, and to build a better picture of what is happening across the UK. It is our hope that this campaign will motivate people into action.

To do this, we’ve carefully crafted fortune cookies with messages that promote positive change and allyship. While our campaign offers a light hearted approach to engaging in anti-racism work, it also provides an important opportunity to bring attention to the complicated history of the fortune cookie. Recognising the nuances of the origin of the fortune cookie opens the door for a nuanced conversation on race.
We see our campaign as an opportunity to reclaim and redefine the meaning of the fortune cookie, encouraging individuals to stand up against racism and hate. In doing so, we can transform the fortune cookie from a once-contested symbol into one that embodies empowerment and resilience.

History of the fortune cookie

Although the fortune cookie gained popularity in the United States, often associated with Chinese eateries, its origin can be traced back to 19th-century Kyoto, Japan (Lee, 2008). A similar styled cracker, except larger, darker in colour, and made with miso and sesame, was called ‘tsujiura senbei’ or ‘fortune cracker’ (Lee, 2021). Interestingly, the paper message was not placed within the cookie, but tucked on the outer shell to ensure the consumer did not eat their own fortune! How then, does the tsujiura senbei end up being a staple of Chinese American cuisine? This is where it gets a bit tricky. According to Jennifer Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, after the “Chinese Exclusion Act”, an inherently racist policy removing Chinese workers from the United States, the country had a demand for cheap labour (Lee, 2009). This opened an opportunity for Japanese families to migrate to California and Hawaii (Lee, 2021). While many Japanese families assert that this is how the fortune cookie made its way to the United States, Chinese American businesses, like the Hong Kong Noodle company, dispute this and affirm their role in its creation (Lee, 2021).

Regardless of how it came to America, there is no doubt that the fortune cookie was quickly associated with Chinese restaurants. The reasoning behind this is also a bit unclear. However, historians point towards the events of WWII, Executive Order 9066, and American food preferences for answers (Lee, 2021). When Executive Order 9066 was passed, mandating the relocation and internment of people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, many Japanese Americans had to close their businesses, including bakeries and restaurants. After the war, distrust towards Japanese communities still lingered and it became clear that Americans had little appetite for Japanese food. However, an interest in Chinese American food emerged prompting Japanese families, alongside other Chinese American families, to open Chinese restaurants. Thus, both Japanese and Chinese families were offering fortune cookies in their restaurants. With dishes often adapting to the American palette, so too did the fortune cookie, resulting in a buttery milky cookie provided as dessert after a meal.

As the fortune cookie gained rapid popularity in the United States, it became closely linked with Chinese culture. However, it is misleading to assume that fortune cookies truly represent Chinese culture, especially given their absence in China. This assumption is quite dangerous and perpetuates ethnic stereotyping. It’s important to recognise that the fortune cookie, an American invention, was created by immigrants as a survival strategy. These individuals adapted their businesses and culinary traditions to ensure economic survival and assimilation in their new American
surroundings.

Why we chose the fortune cookie

The fortune cookie is a symbol of ESEA presence in the Western world. Though it is not universally associated with the other ESEA communities, its existence is evidence of a long and complicated history of migration, discrimination, and racism. It serves as a complex diasporic symbol that shines light on why we need to support the ESEA community in the UK. It is a reminder that services, such as On Your Side, the nation’s first support and reporting service for ESEA communities in the UK, play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of the community.

Acknowledging the fortune cookies’ historical ties to racialized history, through highlighting its roots, we attempt to show the complex relationship between the fortune cookie and its connections to racialised narratives. Utilising the fortune cookie to encourage people to stand against racism and hate transforms it from a once controversial symbol into one of strength and empowerment. We hope that our “A Better Fortune” campaign will spark further discussion on racism in the UK, and encourage those who need support to reach out.

Sources

Lee, J. (2008, January). Solving a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a Cookie. <The New York Times>.

Lee, J. 8. (2009). The fortune cookie chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. <Twelve>.

Lee, M. (2021, February). The surprising origins of The fortune cookie. <History.com>.