Highly recommended: THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES by Jennifer 8 Lee (no typo on the name). Most library systems should have a copy. Starting with the story a number of years back about a bunch of people who won 2nd prize on lottery tickets based on numbers from fortune cookies, she decides to learn the history of fortune cookies, and the path that led her to a book all about the history of commercial Chinese food, in the U.S. and world-wide.
 
Bart