No Chinese takeout is complete without the popular fortune cookie, celebrated on July 20. Originating in Japan or California in the early 20th century, these slightly sweet and crunchy curled cookies contain a slip of paper inside with a “fortune” message with a joke, prediction, quip or comment. Perhaps inspired by the ‘tsujiura sensei’ (fortune crackers) made and sold near Japanese temples in the 1800s, fortune cookies are usually made with flour, vanilla, sesame oil, and sugar.