Jewish-American patronage of Chinese restaurants

TheJewish-American patronage of Chinese restaurantsbecame prominent in the 20th century, especially amongJewish New Yorkers. This cultural phenomenon has been seen as a paradoxical form of assimilation, where Jewish immigrants embraced Chinese cuisine, which was unfamiliar yet shared certain dietary similarities with Jewish food traditions.
Several factors contributed to this phenomenon, including the absence ofdairyin Chinese dishes, which was compatible withkosher dietary lawsthat prohibits mixing dairy with meat, concerns over German and Italianantisemiticregimes in the 1930s as well as the close proximity ofJewishandChinese immigrantsto each other inNew York City.
TheAmerican Jewishhabit of eating atChinese restaurantsonChristmasis acommon stereotypeportrayed in film and television, but has a factual basis as the tradition may have arisen from the lack of other open restaurants onChristmas Day.
According toJennifer 8. Lee, producer ofThe Search for General Tso, at the turn of the 20th century inNew York City,JewishandChinese immigrantswere bound by proximity and otherness. They lived in close proximity to each other on theLower East SideofManhattanand were the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups.By 1910, there were nearly a million Americans ofEastern European Jewish ancestryliving in New York City, where they constituted over one-fourth of the city’s population.
The first mention of American Jews eating Chinese food was in 1899 inThe American Hebrew. An article in the magazine criticized the Jewish community for eating at non-kosherrestaurants, particularly singling out Chinese food.In 1936, there were at least 18 Chinesetea gardensand restaurants open in heavily populated Jewish neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side, all of which located in close proximity toRatner's, then the most famousJewish dairy restaurant.Jews felt more comfortable at these restaurants than they did at theItalianorGermaneateries that were prevalent during this time period.
InLower Manhattan, immigrant eateries were usually operated to serve their own communities. Jews would opendelisfor other Jews, Italians ran restaurants primarily for other Italians, and Germans had many places that would serve only Germans. However, Chinese restaurant owners accepted Jews and other immigrant and ethnic groups as customers without precondition.In addition, unlike many Italian establishments inLower Manhattan, Chinese restaurants usually lacked Christian iconography. The lack ofantisemitismfrom Chinese-American restaurateurs gave Jews a sense of security, and the Chinese didn't look down on Jews as being less American like other immigrant groups did.
For the Jewish immigrants seeking to assimilate into American life, Chinese restaurants gave the illusion of adherence toJewish dietary laws. According to these laws, Jews are forbidden frommixing milk and meat, which are traditionally excluded from Chinese dishes. However, the dishes were stilltreyfdue to ample inclusion of pork and shellfish.According to Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, the process of cutting, chopping, and mincing, calledko p'eng(to cut and cook) in ancient Chinese texts, made foods like pork, shrimp, and lobster appear disguised and thus appear assafe treyfto Jews seeking to assimilate into American culture.For example, pork was hidden and wrapped inwontonsthat looked similar to Jewishkreplach(dumplings).
Ultimately this gave way to many US-born Jews rejectingkashrutaltogether as "impractical and anachronistic".Breaking the rules ofkashrutby eating Chinese food allowed the younger generation to assert their independence and further established a "cosmopolitan spirit".
Jews were also drawn to the restaurants' oriental exoticism. "Of all the peoples whom immigrant Jews and their children met, of all the foods they encountered in America, the Chinese were the most foreign, the most 'un-Jewish'."
A large majority of the Jews saw "eating in Chinese restaurants as an antidote for Jewishparochialism, for the exclusive and overweening emphasis on the culture of the Jews as it had been."
Many of the people whom Tuchman and Levine spoke to felt that eating in a place that was "un-Jewish" showed that they could be "somewhat sophisticated, urbane New Yorkers."The restaurants had unusual wallpaper, eccentric decorations, chopsticks, and exotic food names.
The generations of Jews who grew up in New York after the initial Eastern European Jews immigrated wanted their identity to be based on cosmopolitan ideals.
Before theemancipation of the Jewsin Europe, Christmas was a dangerous holiday for Jews. It was a night of drunken violence and sometimes pogroms against the Jewish populations. Jews stayed at home for their safety.In America, Jews felt alienated but did not want to stay home.
The tradition of Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas dates to as early as 1935, whenThe New York Timesreported a restaurant owner named Eng Shee Chuck broughtchow meinon Christmas Day to the Jewish Children’s Home inNewark.
"Over the years, Jewish American families and friends gather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Chinese restaurants across the United States to socialize and to banter, to reinforce social and familiar bonds, and to engage in a favorite activity for Jews during the Christmas holiday. The Chinese restaurant has become a place where Jewish identity is made, remade and announced."
According to historians, eating Chinese food became a meaningful symbol of American Judaism and part of a ritualized celebration of immigration, education, family, community, and continuity.
Michael Tong ofShun Lee Palacetalked about the issue in a 2003 interview withThe New York Times: