Jewish People and Chinese food

For the Jewish people there has always been an age old question around Christmas, what the heck should we do? Before migrating out of Europe, most Jews would stay home on Christmas day due to fear of physical harm. Now I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with Chinese food. Well when the Jewish people started to migrate to America (New York specifically)  in the early 19th century, they moved into the apartments that were within close proximity of their Chinese neighbors. The first mention of Jewish people eating Chinese food came in 1899 by the American Hebrew journal which criticized them for eating at non-Kosher restaurants. These Chinese food restaurants began to pop up everywhere around Manhattan. A report by East Side Chamber News in the 1930s found that roughly twenty Chinese restaurants had popped up in densely Jewish neighborhoods. Where had this demand for a seemingly non-Kosher cuisine come from? Well the Jewish people found Chinese food to be the safest food around. Unlike Italian cooking, the Chinese rarely mix dairy and meat as well as the only pork used in recipes was in the dumplings. The Jewish people didn’t start eating Chinese food for Christmas or because the Chinese were “invading” their neighborhoods with their restaurants. They started to eat Chinese food because they wanted their own equivalent to a Sunday dinner from people they trusted. As for the whole Christmas and Jews situation let’s face it, what else is open on Ch? So it was natural for the Jews and the Chinese to gravitate towards one another.