Gefilte Fish to Chop Suey: The History of Kosher Chinese Food in New York City
*The event has already taken place on this date: Thu, 12/12/2024
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The debate over the Jewish craze for Chinese food erupted in the New York Yiddish press in the 1920s. For commentators who considered food an embodiment of identity, whether Jewish immigrants and their children stayed with gefilte fish or turned to chop suey indicated what kinds of values they held most dear. Once it became clear that this fervor for Chinese food was here to stay, New York Jews in the late twentieth century sought to bridge the divide by incorporating Chinese cooking styles into traditional Jewish cuisine. With assistance from Chinese food purveyors, they fashioned a new phenomenon, kosher Chinese cuisine, and pioneered efforts to popularize it.
Kosher Chinese restaurants and cookbooks soon became a specialty of New York City, emulated by Jewish communities across the country and overseas. By confidently making Chinese food kosher, New York Jews showed the vitality of American Jewish identity, that being Jewish never conflicted with enjoying what their American home has to offer. Join NYU researcher and doctoral candidate Shiyong Lu as we explore this fascinating history in anticipation of the holiday season!
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Shiyong Lu is a doctoral candidate in the joint Ph.D. program in Hebrew and Judaic Studies and History at New York University. Her research centers around interactions between Jews and Chinese in America, with a focus on food and business. She has received the 2024 Brown Family Research Award from Feinstein Center for American Jewish History at Temple University. She is currently a Mellon Foundation Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s History at New York Historical Society and a Scholars of Color Fellow at Association for Jewish Studies.
About the Museum at Eldridge Street
The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wishes to visit Jewish New York. Exhibits, tours, public programs, and education tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages, and interests.
About the Museum of Chinese in America
The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is dedicated to preserving, illuminating, and celebrating the rich history and contributions of Chinese in America. By fostering understanding and greater recognition of our experiences, MOCA endeavors to inspire and connect all Americans.
Image Credit: Chinatown, New York, 1950. Photo by Getty Images.
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