- For decades, the American Jewish community has frequented Chinese restaurants on Christmas.
- The tradition is rooted in a shared immigrant identity and kosher laws.
Roast ham and mashed potatoes are many Americans' Christmas staples. But many members of the American Jewish community celebrate the holiday with an entirely different cuisine: Chinese food, from wontons to wok-fried rice.
For over a century, American Jews have frequented Chinese restaurants on Christmas. In the late 19th century in New York, Jewish and Chinese immigrants lived in close proximity in neighborhoods like the Lower East Side in Manhattan. When most businesses were closed for the holidays, Chinese establishments welcomed Jewish patrons with their typical bustle.
Some Jewish businesses are now embracing their hybrid holiday traditions — and celebrating the cuisines of the community that has welcomed them for decades.
Every Christmas in Brooklyn, Mile End Deli, a restaurant started by a couple of Jewish Montrealers who felt that New York needed a deli that was a little different, celebrates the holidays with their homage to Chinese food, from fried rice studded with corned beef to porchetta-style smoked duck.
"Growing up, Christmas for us was a day of hanging out, watching movies, and Chinese food," Joel Tietolman, owner of Mile End Deli, told Insider.
Since they opened shop in 2010, Mile End Deli has celebrated what Tietolman has dubbed a "traditional Jewish Christmas."
"It's literally what we Jews do," Tietolman said. "Our customers don't want deli food on Christmas; they want Chinese food, so let's give them Chinese food."
A shared heritage
The history of Jewish patronage of Chinese restaurants is rooted in the shared immigrant identity of both communities.
In 1936, there were 18 Chinese restaurants open in heavily-populated Jewish areas in the Lower East Side. In the thick of World War II, many Jews felt more comfortable at these establishments than they did at the Italian or German eateries that were prevalent in New York at the time, according to scholar and rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut.
Many Jews would also go out for Chinese food on Sundays, when most restaurants owned by Christians were closed for business.
"The spread to Christmas was a natural extension of Chinese lunches on Sundays," Tietolman said.
Chinese food was also more approachable to Jews in terms of kosher law, since there's not much mixing of meat and dairy, and it's easier to find dishes without pork or shrimp in Chinese cuisine.
The Chinese community has welcomed its Jewish customers, even adapting old dishes or creating new ones to cater to their palates. Fried beef spare ribs, for instance, incorporate the Hanukkah tradition of frying.
Celebrating tradition, with a twist
Although Chinese and Jewish cuisines are markedly different, restaurants are getting creative to celebrate their adopted tradition.
In lieu of a classic salt and vinegar cucumber salad served at Mile End Deli and other Jewish eateries, Tietolman serves smashed Sichuan cucumbers, spiced with spicy peppercorn sauce and sesame oil. Over the years, the Jewish deli has experimented with chopped liver in wontons and brisket in black bean sauce. This Christmas, it's branching out to other Asian cuisines, like a latke pancake inspired by pajeon — Korean scallion pancakes — and a ginger dashi soup with shiitake mushrooms.
Mile End Deli has also collaborated with Asian-owned businesses like Mimi Cheng's to create poutine dumplings.
Around 80% of customers who come in for Mile End Deli's special Chinese feast on Christmas are Jewish, according to Tietolman, though he's also seeing more South Asian families and other members of communities that don't traditionally celebrate Christmas.
"It's really great to see different communities come together over food," Tietolman said.