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Shared Tables: How Chinese Food Became a Jewish American Tradition

Real Jewish Food

The alliance between Jewish and Chinese foodways traces to the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the dawn of the 20th century. At a time when much of immigrant New York maintained cultural enclaves — Italians ate at Italian restaurants, Germans at German ones, Jews at kosher delis — Chinese restaurants distinguished themselves by welcoming outsiders, Jews included. The story of American Chinese food — especially as it intersects with Jewish experience — is about more than what’s on the plate. It’s about migration and adaptation, about forging friendships across boundaries, and about finding joy and kinship where you least expect it: across a table filled with chopsticks, challah, and the communal language of food.​

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