Read 8343851 times
Connect me to:
|
Kaifeng: A Chinese Jewish HavenReligion and Religious Groups and Their Foods
Winter Volume: 2017 Issue: 24(4) pages: 22 to 23
This city, a busy stop on the Silk Road, was popular
and used for centuries. It became even busier
when folk from the Middle East used it to travel on
from the eighth Century BCE and thereafter. A goodly
numbers were Jewish. In 1163 CE, Rabbi Leiwei, one of
those Jews, was in charge of their settling in Kaifeng. With needed approvals, he built a synagogue for them.
a ritual bath, kosher butchering facility, kosher kitchen,
and a Sukkoth–the place for meals during this Jewish
holiday. He oversaw
and served this Jewish
population for years. It
was a popular community,
so popular that Marco Polo
came and visited them. To
honor their contributions
to the larger Chinese
society, after 1421 these
Jews were allowed to take
civil service examinations.
Those that passed could
and did apply for and get
government positions. 
The Jews in Kaifeng practiced their religion there from
before the Southern Song Dynasty (1129 - 1279 CE),
until the late 19th century, and then most left because
their synagogue was destroyed by overflowing Yellow
River flooding. A few years before, a Jesuit priest had
made contact with them; he reported they were still
abstaining from pork, observing their holidays, and
enjoying other aspects of their religion. They were
doing what other Jews in Western and Eastern Europe
were doing, during these years. We also know of the Jews existence and practices here
in other ways. One was seeing a stone memorial called
a ‘steele’ from Kaifeng on display at the Royal Ontario
Museum in Toronto, Canada. There are others and
records showing their presence, and many practices of
their religion there. During the Ming Dynasty (1368
- 1644 CE), an emperor did give seven Chinese family
names to the Jewish people there including: Ai, Jin,
Lao, Li, Shi, Zhang, and Zhao, Those of Shi and Jin are
equivalents of Stone and Gold, both common Jewish
family names in the west. There are other indications
including that the Kaifeng torah scrolls found there are
identical to Torah scrolls in Europe and elsewhere, all
testaments to Jews living and practicing their religion
in Kaifeng. Before, during, and after 1900, more Jews, mostly
from Europe, came to Kaifeng to escape antisemitism.
Many moved on to Shanghai joining the larger Jewish
population there. Those interested in the plight of the Jews from the
Kaifeng community tried to rescue those torah scrolls
and help the fifty or so Jewish families of some two
hundred and fifty folk relocated to Shanghai. The
Jews in Shanghai did ask them not to sell these scrolls
and that they would help
them regain them and
rebuild their synagogue or
build a new one for them.
However, nothing came of
that offer. Some wonder
if that was because
the scrolls had already
been sold to Christian
organizations. We did
not learn if that was why
nothing happened. Some of the offspring
of these and other
Jews continue to write ‘Youtai’ on their government
documents indicating they are Jews. Others do not
even though they are descendants of the many Kaifeng
Jews some of whom had come to Kaifeng from the
Middle East or were born and raised in Kaifeng. They
chose not to identify themselves as Jews as did the
many from Iraq and Iran. You may know of those from well-known families of
Jewish immigrants that went to China. One such
is the Sasoon family of couture fame. They came to
Shanghai from a different direction, from Baghdad,
and did go to Hong Kong, in 1902. Later, their patriarch,
Sir Jacob Sasoon, dedicated the Ohel Leah Synagogue
in his mother’s memory. Others gave other items of
appreciation. Other Jews went directly to Hong Kong from Iraq as did
the Kadoories along with waves of others who went
there and elsewhere in China. Some went to Hong Kong
before it was officially part of China. Others arrived
long before the first or second world wars. There were
some who had come to these cities at the beginning of
the 1800s. Many invested in Hong Kong, even before
it became part of China. These included those who
purchased the Peninsula and the Furama Hotels. Now,
there are more than three thousand Jews in Hong Kong
in the community that began in the 1800s. Many are
Baghdadi and Iraqi Jews who came from these cities in
those early years; others have been coming since. Today, many Jews in Hong Kong own businesses, keep
kosher, and keep many of their other religious beliefs.
Some went for business, some for pleasure, some out of
necessity. Many Jews who now come to Hong Kong do
visit the Furama Hotel or the Jewish Community Center
near it. Some go to the mikvah, the Jewish ritual bath
on Robinson Street, or they go to the Hong Kong Chabad
for kosher dinners on the Sabbath or catered ones at
one of the above-mentioned hotels. Local Chabad
members help, many have kosher food stands at jewelry
and other business fairs, some at the Canton Trade Fair. Foods started by Kaifeng Jews in this city once the capital
of China in the Henan Province, are still available there
and elsewhere. Many Jews and non-Jews enjoy these
Jewish culinary roots when visiting or living in China.
These foods include small steamed buns called Kaifeng
xiao long bao stuffed with many different meats and/or
vegetables. Should you want to try them, visit the
Di Yi Lou restaurant at the crossing of Zhingshan Road
and Sheng Fu Qian Streets, or at The First Restaurant of
Steamed Buns; or other places in Kaifeng, in Shanghai,
or in other cities. We did and dipped ours in vinegar
and soy sauce, a local custom. You can too. Another Chinese food influenced by the Kaifeng Jews
is ‘Mayuxing Bucket-shaped Chicken’ in Kaifemg or in
Hong Kong, even elsewhere. Called ma yu xing tong
zi ji, it is made with locally-raised hens served in a
thick soup. The chicken is crisp and named after its
developer, Mayuxin. You might try it at the Mayuxing
Duck and Chicken Market or at the Snack Night Market,
the Drum Tower Night Fair, or the Xisi Night Fair, and at
other places, too. Another food influenced by early Jews in China is
Chrysanthemum Hot Pot. The Chinese call it ju hua hou
guo, as it is named for the pot it is cooked and served in.
Old ones were made of brass or steel. Newest ones are
electric and no longer are heated by coals or charcoal.
This dish is cooked at the table and can be loaded with
fish in a chicken soup. Some restaurants make theirs
with meat, fish, and chicken. and a special sauce. Years
ago, we had some at the Drum Tower Night Fair; many
other places probably still serve it, too. Another Kaifeng influenced food with Jewish roots
from these early settlers, is called Four Treasures. This
dish has many flavors including those of chicken, duck,
pigeon, and quail. Their thick soup, called Kaifeng tao
si bao, is a savory delight. There are other main dishes
and snacks including a local carp covered with noodles,
pictured on page 22. It was featured in an earlier issue
of Flavor and Fortune. Its recipe is below. Enjoy them
in your kitchen or at a restaurant that serves them all. Kai Feng Noodle Blanketed Carp |
---|
Ingredients:
2 to 3 pound fresh carp, fins and scales discarded
2 cups vegetable oil
1/3 pound very thin dry noodles, soaked until soft
1½ cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons Chinese white vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons Shao Xing rice wine
1 teaspoon salt
3 slices fresh ginger, slivered
2 scallions, minced
1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with like amount of cold water
Preparation:
1. Rinse, then dry the fish with paper towels, and then
cut five incisions across its back almost to the bone.
2. Heat oil in a wok or deep pan, then add the carp and
pour the hot oil over the fish for two minutes, then
remove it to a towel-lined preheated platter and let it
rest one minute, then discard the paper towels.
3. Drain the noodles, increase the pan with the oil and
deep fry them just until they look crisp and turn color.
Then remove them to paper towels, drain well, and put
them on top of the fish. Set the oil aside for another
purpose.
4. Dry the wok or pan with paper towels, add the broth,
vinegar, sugar, wine, salt, ginger, and the scallion pieces
and bring to the boil, stir then put the fish back in and
add the cornstarch mixture and stir until it starts to
thicken, stir again, then remove the fish to a pre-heated
platter. Put the fried noodles only on top of it. Then
pout s little of the sauce on the center of the noodles,
the rest around the fish., then serve.
|
|