Several factors contributed to this phenomenon, including the absence of dairy in Chinese dishes, which was compatible with kosher dietary laws that prohibits mixing dairy with meat, concerns over German and Italian antisemitic regimes in the 1930s as well as the close proximity of Jewish and Chinese immigrants to each other in New York City.
Lee, producer of The Search for General Tso, at the turn of the 20th century in New York City, Jewish and Chinese immigrants were bound by proximity and otherness.
They lived in close proximity to each other on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and were the two largest non-Christian immigrant groups.
[1][5][4] According to Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut, the process of cutting, chopping, and mincing, called ko p'eng (to cut and cook) in ancient Chinese texts, made foods like pork, shrimp, and lobster appear disguised and thus appear as safe treyf to Jews seeking to assimilate into American culture.
[8] Breaking the rules of kashrut by eating Chinese food allowed the younger generation to assert their independence and further established a "cosmopolitan spirit".
"[4] Many of the people whom Tuchman and Levine spoke to felt that eating in a place that was "un-Jewish" showed that they could be "somewhat sophisticated, urbane New Yorkers.
"[5] According to historians, eating Chinese food became a meaningful symbol of American Judaism and part of a ritualized celebration of immigration, education, family, community, and continuity.
Michael Tong of Shun Lee Palace talked about the issue in a 2003 interview with The New York Times:[10]Welcome to the conundrum that is Christmas New York style: while most restaurants close for the holiday, or in a few cases, stay open and serve a prix fixe meal laden with froufrou, thousands of diners, most of them Jewish, are faced with a dilemma.