Variety of vegetarian food for the full moon day of January

(VLO) On the full moon day of the first lunar month this year, at supermarkets and markets, the supply of goods is abundant, the prices of many food items and offerings are stable, making it easy for consumers to shop.

A variety of fruits, fresh flowers, vegetarian dishes for the full moon worship in January.

Abundant supply, stable price

At markets and supermarkets, goods are abundant and diverse with prices reduced compared to Tet, especially green vegetables, fresh flowers and fruits. The area selling fresh flowers, fruits, candies, sticky rice and sweet soup always attracts a large number of buyers. Besides the types of flowers that are often favored for offerings such as yellow chrysanthemums, gladiolus, and gerberas, beautiful fruits such as green-skinned grapefruit, red apples, mangoes, custard apples, and tangerines are also consumed strongly.

According to some traders, chrysanthemums of all kinds fluctuate at 20,000-40,000 VND/bunch; gypsophila 80,000 VND/bunch; willow 100,000-120,000 VND/bunch; double lilies at 180,000-200,000 VND/bunch; gerberas alone have cooled down to 5,000 VND/flower...

Ms. Le Hong Ngoc, a fresh flower vendor at Vinh Long City Market (Point 2, Ward 4), shared that although the fruits and flowers for worshiping on the full moon day of the first lunar month are diverse and the prices are more stable than during Tet, the purchasing power is not as high as last year. Due to concerns about slow consumption, Ms. Ngoc only imports a few popular types of flowers. According to her, consumers are tending to save money, many families have bought flowers since the God of Wealth's day, so they are also limiting the purchase of new flowers.

While the price of fresh flowers increased slightly, the price of vegetables and fruits remained almost unchanged, except for straw mushrooms, which remained at 120,000-150,000 VND/kg. Specifically, sweet cabbage is 10,000 VND/kg; lettuce is 20,000 VND/kg; cauliflower is 20,000 VND/kg; bitter melon is 25,000 VND/kg; kohlrabi is 25,000 VND/kg; pumpkin is 25,000 VND/kg; Da Lat cabbage is 20,000-30,000 VND/kg; Da Lat carrots are 40,000 VND/kg...

To meet the demand for full moon offerings, many vendors at Vinh Long market also import a variety of fruits with eye-catching designs. Buyers pay special attention to choosing fresh, beautiful fruits with green stems to make the offering tray more solemn with the concept that "offering all year round is not as good as the full moon day of January".

Ms. Ha Thi Kim Lien, a fruit vendor at Vinh Long market, said that the supply of fruit is abundant, there is no shortage of goods or price challenges. Buyers often choose green fruits that can be displayed for a long time such as apples, dragon fruit, grapefruit, and mangoes, which have stable prices. However, despite entering the peak of the full moon worship season, purchasing power has not reached 50% compared to the same period last year.

Ms. Lien shared: “In previous years, the full moon of January was not only an occasion for people to buy fruit to worship their ancestors, but also to worship temples, vehicles, land, etc. At that time, each customer could buy more than 10kg of fruit, but this year the quantity has decreased significantly, on average each person only buys 2-3kg, prioritizing fruits with low prices.”

Variety of vegetarian foods

The market on the full moon day of January is bustling, the demand for goods increases.

On this occasion, the vegetarian food market is also bustling. Currently, there are many vegetarian food stores so consumers can easily choose.

According to Ms. Tong Thi Nhanh, who has been selling vegetarian food for nearly 20 years at Vinh Long market: “The vegetarian dishes that customers love during the full moon of January are quite diverse, from rich braised dishes such as braised tofu, braised salty meats, to refreshing dishes such as vegetable soup, seaweed soup. In addition, spring rolls, stir-fried vermicelli, fried sausages are also chosen by many people because of their delicious taste, easy to eat, suitable for family meals”.

According to Ms. Nhanh, due to the sharp increase in demand for vegetarian food during the full moon of January, she cannot cook ready-made dishes herself, but mainly sells ingredients, and cooperates with many chefs to make attractive "vegetarian dishes that look like meat". Thanks to that, consumers can easily choose pre-packaged food bags, sold at the same price of 10,000 VND/dish, convenient and saving time in preparing meals.

The full moon of January not only has spiritual significance but is also an occasion to send good wishes for a peaceful and happy new year. Therefore, the market of goods on this occasion is also bustling. However, consumers need to be careful when choosing to buy food, prioritizing products with clear origins, processed at reputable establishments, ensuring food hygiene and safety.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Truc Linh - Director of Thuan Duyen Food Company Limited (Tan Phu Commune, Tam Binh District), said that the trend of vegetarianism is becoming more and more popular, not only on full moon days but has become a daily habit of many people. Eating vegetarian after Tet helps the meal to be light and easy to digest.

Grasping this need, before Tet, Ms. Linh's company proactively increased production to meet the market demand during the full moon festival of January. The number of orders this year increased 3 times compared to the same period last year, focusing on spices used in vegetarian dishes, produced from local ingredients.

Ms. Tran Phuong (Ward 1, Vinh Long City) shared that the full moon of January is the first full moon day of the year, so her family pays a lot of attention to preparing offerings. In addition to the offering tray on the family altar, she also buys offerings to burn incense at the temple. To avoid the rush, she bought the offerings 1-2 days in advance, and ordered vegetarian dishes to save time.

Article and photos: THAO TIEN

Source: https://baovinhlong.vn/kinh-te/202502/da-dang-thuc-pham-chay-ram-thang-gieng-2e26eee/