Vegetarian dishes on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month in the North cannot lack banh duc and mussel porridge...

Sticky rice and sweet soup (areca flower sweet soup) cooked entirely with rock sugar and pomelo flowers - Photo: NGUYEN PHUONG HAI

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Hai shared that on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, people abstain from killing, avoid evil and do good, dedicate merit to parents, relatives, friends, and even ancestors...

1 vegetarian meal is equal to 3 meat meals

According to Mr. Hai, vegetarian food does not have to be lavish or full. Big or small is not important, it depends on the ceremony, but it must come from the heart, from a kind heart.

"A stick of incense, a bowl of water, a plate of sticky rice with a few bowls of sweet soup, and a few flowers is also an offering," he said.

Not everyone can arrange time to prepare a vegetarian tray to offer on the family altar or the Buddhist altar.

Because according to the old people, cooking vegetarian food properly is equivalent to cooking three non-vegetarian dishes.

Compared to the Southern vegetarian dishes which have many dishes made from bean curd and are more open-minded, the Northern vegetarian dishes are more elaborate and rich.

Vegetarian dishes have as many dishes as non-vegetarian dishes. There are also many preparation methods just like non-vegetarian dishes: stir-fry, boil, soup, fry, braise...

A plate of fresh flowers offered on the altar - Photo: NGUYEN PHUONG HAI

Daily vegetarian meals are very simple, but Northern vegetarian dishes are quite rich, even elaborate. To cook a vegetarian dish, it takes as much effort as cooking three meat dishes. The vegetarian menu is very diverse, with every dish available. There are easily more than three hundred popular dishes prepared.

Expert Nguyen Phuong Hai

Classic dishes

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Hai said that in addition to vegetarian salads, vegetarian spring rolls, vegetarian ham, sticky rice, fried pork rolls, ball soup, bamboo shoot soup, vegetarian stir-fries, etc., the vegetarian trays of Northerners have several "classic" dishes, often found in pagodas. These include fried tofu, clam porridge (mushroom porridge), peanut rice cakes, and boiled vegetables.

Fried tofu is easy. It's such a familiar dish that anyone can make it.

To cook mushroom stem porridge, the shiitake mushroom stems must be soaked until soft, washed until the smell is gone and the water is clear, then steamed/boiled, squeezed, sliced, stir-fried with shallots, and seasoned with vegetarian spices.

Porridge is made from broken rice. Cook until the porridge is thick and smooth. Then scoop the porridge into a bowl, sprinkle with stir-fried mushroom stems and add Vietnamese coriander.

Banh duc lac is one of the common dishes in the Northern vegetarian feast on this occasion - Photo: VU THI TUYET NHUNG

Banh duc lac is also a vegetarian dish that is quite elaborate to make. After soaking the rice, grind the rice into wet flour, take a pot, coat the bottom of the pot with oil, pour in water, add salt, MSG, and lime water.

Stir the cake with lime water until the dough is heavy and sticks to the side of the pot. When cooking this dish, make sure the heat is not too high or too low.

Then some places pour it onto a large tray lined with banana leaves, and when it cools, cut it into pieces. Some places also scoop it onto small plates and when it cools, pour it out and cut it. This dish is eaten with ginger sauce.

In addition, a plate of seasonal boiled vegetables is also a simple but indispensable dish. In the past, people used to dip them in soy sauce, but now, in addition to soy sauce, they also add soy sauce and sesame salt.

Expert Nguyen Phuong Hai noted that banh duc lac is different from banh duc duom. Banh duc duom is a snack of Hanoians in the cool summer, not displayed on the offering tray on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

According to him, peanut cakes, fried tofu, mushroom porridge, and boiled vegetables are common dishes in Northern vegetarian dishes on this occasion.

For Hanoians, there is also a dish called xoi vo (sticky rice with sweet soup). This is a dish that only Hanoi has. In the North in general, people often cook xoi hoa cau (sticky rice with green beans).

Some other vegetarian dishes on the occasion of the full moon of July - Photo: NGUYEN PHUONG HAI

According to expert Nguyen Phuong Hai, the main ingredients for cooking vegetarian dishes are vegetables, tofu (soybean curd) or seitan (wheat flour kneaded and kneaded thoroughly under running water until it becomes elastic like chewing gum), chao (sour tofu or stinky tofu)...

Spices are indispensable ingredients when cooking salty dishes, but for vegetarian dishes, they are much more necessary.

Except for garlic, a spice that vegetarians avoid, other spices such as galangal, rice vinegar, onions, ginger, turmeric, pepper, chili, shallots, etc. are all allowed.

Thanks to the subtle, skillful and quite unique use of herbs and spices, vegetarian dishes have been elevated to an art form.

In vegetarian dishes, Vietnamese coriander is a spice used in many dishes. People say "Vietnamese coriander is a vegetable suitable for monks".

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mam-co-chay-ngay-ram-thang-bay-o-mien-bac-khong-the-thieu-banh-duc-chao-trai-20240817084757808.htm