Vegetarian food 'reigns' during Vu Lan season

Vegetarian food market is bustling

If in the past, finding vegetarian food was quite difficult, only a few stores sold it, now, grasping the needs and tastes of consumers, grocery stores, large supermarkets, mini supermarkets or food stalls in traditional markets... all have it.

The vegetarian food market is very rich, with all kinds of spring rolls, ham, sausage, meat, fish, vegetarian shrimp... for customers to choose from, with prices ranging from a few tens of thousands to several hundreds of thousands/kg (depending on the type). Specifically, vegetarian spring rolls range from 60,000 - 74,000 VND/kg; vegetarian dumplings from 3,000 - 5,000 VND/piece; vegetarian chicken from 70,000 - 100,000 VND/piece; lean ham, beef ham, mushroom ham from 60,000 - 100,000 VND/kg; vegetarian fish, shrimp from 100,000 - 300,000 VND/kg; vegetarian venison marinated with sesame 150,000 VND/box...

Spices: sauces, fish sauce, seasoning powder, broth powder, MSG... serve the needs of vegetarians and vegetarian dishes quite diversely. Specifically: Vegetarian fish sauce costs from 30,000 - 700,000 VND/bottle; vegetarian sauces (5-7 jars) cost from 200,000 - 400,000 VND/set; soy sauce 40,000 - 80,000 VND/bottle...

Vegetarian drinks are also quite diverse such as: Non-alcoholic wine, non-alcoholic vegetarian beer, fruit beer, nut milks...

During Vu Lan season, many people look to buy vegetarian foods such as mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots to cook vegetarian offerings to their ancestors.

According to many people's beliefs, during Vu Lan season (the 15th day of the 7th lunar month), families often hold offerings and burn offerings to pray for deceased relatives with vegetarian trays, so the demand for vegetarian food increases dramatically compared to previous months (only offering and eating vegetarian food on the 15th and 1st of the lunar month), the amount of goods sold increases many times compared to normal days but prices do not increase, only a few items have slightly increased in price.

Prices of vegetables, tubers and fruits alone increased by 20-30% compared to the same period last month.

Vegetarian catering service is "in high demand"

Starting from the seventh lunar month, vegetarian restaurants in Vinh city have started accepting orders for vegetarian trays. Ms. Van Thi Phuong, owner of a vegetarian restaurant on Nguyen Viet Xuan street (Hung Dung ward, Vinh city) said: “During Vu Lan season, the demand for making trays for Buddhists to go to pagodas and making trays for worshiping ancestors at home increases. Since the beginning of the month, every day there are people ordering vegetarian trays, especially on the 14th and 15th of the seventh lunar month, the number of orders is up to 100 vegetarian trays.”

Each vegetarian tray costs from 300,000 VND - over 1,000,000 VND depending on the number of dishes and the sophistication in preparation and presentation. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Based on the restaurant's menu, the person ordering will choose suitable vegetarian dishes for the family's tray or cook dishes according to request at a suitable price. On average, each vegetarian tray costs from 300,000 VND - 500,000 VND, but with elaborate vegetarian trays, the price can reach up to millions.

Currently, in Vinh city, there are about 10 large and small vegetarian restaurants. During the month of July, the restaurants are always crowded with diners with a variety of menus: vegetarian meals by portion; vegetarian buffet; vegetarian parties, vegetarian hotpot... However, the cost of a vegetarian meal at restaurants is not cheap, averaging about 100,000 VND/person/meal.

Vegetarian catering service is "in high demand" during Vu Lan season. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Phuong - the owner of the vegetarian restaurant said: Since the beginning of the 7th lunar month until now, the restaurant has welcomed more customers. There are more customers for lunch than for dinner. The number of customers this month has increased 3, 4 times compared to other months. In particular, on the first day of the lunar month, the vegetarian buffet with 30 vegetarian dishes attracts hundreds of diners.

The number of vegetarian customers at restaurants during Vu Lan festival increased dramatically compared to normal days. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Nowadays, vegetarianism has become a popular trend. Many people are vegetarians because of their religious beliefs; some are vegetarians with the concept of cultivating their mind and character; some are vegetarians because they want to lose weight, and many people choose vegetarianism as a method to protect their health and prevent diseases.

However, according to nutritionists, a vegetarian diet must ensure 4 nutritional groups: First is starch found in rice, potatoes, corn, wheat and cereals; Second is protein, found in many beans; Third is fat from oil seeds such as soybeans, sesame, peanuts, sunflower seeds, gac seeds... The remaining group is vitamins and minerals found in vegetables, tubers, fruits and berries. At the same time, you should pay attention to the origin when buying processed vegetarian products, avoid buying floating goods, many additives to ensure health.