Vegetarian cuisine defines the image of Tay Ninh land and people

Foreign tourists experience and enjoy Tay Ninh vegetarian food.

Spreading vegetarian cuisine

Just go online and type “Tay Ninh vegetarian dishes”, there are more than 35.6 million searches appearing on Google, from simple to sophisticated dishes; from popular eateries to luxurious vegan restaurants, or street vegetarian cuisine...

In 2023, for the first time, Tay Ninh province organized a festival to promote the art of preparing vegetarian dishes, after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed Decision No. 75 recognizing the art of preparing vegetarian dishes of Tay Ninh province as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In just 3 days of the festival, Tay Ninh welcomed more than 25,000 visitors from inside and outside the province, including international tourists. Visitors to the festival not only enjoyed nearly 200 unique vegetarian dishes at 70 booths, but also experienced the preparation of dishes, the art of displaying fruits and flowers with 52 experienced artisans and chefs.

Notably, the price of vegetarian dishes at the festival is listed at each booth at no more than 30,000 VND/dish. The festival also organizes a buffet with more than 40 vegetarian dishes to choose from, with ticket prices for each guest not exceeding 60,000 VND.

The presence of vegetarian dishes at the festival has inspired culinary professionals who love the art of preparing vegetarian dishes, wishing to open the door of Tay Ninh vegetarian cuisine to the domestic and international markets.

Fried sticky rice.

Ngoc, a friend on social media, enthusiastically treated me to delicious vegetarian dishes at her vegetarian restaurant, including a mildly fragrant vegetarian cashew sauce mixed with spicy garlic and chili, made from cashew fruit by Vuong Ngoc Vegan Company Limited (Hoa Thanh town).

Ngoc shared that when it comes to vegetarian cuisine, she really admires the creativity and skillful combinations of her grandparents' generation. Just green vegetables, tubers, and fruits from the home garden are transformed into simple but extremely attractive and unique vegetarian dishes. "When I was little, my grandmother fed me dishes like braised young jackfruit, peanut sauce, cashew sauce, tofu braised with soy sauce, crispy fried lemongrass... that I still remember now."

Ngoc said that her family has been in the vegetarian food business for over 40 years. Her grandmother was one of 500 people who dedicated themselves to Cao Dai religion, vowing to be a vegetarian to build the Holy Temple. Later, when her religion was successful, she returned home to start a family and had 7 children, Ngoc's father was the youngest son, now over 64 years old. Hard times create steadfast people. To take care of the family and ensure that her children had food and clothing, Ngoc's grandmother worked hard to do business.

The family's vegetarian cooking profession was formed here. During the years participating in the war to protect the border in Cambodia, Ngoc's father was assigned by the unit to be the "foster brother", taking care of daily meals for his comrades. Ngoc's mother also loves cooking. Maybe it's genetic, vegetarian dishes from simple to elaborate, just by looking at them, "tasting" them, Ngoc can prepare them in no different way, even better.

As someone who likes to prepare vegetarian dishes and is also a vegetarian, Ngoc immediately thinks of ways to prepare most plants, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms (natural and cultivated mushrooms) for daily meals, as long as they are not "boring". Ngoc thinks that if salty dishes have meat and fish, vegetarian dishes have the same, but are prepared from "vegetable meat".

The establishment of Vuong Ngoc Vegan restaurant received great support from the family. Not only serving customers unique vegetarian dishes such as: crispy fried lemongrass, grilled oyster mushrooms with scallion oil, stewed bitter melon, crispy fried tofu, braised pork... the restaurant is also a place to display and introduce typical vegetarian products of Tay Ninh to tourists inside and outside the province.

Vegetarian buffet at the Vegetarian Food Festival attracts many diners.

As for cashews, Ngoc said that in order not to waste the gift of nature, combining the cooking experience from her grandmother and mother, Ngoc processed ripe cashews as daily food. Fresh ripe cashews, after being cut and washed, salted with the right amount, and fermented for a certain period of time, will produce a fish sauce with the sweetness of cashews. In addition to fish sauce, Ngoc also processes cashew fish sauce from shredded cashew meat. When eating, just mix it with garlic and chili, and use it as a dipping sauce with rice paper rolls with raw vegetables, not unlike the dish of rice paper dipped in sour fish sauce for meat eaters.

“In my childhood memories, cashew fruit is always attractive because of its taste. Now, not only cashew products, the taste of vegetarian dishes is sometimes a thread connecting family relationships, because each dish is a place to preserve beautiful family memories” - Ngoc expressed.

Vuong Ngoc Vegan Company has registered its logo and protected its exclusive trademark. Vegetarian products are well received by consumers and widely distributed in provinces and cities in the Central and Northern regions.

In the new year plan, Ngoc will boost production, increase promotion, and introduce vegetarian dishes on digital platforms, so that consumers know more about vegetarian dishes and how to prepare vegetarian dishes. Ngoc also established the Thien Tam fund, each product sold by the company will contribute 200 VND, this amount is made public on the company's website to contribute to charity activities and support the poor.

Vegetarian cashew sauce is made from shredded cashew meat. When eating, just mix with garlic and chili.

Vegetarian dishes - Unique culinary culture of the holy land

When it comes to vegetarian dishes, many people immediately think of Tay Ninh - a land with a history of more than 180 years, also known as the birthplace of Cao Dai religion. The day our ancestors reclaimed and opened up the land, the dish "no meat, no fish" gradually became one of the characteristics of Tay Ninh culture, the vegetarianism of about 60% of the population who are Cao Dai followers became a widespread habit.

Returning to his hometown after 5 years of settling in Canada, Mr. Lai Vinh Phuc (52 years old) kept praising the dishes such as spring rolls, stewed jackfruit salad, curry, stir-fried bitter melon with lemongrass, coconut pancakes... Mr. Phuc said that after being a vegetarian for more than ten years, when he settled in Canada, he craved the vegetarian food of his hometown and missed Vietnamese spices.

This time, he learned about the Phuoc Lac Duyen vegetarian buffet restaurant from a sister. He said that when he was in Vietnam, vegetarian meals were very simple, just vegetables, tofu with soy sauce, stir-fried, cooked, seasoned to taste and then eaten all day. But now, vegetarian dishes are more diverse than before.

“Returning to Tay Ninh, every vegetarian dish is delicious. From the taste to the way it is prepared and arranged on the table, just looking at it is pleasing to the eye. This is a new experience in my hometown after 5 years of leaving Vietnam.” Mr. Phuc said that he also introduced and prepared vegetarian dishes from Tay Ninh to treat his friends in Canada. Although they are not special and cannot be as good as a chef, they are dishes from his hometown Tay Ninh, where he was born and raised.

These dishes seem to be simple and ordinary, but under the talented hands of the cook, they have become a unique cultural feature that creates the cultural identity of Tay Ninh land and people.

Walking around the Hoa Thanh town area and Tay Ninh city, on the routes of Dien Bien Phu, Lac Long Quan, Au Co, Gate 6 of the Holy See, Long Hoa ward... the roads connecting famous tourist attractions such as the Cao Dai Holy See, Ba Den mountain, it is easy to come across vegan restaurants, most of which are in Hoa Thanh.

Many vegetarian restaurants from affordable to luxurious have become familiar to people, such as Tri An, Bo De, Phuoc Hue, An Vegan, Long Hoa vegetarian or Phuoc Lac Duyen vegetarian restaurant... Although they are vegetarian, each place creates its own unique style, sophistication and beauty.

Not a vegetarian, but Mr. Ngo Tran Ngoc Quoc - Chairman of Tay Ninh Province Tourism Association always pursues the dream of bringing vegetarian cuisine to the world. Growing up in the "cradle" of Cao Dai religion, putting his passion and love into vegetarian culinary culture, in 2020, he opened Phuoc Lac Duyen restaurant, most of the vegan dishes at the restaurant have rich, simple, and sophisticated flavors, like the sincerity, generosity, and hospitality of the Southern people.

“Without the sophistication and skillful hands of the chef, vegetarian dishes are simply ordinary dishes on the daily dinner table. But through the hands of the artisan, vegetarian dishes are not only diverse in ingredients but also rich and sophisticated, to the point that vegetarian dishes look like meat dishes, only when eaten can one distinguish them” - Mr. Quoc shared.

Since opening the restaurant, Mr. Quoc has invited chefs and artisans in the province to the restaurant to instruct on how to prepare and decorate dishes, both enriching the restaurant's menu and preserving recipes, creating valuable documents on vegetarian cuisine of Tay Ninh people.

Currently, he has collected more than 500 pure vegetarian dishes from the holy land of Tay Ninh. As Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, this Lunar New Year, he said he will bring Tay Ninh vegetarian dishes to participate in the Tet Food Festival, taking place from February 12 to 17, 2024 at Nova World Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan).

“This is an opportunity for Tay Ninh vegetarian cuisine to grow, not only in Phan Thiet, but also to reach tourists around the world.” Anh Quoc added that the Provincial Tourism Association is making efforts to promote the value of Tay Ninh vegetarian dishes, combining tourism attraction through connecting with Tourism Associations of neighboring provinces, spreading the art of vegetarian cuisine to regions, positioning the image of Tay Ninh land and people on the world culinary map.

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