Ho Chi Minh City shop sells 3,500 grilled snakehead fish on god of wealth day

On this year's god of wealth day, Nguyen Trung's shop in Tan Son Nhi ward grilled about 3,500 snakehead fish, with an average price of 220,000 VND per fish.

On the morning of 26/2 (the 10th day of the first lunar month), nearly ten shops on Tan Ky Tan Quy street were bustling, grilling snakehead fish to serve customers for the god of wealth day ceremony. In the Southern region, offerings for this occasion, in addition to gold, fruits, and roasted pork, always include grilled fish.

This one-kilometer stretch of road has specialized in selling grilled snakehead fish for over 20 years. As is customary, two days before the ceremony, shops stock up on thousands of fish, grilling them from night until morning.

At Nguyen Trung's shop, a large crowd waited to buy grilled fish. Nearly 40 employees were divided into several stalls, calling out to customers.

Nguyen Trung stated that on regular days, his family grills about 100 fish. However, for this special occasion, they sourced approximately 3,500 snakehead fish, totaling about 5 tons, and hired more than 30 seasonal workers. "This year, I sold a little less than previous years because my space was reduced", he said.

Grilled from morning until night, the fish are reheated when customers make a purchase. According to the owner, prices this year range from 200,000 to 240,000 VND per fish, depending on its size. This price is slightly higher than on regular days due to increased customer demand for larger fish.

{"caption_all":"Snakehead fish weighing one to two kilograms are mostly sourced from Binh Dien wholesale market. The fish are not marinated, scaled, gutted, or fin-trimmed; they are grilled whole for 45 minutes.nnCooked fish are neatly arranged on shelves, needing to be evenly golden and unscaled to be preserved for one day. "Normally, we would remove the gall bladder to prevent bitterness, but for the god of wealth day, we leave it to ensure the fish remains intact for offerings", explained Van Tai, a fish grilling employee.","caption_items":"["","",""]"}

{"caption_all":"After customers select their fish, fried shallots and roasted peanuts are added, wrapped in paper. Vermicelli and various accompanying herbs for grilled fish, such as perilla, fish mint, purple perilla, water spinach, and basil, are also prepared for consumption.","caption_items":"["",""]"}

Le Duy Khang, 48, arrived early to purchase delicious grilled fish for his god of wealth offering and company grand opening ceremony. "Every year, I come here to choose fish for the offering. I hope for a prosperous new year for my business", Khang said.

{"caption_all":"“My family runs a business, so god of wealth day is very important. Every year, I have to wake up early to buy good fish”, said Ha Thi Lan from Tay Thanh ward.nnMany ride-hailing and delivery drivers continuously pulled over to the roadside to buy grilled fish for customers.","caption_items":"["",""]"}

By 8h, the crowd of buyers had grown significantly, causing localized traffic jams at some points on Tan Ky Tan Quy street.

At Thanh Phong's shop, approximately 600 fish were grilled this year, ten times the usual daily amount. "People primarily buy in the morning to make it in time for their offerings, so everyone is busy from night until morning", the shop owner said.