Noodle with vegetarian spring roll

Today is Nguyên Tiêu - the first night of the first month and mid of Jan. by Lunar calendar, Chinese community celebrates this date by going to certain pagodas, to pray for better year, for better prosperity!

I heard that people prefer a Female Pagoda (Chùa Bà) in Bình Dương, they go there even from last night for today celebration! And we still have Male Pagoda (Chùa Ông), but it seems less crowded!

I don't go to Pagoda, but I do pray at home to my ancestors for our family's protection, for better life (!). Many Vietnamese have vegetarian food in the first day (mồng Một) and mid of each month by Lunar calendar, we call these days "ngày rằm"(full moon day), again I'm not vegetarian but today suddenly I like to try at least one. And today's choice is rice noodles with vegetarian spring rolls!

Noodle with vegetarian spring roll (bún chả giò chay) 

Spring roll in Vietnam is well-known by many foreigners, in the South we call "chả giò", Central people call "ram" and in the North - "nem", all sounds differently but only one concept: "something inside" is wrapped by rice paper. "Something inside" could be pork, crab, shrimp, green bean, mushroom...I even think about banana for sweet spring roll (but never do, never try!).

As I told many Vietnamese prefer to create a dish with rice noodle (bún), so this is one! Spring roll with rice noodles (bún chả giò), usually if we go for normal spring rolls (i.e pork inside) we need sweet and spicy fish sauce, but as I have vegetarian spring roll (inside is green bean, fried tofu, carrot...) so dipping sauce is soy sauce with chili! It's good! 

Soya sauce with chili

Non-vegetarian spring roll with fish sauce 

Talking about spring rolls, i may suggest you to try at Đinh Công Tráng place (where is famous for bánh xèo), or any places around the city, because this dish is so popular, easy to prepare, people even create their own recipe, so why don't we just try different "chả giò". By the way, we usually wrap spring roll in lettuce and dip in fish sauce! That's better!