Feast in the day of God of Kitchen

Honoring the God of kitchen, people have to place in the kitchen. When praying, they have to turn on the cook to let the fire on, so the kitchen would be full for the whole year.

Vietnamese suppose there are three Gods of kitchen who decide and bless the good work for the house owners. The altar of the God is place near the kitchen; therefore, they are called King of kitchen. According to the Vietnamese conception, in 23^rd of the last lunar month, the Gods of Kitchen annually come to the heaven to report everything about the family they are in charge with the God of heaven, therefore, this day is also call Tet of the Lares.

A normal feast for offering the God of kitchen has:

• 1 plate of rice
• 1 plate of salt
• 500g of boiled pork
• 1 soup of meat ball
• 1 dish of stir fried foods
• 1 dish of pork pies
• 1 fried carp (or alive carp)
• 1 dish of red sticky rice
• 1 dish of soft green-lentil cake
• 1 dish of fruit
• 1 lotus tea pot
• 3 cup of wine
• 1 fresh pomelo
• 1 areca-nut fruit, 1 betel leaf
• 1 small peach flower bottle
• 1 small daisy bottle
• 1 quire of votive paper

Housewives often replace the boiled pork with a boiled chicken holding a rose in its mouth or change the dishes like bamboo-shoot soup, meat-ball soup, and prepare some light different dishes. However, all have to be in the traditional sense like: red square cake, glutinous sticky rice with split peas, frozen meat, fried spring roll, fish sauce, salt, wine etc.

Nowadays, housewives are busy and do not have to take time to make all above foods.  Most of the dishes in the feast like square cake, pork paste, and spring roll are sold in the market. For frozen meat, braised fish or Chinese braised pork are made before hand or even bought beforehand. On the due date, they just need to boil the chicken and make the fried dishes with soup, and all are ready.

While offering, the feast has to place inside the kitchen, the light has to fire, the feast is full, and the family would be prosperous in the next year. Some people put the feast in the kitchen and another feast in the altar.