The God of Wealth Day falls on today, February 19.
People in the southern region of Vietnam usually buy grilled snakehead fish as an offering for the God of Wealth Day to pray for prosperity and good fortune throughout the year.
Nguyen Trung, owner of a stall on Tan Ky Tan Quy Street, said that his family grilled around six tonnes of snakehead fish. Each fish weighs around 1-2 kilos.
After being cleaned, the fish is skewered on sugarcane sticks for grilling. Using sugarcane helps to enhance the sweetness of the fish and prevent the skewers from burning.
Trung has 30 people grilling the fish. It takes each batch of fish 35-40 minutes to be grilled. Each grilled snakehead fish is sold at VND200,000-250,000 (USD8.16-10.20), depending on the weight.
People who buy the fish are provided with aromatic herbs, dipping sauce and vermicelli.
The fish is reheated and drizzled with scallion oil then wrapped in silver foil to retain its heat before being sold.
For people in the southern region, the snakehead fish symbolises effort and success due to its high adaptation to various living conditions. It is also the symbol of wealth and good luck.