A Tỉ-khâu-ni (Vietnamese Buddhist nun) is tasked with sorting her temple's freshly-grown húng quế (Thai basil) during the traditional, collaborative, and afternoon-long community preparation of phở chay (vegan pho) at the Phuoc Hoa Buddhist Center in Fort Myers, FL. Often regarded as the national dish of Vietnam, the preparation of phở by Vietnamese immigrants in America not only yields an iconic dish, but serves as a direct product of hundreds of years of tradition, is a performance of one's culture, and is even a bonding activity—in this case—between the female Buddhist monastics.