Have you notice???

Everytime when we go out to eat at any place of "Chinese Restaurant" who people are > Vietman or Chinese or Japan love to put their plate a big pile of (WHITE) Jasmine Rice nothing on top of rice more than other items to put small amount so they eat more rice "just curious and why"? Is anyone know why they do? So is this diet or what.

I love Sushi those rice with veggies on it no meat. :oP....

This message was edited Aug 26, 2005 9:56 AM

Culture has a lot to do with it, I suspect. Personally, I adore rice - plain, or with a little milk and sugar (don't ask - it's a childhood thing ;o) or with other foods.

Many cultures rely on starches (pasta, rice, etc.) as their main food, with vegetables or meat added as seasoning. (Before we turn our noses up at that idea, think about our national struggle with weight issues - our standard of living carries a high price, paid by our collective health.)

Other cultures probably find it very strange - and gluttonous - that we require so much meat as a "regular" serving. (The USDA says a "serving" is 4 ounces - about the same size as a woman's fist. Compare that to a restaurant steak, hamburger, chicken or fish entree, where the portion may be double or triple that amount - a typical steak is 8-16 ounces; half-pound hamburgers are run-of-the-mill.)

Very true Terry. I have a friend who is Cambodian. They have the white rice main dish every meal with veggies being the second largest portion of the meal. meat and fish are generally used as small bits mixed in a stir fry for a bit of flavor.

To me it would become tedious and boring to eat that almost everyday. But then, While I am obese, no one in their family has an extra ounce of fat on them!

Rice is definitely one of my favorite food groups - lol!!

And it is true that culture plays a large part in the way that many Asian Americans who emigrated to the U.S. eat. Rice in their countries is plentiful, filling, inexpensive, & nutritious. Veggies rank second. Meat/fish are, in many instances, almost used as condiments.

I have to chuckle at you noticing that. We do frequent a few Asian buffets. :) Any time you see the employees, owner, their friends or family fill up a plate, it is a mound of white rice with a bit of this or that on it. When you watch the other people, mostly fat Americans eat, the plates are mounded with the meat dishes, crab legs with garlic butter, etc. I honestly see the wisdom of doing it their way when I see their thin bodies and the girth of mine, but it all just tastes so darn good! I do know they stare at some of the patrons when they see their food choices. I think it is shock and amazement. Before anyone gets upset at me for my honesty, I am a meat, veggie and pile of crab leg person, and also well over weight! LOL I know it all tastes good but I can't decide if my need to pile is to get my money's worth or feel like I have to go nuts since I am eating out/splurging.

It's time that I stop just reading what others are writing about and join in. I guess it's what Terry said about rice,milk and sugar that triggers this outburst. I'm a seventy-three year old man who has been doing the rice thing all my life.However I also add cinnomon and if anyone has made the mistake of having cream in the house that's even better. Did someone say something about girth?? Just don't have the treat very often!!!!!!!!

RedRose, in the oriental cultures, rice is generally used to cleanse the palate between food dishes. Same for the pickled ginger served with sushi... not meant to be eaten WITH the sushi, but to cleanse the palate between various flavors of sushi.

Milk, sugar and rice sounds like a Rice Pudding to me (yummy), is this not a name used in the US?

I went to an all you can eat place in the US and took a plateful from the buffet. The plates were much larger than I'm used to but I ate it all and had a hot chocolate as a drink. As I was paying the bill the waitress asked why I wasn't having anything else and mistaking her words I ordered another hot chocolate and had an odd look and a shrug. It was only when mentioning my day to the person I was staying with that I was told I could have gone up for seconds or thirds LOL we do have buffet places here but they aren't all that popular.

Here in the UK we are starting to experience higher obesity, lower fitness levels too, it's currently attributted, rightly or wrongly, to fast food outlets including the ethnic food take aways. While working for an Indian company, the bosses took a couple of us out for lunch (after a Saturday mornings work) at the local Indian place. As one of only two English people we were told that the kind of food served at the Indian restaurants was more the sort of thing you might eat at a wedding or other large celebration than normal Indian fare and it was anglosized to a degree too. I imagine it's the same with the Chinese take aways too.

Actually, it's soup rather than rice that is served throughout the meal, not only as a beverage but also as a palate cleanser. Although in the poorer districts, there is really no such thing as a "palate cleanser" - it's soup, rice, & a relatively small amount of vegetables, meat/fish, &/or bean curd. Rice is & always will be a staple of many Asian regions, except for those where wheat is the major crop, in which case noodles prevail.

I just realized that I did not say anything about hubby liking rice like that Terry! I prefer butter salt and pepper and sometimes even Parmesan. I leave some out for hubby and his treat. Of course he now has the kids liking the same thing. They eat it for breakfast sometimes as well.

I also want to say, nice to meet you blueye! Don't be too shy. :)

I think my grandfather must have liked that, but after his wife died, he didn't cook much. His nightime treat was a slice of white bread chunked into a glass, with a spoonful of sugar and covered with milk. Every night.

Ahhhh, we're going astray...but yes:

blueye70, Rice with CREAM (or even half-and-half) and a little sugar is food for the gods; milk will do in a pinch, but I usually have half-n-half on hand for my morning coffee. DD is my only offspring to enjoy this treat with me, but anytime there's rice left over, you'll see us sharing a bowlful as dessert. (Hint: if you throw a few raisins in after it cooks, put the lid back on and let them plump, even better; a bit of cinnamon sounds wonderful, too.)

Baa, it *is* - more or less - a rice pudding - but here in the states, our rice pudding recipes usually call for eggs, to make it more of a custard-based concoction. (And I'd like to know just WHERE in the US you've been that didn't get close enough to meet up???? please ignore my bottom lip quivering as a major pout erupts *grin*

Darius, I have never been able to eat soggy white bread (no milk toast, puhleeze!) but give me a tall glass of ice-cold milk, some fresh-baked cornbread and a little sugar, and I can make a slurry worth slurping.

And now, back to the subject of rice. Plain, white, rice ;o)

With my recent intolerance to many foods, rice is one of the few foods I can really enjoy. It drives DH crazy and he can't understand that it's probably more healthy than his big fat chunk of meat and potatoes! I'll eat it with everything, and mix a bit of whatever else he makes to go along. But I really don't care for the white rice alone. I buy a mix of 3-4 different kinds of rice and it's even good plain if I make it right. Sure isn't keeping ME thin though!

Baa, the way I eat this type of rice is to put a cup or so of still hot steamed white rice into a bowl, pour on some cold milk, add a spoon of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon .... and eat. :-) Rice Pudding has all the ingredients (including eggs like Terry said) cooked together to make it more like custard. I do NOT like rice pudding.

-Julie

If it's got eggs in it we call it Rice Custard.

Rice Pudding, to the British people at least, is milk, sugar, rice and a spice (nutmeg for me), you can use the long grain rice but we most often use pudding rice (short grain).

Rice Pudding - British Recipe
http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipes_result.asp?name=ricepudding

One of my best friends in childhood was from Africa and her mother would cook a white grain of some kind and serve it with vegetables, fruit or milk and sugar. She called it something that sounded like Sou Sou which was equally good.

Terry, I left the US jsut 2 and a half weeks before you joined DG and 3 months before I joined LOL.

Wow there already answer here, I enjoyed read from all of you so "BS" your were right about this the first one you posted...LOL True! So I spoke to my son's girlfriend are vietman and asked her the question about it so she said well they are habit grew up which it is cheaper rice to eat the rice most than other items small amount which they can afford and who ever work there at Chinese Restaurant they does get free still eat lot rice anyway why is because the bad habit eating the rice and it does lot starch make fat and they mostly of them drink herb tea to keep the fat off that why most of them stay thin.
Yuck hate rice pudding or use little milk and sugar on rice not for me.
Thank you all so much for sharing with me here and enjoyed to learn about them! Thank you all again.

....plain, or with a little milk and sugar (don't ask - it's a childhood thing ;o)....

Everybody thinks I am an alien or something.

I have a friend whose husband is from Hawaii and they have rice everyday also. I figured that was cultural also??

Take care,
Sandy ^8^

Who wants to meet me at Dragon City Buffet? I am HUNGRY now! LOL

Rice? yuck...Sop?(which is what my dad called his bread, sugar and milk concotion)..not for me...Cornbread in milk? YEP! anytime!

The rest of my family always ate their rice for breakfast with milk and sugar...I was always "different". LOL Jo

Badseed- if you are ever in the Springboro area, try the China Garden Buffet- it's wonderful. We go there every Sunday after church. You notice that there are many "regulars" each week. Linda in Franklin

Hi Linda, It is very nice to meet you. Welcome to DG! I see you are new. I hope you enjoy it here.

I've actually never been to Springboro but will have to get there one day. We have a member here that lives there. I plan to invade her home one day soon. LOL Shhhh, don't tell. If I ever get up there, I will try that buffet. Thanks!

I have been wondering about that too.. I love rice.. I eat them at breakfast or on any meals. Yummy!

Well, pushed by this post, we went to a Chinese Buffet last night. For fun, I added some of the plain white rice to my plate! I had a steak and plenty of crab legs and some of the other stuff. Things went well until it was dessert time! Their soft serve machine had been broken forever so they had gallons in a case. By the time the kids got theirs and I went up, all the gallons were empty and the softserve was like milk. I asked and they told me they would be out until the next day. I never eat the little cakes because they taste freezer burned to me. So instead I had Jello! Ewwww! It definately is NOT Moose Track ice cream. LOL

Steak, crab legs, & soft-serve ice cream at a Chinese restaurant? Are you sure you didn't accidentally detour into a next-door all-American steak house? LOL!!!

We are very culturally diverse around these parts. LOL I also had shrimp and veggies, steak w/pepper and onions, crab rangoon, etc.