Rice or noodles?

[big T]

Finally a thread to which I feel compelled to add my, ahem, grain of salt.

Really tough one indeed, but I’ll have to go with noodles. Not because of my Italian ancestry mind you - in fact I consider noodles and pasta to be two fundamentally different things, and I will not dignify the OP’s vain attempt at stirring the pot of cultural hypersensitivity with a rebuttal. We Italians are way more cool headed and pragmatic about such things, as is well known.

Rather, it has to be noodles because of the soups. Ramen, laksa, pho... and, above all else, soba. A good soba is an exercise in restraint, in sparingly dispensed raw power, built entirely on the mastery of a veteran chef who knows exactly how to tease a palate without ever overwhelming it. There is nowhere to hide in a bowl of soba - the perpetrator’s most minute mistake will be plain as day, staring them back and making itself painfully obvious to disappointed guests before they even take the first slurp. Soba demands nothing short of perfection on the part of those who dare attempt to make it. It is the merciless distillation of Japanese refinement, obsession for detail, and reverence for humble produce. It is, in my minds eye, without peer.

And it is basically noodles. So the noodles win.

[giallo]

This is probably the cruelest poll to ever grace SSP, but if I had to choose, it'd be rice. It's the perfect base for so many rich flavours. It's truly the best companion. A side of smoked Taiwanese fried rice with shrimp and black pepper. A bed of basmati rice under a spoonful of palak paneer. A risotto topped with lobster in chicken stock. A bowl of thai rice covered in chicken tom kha. A fresh tuna nigiri. The list goes on.

Of course, I waver whenever I start thinking of some of my favourite noodles; Chongqing-style dan dan noodles with mushy chickpeas. A rich tonkotsu ramen. Back alley Shanghai-style fried noodles.

God.

Screw you, Rousseau.

[ghYHZ]

Can't remember the last time I had rice but occasionally I'll have some Campbells Chicken-Noodle Soup.

Guess I'm just a mashed, baked, scallop potatoes, fries.....kind of guy!

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by ghYHZ

Can't remember the last time I had rice but occasionally I'll have some Campbells Chicken-Noodle Soup.

Guess I'm just a mashed, baked, scallop potatoes, fries.....kind of guy!

You could rice your potatoes ...

[SignalHillHiker]

I love just about every conceivable version of both. If I’m eating somewhere that offers rice or noodles as options for the same dish, always rice. Pasta at restaurants is the adult version of chicken nuggets.

My favourites, though, are really basic.

For noodles, my fave is homemade mac and cheese (no milk but add butter, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, and diced tomatoes - nearly-burnt pork sausage finely chopped).

And for the rice, still love it the way my Mom made it growing up - long grain fried rice with soya sauce, scrambled egg, onion, finely chopped and nearly-burnt bacon, green and red peppers, and roasted sesame seeds.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by esquire

x2

[MolsonExport]

for the true connoisseur

[Architype]

• Video Link

Don't mess with the chef.

Since Chef Boiardi made pasta popular in America, even a staple, (perhaps unpopular for some) our tastes have come a long way. Pasta has the added advantage of variety with many different shapes an forms, each tailored to it's dish and sauce. Rice doesn't have this versatility unless it is processed in some way, however IMO the texture of rice is still superior to that of any pasta. These two staples are present in almost every culture because grains/rice were crucial in the development of civilization. What's next, a poll about tea or coffee?

[ScreamingViking]

Rice. All kinds except instant, which was a staple for my mom's cooking but I now view as an abomination. Whole grain rices are probably my favourite.

I do like noodles, preferring the east Asian style these days, or the ones made with different kinds of flours rather than plain wheat. Grew up with dumplings too (eastern European) though I find them too heavy for my liking now. My wife, German background, likes to make spaetzle.

Cauliflower rice is used often in our house, but usually hidden in other dishes to give a kid who doesn't like veggies at least something plant-based. But on its own, I don't really care for it.

[someone123]

Well-made noodles > rice > average noodles. Also depends on the dish. Google dan dan noodles and you get a bunch of hits from Chinese authors. Google dan dan rice and you get a mix of noodle results and questionable non-Chinese health food rice bowl type recipes with generic ingredient lists designed for people to pick up at Superstore or Safeway equivalents.

[JHikka]

Honestly there's not many things better than coming home after a long day and starting the rice cooker, so for that i'll take rice.

Managed to make some biang biang noodles last night though and they turned out pretty well. Lately i've also really been liking huo fun noodles, too.

[hipster duck]

Noodles are more exciting.

But rice is probably the most versatile carb side dish. You can turn it into desserts and puddings. If you accidentally leave it out overnight you can fry it. If it's stuck to the edge of a stone pot you can soak it.

By the way, is the rice cooker not the greatest invention?

Sliced bread is the Western equivalent, but even that is not as much of a game-changer as a rice cooker is to an East Asian household.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by big T

We Italians are way more cool headed and pragmatic about such things, as is well known.

Erm...hee hee. Sure, Italians are cool-headed and pragmatic about their cuisine. Same as how Russians don't like vodka and Americans don't like guns, and how Israelis are tentative wallflowers who maintain appropriate social distancing and only speak when spoken to.

I look forward to patronizing lots of Italian-American eateries in the motherland. Next year, spaghetti and meatballs in Rome!

Rather, it has to be noodles because of the soups. Ramen, laksa, pho... and, above all else, soba. A good soba is an exercise in restraint, in sparingly dispensed raw power, built entirely on the mastery of a veteran chef who knows exactly how to tease a palate without ever overwhelming it. There is nowhere to hide in a bowl of soba - the perpetrator’s most minute mistake will be plain as day, staring them back and making itself painfully obvious to disappointed guests before they even take the first slurp. Soba demands nothing short of perfection on the part of those who dare attempt to make it. It is the merciless distillation of Japanese refinement, obsession for detail, and reverence for humble produce. It is, in my minds eye, without peer.

And it is basically noodles. So the noodles win.

I'll admit this this is eloquent and passionate. And almost convincing. Problem is, all this erudite sophistication goes down the bunghole when you get a group of Japanese slurping away like pigs at a trough. Table manners!

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by giallo

This is probably the cruelest poll to ever grace SSP, but if I had to choose, it'd be rice. It's the perfect base for so many rich flavours. It's truly the best companion. A side of smoked Taiwanese fried rice with shrimp and black pepper. A bed of basmati rice under a spoonful of palak paneer. A risotto topped with lobster in chicken stock. A bowl of thai rice covered in chicken tom kha. A fresh tuna nigiri. The list goes on.

Of course, I waver whenever I start thinking of some of my favourite noodles; Chongqing-style dan dan noodles with mushy chickpeas. A rich tonkotsu ramen. Back alley Shanghai-style fried noodles.

God.

Screw you, Rousseau.

You hit on the clincher here: sushi. Some may wax rhapsodically over the elegance of a bowl of Japanese noodle soup, but putting a perfectly chosen and sliced piece of raw fish on a ball of rice is the ne plus ultra of sophistication due to how finely tuned the entire process has to be, from choosing the fish at the wholesaler to keeping it fresh and finally cutting it exactly the right way.

The day I first had salmon nigiri was a revelation. My ancestors ate beet soup on the Ukrainian steppes. How was I even allowed to indulge in the taste sensation of this piece of fish combined with wasabi, sushi rice and soy sauce? Seemed almost immoral to me at first.

[GeneralLeeTPHLS]

More of a rice chum...I had a fair amount of brown rice as a kid, and white rice is a pleasant thing with most any pairing.

Noodles, while quite nice with many sides and soups, just don't have the same pleasantness to them as rice in terms of a pleasurable meal IMO. Noodles are a bit too awkward in flailing about and ausing a mess if not careful.

Then again, I'm not someone who has rice or noodles very often at all...at all.

[optimusREIM]

While I do love me a good rice dish, there is nothing that beats a good bowl of noodles with a rich rich broth and some sort of protein and fresh or cooked veggies. That's something I could eat every meal. Not even a decision (again, to emphasize, I also love rice, it just doesn't hold a candle to noodles)

[giallo]

Originally Posted by big T

Rather, it has to be noodles because of the soups. Ramen, laksa, pho.

Laksa is a very strong argument for noodles. It's probably my favourite soup noodle dish, but if the noodles were missing I don't think I'd care. A good laksa broth is godly. I'd bathe in that stuff.

Another rice dish I didn't mention, but I love is deep fried pork cutlet curry on rice. Massively popular in Japan and Korea, it's the ultimate comfort food.

[big T]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Erm...hee hee. Sure, Italians are cool-headed and pragmatic about their cuisine. Same as how Russians don't like vodka and Americans don't like guns, and how Israelis are tentative wallflowers who maintain appropriate social distancing and only speak when spoken to.

I look forward to patronizing lots of Italian-American eateries in the motherland. Next year, spaghetti and meatballs in Rome!

You know, now that you got me thinking about it, maybe the fact that not a soul in the Old Country could come up with mozzarella sticks does reflect poorly on Italian cuisine after all. Once again,Japan has us beat — I’ve had some rather gross but undeniably creative onigirazu there at least!

I'll admit this this is eloquent and passionate. And almost convincing. Problem is, all this erudite sophistication goes down the bunghole when you get a group of Japanese slurping away like pigs at a trough. Table manners!

I wouldn’t know. Soba is such an all-encompassing sensory experience that it basically seals you off from the outside world. Being one with the broth, unfurling the endless complexity of each noodle.

On a serious note, I do like the fact that noodles are in and of themselves a man-made product, which reflect the skill and decisions made by the cook. Ironically enough I have a batch of rice in the cooker as I’m typing this. Which is just as well since in this case I am the cook, and I wouldn’t trust either my skill or decisions enough to make edible noodles, or even a decent batch of white rice. Thank god for the rice cooker.

[niwell]

Goddammit - when I made my original answer several post-lockdown announcement drinks deep I didn’t consider sushi. That may be a game changer. Pork cutlet/Tonkatsu on rice is another good contender. I could survive happily a surprisingly long time on those two food types alone.

[giallo]

Ok, last one (for now). I totally forgot about Oyakodon. I first discovered it in the Taiwanese night markets, but later found out it's originally from Japan. What's Oyakodon? It's basically seasoned pieces of chicken scrambled with eggs and green onion. It's placed on a bed of rice in a bowl. Under the rice hides its secret weapon, sweetened soya sauce. It all comes together brilliantly, with rice as the main that holds everything together.

Sadly, since moving to Seoul, I haven't found anywhere that serves it.