When I met my husband, an avid rice eater, he taught me that Asians do not butter their rice (and never eat Uncle Ben's or Minute Rice). In fact, such a thing is considered sacrilege, so I have spent the last 20+ years of my life eating my white rice unbuttered. It's healthier and I've gotten used to it.
However, I must admit to the occasional cheat. Sometimes, when we are having a non-Asian meal, such as pork chops or chicken, I sneak a little pad of butter* onto my rice. My family has always looked at me like I am a circus freak when I do this. "Butter on rice? How strange. Why would you do that?"
Then they all watch me eat it, heads cocked in curiousity, as if I am a cannibal eating a finger. "How interesting. She seems to like it."
Recently, my oldest daughter has discovered that she kind of likes butter* on rice from time to time too. I mean, let's face it, anything acting as a butter delivery system can't be all bad. My husband was not happy with this development and I could almost hear her Asian ancestors rolling over in their graves at the sight.
But, it made me wonder.
I have spent the last 22 years of my life coupled with an Asian man, adopting some Asian culinary ways. I can honestly say that I no longer know if any families, white or otherwise, still butter their rice. And perhaps, my family was the only family in American that buttered their rice in the 70s? Do other people remember buttering their rice? Were we an anomaly?
Please discuss.
*butter in our house is not usually actual butter but Olivio a healthier, non-dairy alternative because the Asians in my house don't process dairy very well. So, saying we "butter" our rice is not entirely accurate but sounds infinitely better than we "Olivio" our rice.
We do it all to our rice. Butter it. Fish sauce it. Salt it. Soy Sauce it (Gluten free of course). Garlic and olive oil it. Cheese it. Even have been known to put spaghetti sauce on it with Italian spices and call it pizza rice. Of course, we aren't like most American's. We buy 10 pound bags of brown rice at Hmart, rinse it several times then soak it, and then put it into a 27 year old rice cooker to cook.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe my oldest is a sympathetic Asian? He has never liked butter on his rice. He started eating rice by the bowl as a baby when we'd go to the Chinese Restaurant (pre-peanut allergy). I LOVE butter on my rice if I eat it plain, otherwise I mix the other food in it: veggies, meat, it doesn't matter, I like mixing it up! We use real butter, love the stuff! I grew up on margarine, as an adult I have come to love butter. And Olive oil. I am very much a no substitutes gal, though, given a lifetime of food sensitivities/allergies running rampant throughout the family tree! you gotta do what you gotta do! :)
ReplyDeleteMy Southern grandparents used to put sugar on their rice. I hadn't thought of that in years, but it came back to me after reading this.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little kid living in Asia I used to eat rice with soy sauce on it, when I couldn't bring myself to eat the dishes with (yuck) vegetables in them. Now I think of all that amazing food I didn't eat and I'm sad.
I grew up buttering my Uncle Ben's rice as well. I think I stopped mainly because I stopped buttering a lot of things. And because I topped rice with other food. When thinking of eating plain rice, I would put butter, salt and pepper on it. (also use non-dairy butter due to not processing dairy well!) --Kiki
ReplyDeleteStill butter my rice. Dad
ReplyDelete