The rice plate index: the most widely shared staple

Rice is spread wide, not concentrated

107 food items carry the rice tag, across 63 destinations. Bangladesh (3), Costa Rica (3), India (3), Indonesia (3), Iran (3), Iraq (3), Oman (3), Saudi Arabia (3), Senegal (3), South Korea (3) and Thailand (3) share the top of the table. The more interesting number is the reach: rice appears in more than half of the destinations, which makes it the most widely distributed staple in the food index.

Raw count of rice-tagged dishes. A dish can be a rice bowl, a rice cake, a stuffed rice roll or a plate served with rice on the side.

The map: rice dishes by destination

Where the rice belt runs

Asia leads, as expected, but the tag also reaches West Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe. That is because the index treats rice as a base rather than a cuisine: a rice bowl in Costa Rica and a rice plate in South Korea are different dishes with the same structural role.

The rice-optional items

7 items carry a riceopt tag, which marks dishes usually served with rice where the rice can be left out or ordered separately. They include Couscous, Phaksha paa, Bogobe, Injera with doro wat, Laap and Couscous. That tag matters for two groups: travellers watching portion size and travellers who want the main dish without the starch. Ask whether the rice is included in the price; in many places it is, and in some it is a separate charge.

The top of the table

How to order a rice plate

• Ask what the rice is. Jasmine, basmati, short-grain, glutinous and parboiled rice behave differently and suit different dishes.
• Check whether it is included. A menu price for the main dish may or may not include rice.
• Ask about refills. In some rice cultures a second serving is free; in others it is charged.
• Look at the sauce. Rice dishes often depend on a curry, stew or sauce that carries most of the flavour.

Where to start

Open the guides for the destinations with the deepest rice lists: Bangladesh food guide, Costa Rica food guide, India food guide, Indonesia food guide, Iran food guide and Iraq food guide. For the wider menu, the complete dish index groups every item by country.

Rice index: common questions

More food data

• Cost indexGlobal food cost indexAll 120 destinations compared on budget, mid-range and premium price bands.
• Vegetarian mapVegetarian food mapWhere vegetarian-tagged dishes are thickest on the menu, ranked by country and region.
• Halal indexHalal food indexWhere halal-tagged dishes cluster, and what the tag does and does not certify.
• Seafood indexSeafood on the menuFish and shellfish dishes ranked by destination, from the Maldives to Portugal.
• Noodle beltThe noodle beltThe destinations that lean on noodles, from Vietnamese pho to Italian pasta.
• Pork and alcoholPork and alcohol mapTwo menu signals that change how you order, and where each one shows up.

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