# Homemade Rice-a-Roni **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243 "2007-01-24T15:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/1 "2007-01-24T15:03:11Z")
Rice-a-Roni came up on the Lesbian Toaster thread. Don’t ask why, just deal with it. Now I have hankering for the San Francisco Treat, but it is not available here. What to do? I am thinking brown some vermicelli in butter or olive oil. Add a nice Thai rice. Add water. Add bullion cubes you think? Something stronger? Any ideas? (Funny how you can get hungry for one special thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/2 "2007-01-24T15:09:06Z")
Bouillon cubes. And canned broth. _And_ you’ll want to add a little extra salt. The Roni is all about teh salty. 😛😉 Or write Nancy Pelosi’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/3 "2007-01-24T15:12:09Z")
Could someone explain what rice-a-roni actually is? It sounds like it ought to be something like macaroni cheese, but with rice, however google results appear to suggest some kind of low-end instant risotto/paella or something. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/4 "2007-01-24T15:17:21Z")
Yep, that’s pretty much it. I use butter to brown both the rice and the vermicelli, and I use Better Than Bouillon, not cubes. Sometimes if I’m feeling cheeky I’ll throw in a little garlic salt. And I always throw in some dried parsley. Dried parsley has almost no taste whatsoever, but it makes it look like you’ve gone to great lengths to fancify your rice. If you like it saucy, add more butter when it’s done cooking. And salt. That’s your basic “Chicken” or “Beef” rice-a-roni, depending on bouillon flavor. For “Italian”, add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste to chicken bouillon and some basil, oregano, and a few red pepper flakes. For “Mexican” (or “Spanish”), add the tomato paste, chicken or vegetable bouillon, dried oregano, cumin and chili powder or cayenne. Or, for something even better than rice-a-roni, make it with bouillon and a few good slugs of your favorite salsa. **Mangetout** , Rice-A-Roni is small (long grain riced sized) bits of vermicelli mixed with shortish-medium grained rice in a box with a “flavor packet”. You brown the rice/verm and then add water and the flavor packet (Which is mostly salt, “chicken flavor”, MSG, and dried parsley flakes.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/5 "2007-01-24T15:19:47Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Could someone explain what rice-a-roni actually is? [/QUOTE] As I recall, it is rice and tiny pieces of vermicelli stir fried, then cooked in beef broth; the broth cooks down to a rice like consistency. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/6 "2007-01-24T15:20:48Z")
Rice-a-roni is “the San Francisco treat,” to quote their ad jingle. It’s a dried, boxed foodstuff of the “just add butter and water and cook” variety. The primary ingredients of the box are short strips of vermicelli and long-grain rice. Also in the box is a flavoring packet which is normally dried beef or chicken broth with an assortment of herbs, spices, and dried diced foodstuffs to eke out the flavor. And it is far better than the description makes it sound! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/7 "2007-01-24T15:27:01Z")
Thank you. Now I am hungry. I should have gone to the store during the Saudi/Iraq game. It will wait to the morning. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/8 "2007-01-25T05:15:08Z")
Moved to CS. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/9 "2007-01-25T05:55:35Z")
Funny you should ask. My friend makes an Armenian version of Rice-a-Roni which is pretty much what others have described here. He uses Knorr chicken bouillon. I just tried to make some, but I’m currently at 8000 feet and the rice got all mushy, plus I used shitty generic bouillon cubes. My bit of advice is break up the vermicelli into tiny Rice-a-roni (1/2 inch) pieces. You really do have to add an ungodly amount of salt in order to mimic that San Francisco treat sodium rush. I’ve got a bunch of real shitty mushy unsalty rice pilaf sitting in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/10 "2007-01-25T09:35:38Z")
Why in the world to Cafe Society? (Not that I mind.) It is a request for some help in the kitchen. Anyway, thanks for all the help. I was at the tore this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/11 "2007-01-25T12:40:54Z")
> [@The Forum Discription for Cafe Society](#): > > Our salon for art, drama, literature, movies, music, comics, cuisine – all the artistic disciplines – if it’s about creativity, entertainment, or leisure, it goes here. Kitchen related questions usually end up in Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/12 "2007-01-25T15:13:25Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] Funny you should ask. My friend makes an Armenian version of Rice-a-Roni which is pretty much what others have described here. He uses Knorr chicken bouillon. I just tried to make some, but I’m currently at 8000 feet and the rice got all mushy, plus I used shitty generic bouillon cubes. My bit of advice is break up the vermicelli into tiny Rice-a-roni (1/2 inch) pieces. You really do have to add an ungodly amount of salt in order to mimic that San Francisco treat sodium rush. I’ve got a bunch of real shitty mushy unsalty rice pilaf sitting in the fridge. [/QUOTE] Fry it up over high heat with an egg and some frozen peas. Throw in a buncha soy sauce near the end and you have a poor man’s fried rice. Voila! Lunch! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/13 "2007-01-25T16:57:04Z")
It came out nice, although perhaps with too much salt. I think I will keep the vermicelli on hand in case the hankering strikes again. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/14 "2007-01-25T20:26:22Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Thank you. Now I am hungry. I should have gone to the store during the Saudi/Iraq game. It will wait to the morning. [/QUOTE] Saudi/Iraq game? Is that what GW is calling the new strategy? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-rice-a-roni/389243/15 "2007-01-25T20:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] It came out nice, although perhaps with too much salt. I think I will keep the vermicelli on hand in case the hankering strikes again. [/QUOTE] Too much salt? Obviously, you’ve forgotten what real Rice-A-Roni tastes like! 😉 (Serious hijacky question: can we send stuff like that to soldiers over there? Or will it get snagged out of the mail or quarantined or something? Seems like one of those little things a guy might get a hankerin’ for that’d be nice to see from home.)