Rice-A-Roni in San Francisco
Rice-A-Roni is the boxed pilaf of rice and broken spaghetti born in 1958 in San Francisco's Mission, marketed as the San Francisco Treat across the United States.
The story of Rice-A-Roni
The Italian American DeDomenico family ran the Golden Grain Macaroni Company on Bryant Street from 1912. In the 1950s, Tom DeDomenico's mother-in-law made an Armenian rice pilaf with broken spaghetti for a tenant; Tom's wife Lois adapted it, the family added a dehydrated chicken broth packet, and the product launched as Rice-A-Roni in 1958. The 1960s jingle, with the cable car bell, fixed San Francisco in American pantry memory more firmly than any tourism campaign. Quaker Oats bought the brand in 1986 and PepsiCo absorbed it in 2001, but the box is still produced and the recipe is still recognisable. It is not exactly cooked in San Francisco kitchens, but the city owns the invention.
How to make Rice-A-Roni
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 30g butter
- 60g vermicelli or spaghetti, broken into 2cm pieces
- 200g long-grain white rice
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- Salt, black pepper
Method
- Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the broken pasta and toast, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until evenly golden.
- Add the onion and rice. Stir for 2 minutes to coat the grains in butter.
- Add the garlic and parsley. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, lower the heat and cook 18 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
- Off the heat, rest covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Editor tip. Toasting the pasta to a deep gold is the whole point; pulled too early it tastes of pantry dust.
The editor-picked rooms for Rice-A-Roni in San Francisco are still in research. Meanwhile, see the San Francisco signature-dishes index or the San Francisco food guide.