Is fried rice recycled at sketchy restaurants?

June 1, 2007 2:21 PM

Is fried rice recycled at sketchy restaurants? Not as in leftover from the previous day (which is certainly true) but recycled as in made from rice leftover from other patrons?
posted by mharper3 to food & drink (17 comments total)

I seriously, seriously doubt it. Rice is dirt cheap, and if this were ever proven, the restaurant would be shut down pretty much immediately. Having said that, I'm sure if you go to a sketchy enough place, something is getting reused.
posted by AaRdVarK at 2:30 PM on June 1, 2007

I can't see why it would be --- rice is so cheap and easy to make (any Asian place, including Indian restaurants, almost always has a huge rice cooker going) that reusing customers' rice would be sort of a stupid way to cut corners, aside from the fact that it would (obviously) violate all kinds of health codes.

(On preview - what AaRdVark said).
posted by rossination at 2:31 PM on June 1, 2007

It's hard to say with just anecdotal evidence (ie. "Don't go there, I hear they reuse the rice."). But, and this is somewhat offtopic but kind of relevant, in Indonesia if you go to a Padang restaurant they do in fact dump the leftover bowls of spicy assortments from one table to the next. The food regulators there don't seem to think it's a problem--yet. This kind of thing probably goes on throughout much of SE Asia, especially China, so it isn't altogether unreasonable to suppose that some restaurant owners here may reuse rice and other staples as well, if not as a policy then maybe from time to time as they can get away with it (pure speculation, though).
posted by Burhanistan at 3:02 PM on June 1, 2007

It's against code, but I know someone who worked at a Chinese restaurant who quit because it was reused there. They also took customers' unfinished tea (from the pot on the tables, not the cups), and put it back into the big tea pot.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:13 PM on June 1, 2007

I've ALWAYS wondered this about the complimentary chips that they set out at Mexican restaurants.
posted by rolypolyman at 3:15 PM on June 1, 2007

rolypolyman, I've seen several worker protests outside of Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants in my city over that very issue.
posted by Cyrano at 3:26 PM on June 1, 2007

My aunt was a waitress at an hi-end restaurant, she got fired because she made a big stink about the fact that they were reusing the bread from the complimentary bread basket.

This was in 1983 though.
posted by Mick at 3:38 PM on June 1, 2007

My wife worked at a steakhouse where people's uneaten bread was turned into garlic toast the next day. Mind you, this wasn't Ruth's Chris we're talking about, this was a rundown place in an industrial type of area with $6 steaks.
posted by TungstenChef at 4:03 PM on June 1, 2007

I forgot to add that I worked at a (not sketchy but not high end) Chinese restaurant and they didn't recycle any rice.
posted by TungstenChef at 4:17 PM on June 1, 2007

Tangential, but related:

I used to work at a restaurant. I'm sure 80% of you have dined at the chain. Word of warning: if you're the type to request complimentary items over and over again, you're more likely to receive 2nd-hand items by the 3rd or 4th turn. Not out of spite, but because it saves us yet another trip to the kitchen.

If you want to receive 2nd-hand items out of spite from your server, be the antithesis to consolidation. Examples: the douche that orders something right away before everyone else has had a chance to sit down/open the menu (unless it's an appetizer); asking for a smorgasbord of condiments, but doing so one after the other instead of all at the same time; insisting we stand there while you gloss over the menu trying to pick out what you'd like, replete with obvious questions answered in the menu description. Etc.

And no, I'm not a bitter person.
posted by Mach3avelli at 4:36 PM on June 1, 2007

Thanks for the responses. I considered that rice is very cheap, but I think the issue is that you need to make a lot of it in a restaurant situation, perhaps in a short time (if there is a rush or whatever). On the other hand, I've seen some huge rice cookers!

Rolypolyman: Now that you mention it, I recall having thought that before. Probably anything that is given out free like chips or bread carries a temptation to be reused.

Sounds like there is anecdotal evidence that this (at least sometimes) occurs at lower end places.
posted by mharper3 at 4:43 PM on June 1, 2007

Sounds like there is anecdotal evidence that this (at least sometimes) occurs at lower end places.

So far we've got one high-end example, one low-end example, and several examples of undetermined end-ness--does that really justify the "occurs at lower end places"? It's tempting to think that spending more money would protect you from this, but high-end places like to save money too. Gotta be careful with them conclusions...
posted by equalpants at 5:14 PM on June 1, 2007

I considered that rice is very cheap, but I think the issue is that you need to make a lot of it in a restaurant situation, perhaps in a short time (if there is a rush or whatever).

One thing about this, to make fried rice that doesn't stick together and burn you have to use rice that's been refrigerated overnight (it has to do with the distribution of the starch and water in the rice). Theoretically they'll always have huge tubs of rice made the day before in their cooler, but of course these could theoretically have been recycled.
posted by TungstenChef at 5:25 PM on June 1, 2007

Gotta be careful with them conclusions...

I was adding my own anecdotal evidence (lower end places) to the calculation and I somewhat disregarded the higher-end story from the 80's just because I was wondering if this was a current practice.

One thing about this, to make fried rice that doesn't stick together and burn you have to use rice that's been refrigerated overnight

Are you suggesting a potential test or do there exist other common reasons that the fried rice could be burnt or stuck together?

I'm not really concerned if restaurants recycle the rice as I never order the fried rice anyway, I am mainly just curious if the claim is true.
posted by mharper3 at 6:21 PM on June 1, 2007

I know nothing of rice re-usage, but the most popular Mexican restaurant in my home town was actually shut down for a time over repeated violations of recycling the chips and salsa.

They reopened with the same name but different ownership, and in the intervening 10 years or so, there have been no further violations.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:21 PM on June 1, 2007

There is a neighborhood sushi shop that I know two people who have waitressed there and they both independently told me that the chef would recycle rice, wasabi, ginger and even uneaten rolls off plates and put them on new ones.

Sure, it's an anecdote, but think of it this way: You thought of it, why wouldn't the owner of a restaurant think of it?
posted by Ookseer at 9:06 AM on June 2, 2007

I work at a Chinese fast food place, but it's about as high-end as fast food is going to go. Our fried rice gets refrigerated overnight and recooked with the new stuff - but otherwise, I personally haven't noticed anything amiss and I love the food their. Then again, my bosses used to own a restaurant, so maybe there's a degree of professional pride.
posted by Phire at 7:25 PM on June 2, 2007