The phrase “to go with rice” is the most commonly used term among Chinese people, but it isn’t really about culinary logic—it’s a survival logic left over from times of hunger. In the past, people didn’t have enough food, so they needed dishes with lots of oil, heavy salt, and plenty of spice to force themselves to swallow coarse grains and stay alive. Now many people no longer lack calories, yet they still use “to go with rice” as the highest compliment. As a result, dishes are no longer the main stars for supplementing nutrition; they’ve become tools for getting you to eat more staple foods. The truly nourishing way of eating isn’t about how “good with rice” a dish is. It’s about whether the dish can be enjoyed comfortably on its own—without rice.