Hey, there. You're welcome.

Yes, rice has to accompany most dishes here and people eat rice instead of bread except in the morning when bread is most often served. But Persian way of cooking rice is quite unique, when rice is cooked, the rice seeds shouldn't stick to each other, each seed is still separated while it is cooked. Also it has to come with butter or some other fat when it is served. I've never been to Japan but I'e been to their restaurants in the US. In the Japanese or Chinese way of cooking rice however, seeds sticks together and Persians don't like their rice that way. This happens here when a Persian cook doesn't know how to cook the rice.

But Rice has come to the Persian diet not a long time ago. I suspect you can safely say that it has been less than half a century that rice is being eaten everyday nationwide.

My favorite food doesn't have rice ironically, although rice is a must in the Persian dishes nowadays. It is a dish from Esfahan, my hometown. Meat from potted lamb ribs must be grinded and then panned and seasoned with pepper, salt and cinnamon. This is being served with gravy and bread. It is very delicious and I've rarely found this dish in any other city in Iran.