Gently reheat the sauce, then gradually add to the rice pan, stirring, until you have a thick rice pudding consistency.
Also southern are the utthapams, thick rice pancakes that, like their skinny cousins the dosas, have their own "gallery" on the menu.
A rich cook-up of chicken pelau ($5), thick rice stew studded with pigeon peas and bits of dark chicken, is also worth considering.
Eventually, however, you'll have to try Tuan & Lan's raison d'être: pho bo tai, a rich, aromatic broth with gentle notes of star anise and cinnamon, as well as perfectly cooked thick rice noodles and plenty of fresh herbs.
Chayote (called here by its Louisiana Creole name, mirliton) brings crunch to a vivid cold dish of thick rice noodles soaked with coconut milk and lime juice and entwined with shrimp and squid.
The best choices for the end of the meal are the two that our server said were homemade: the flan and a thick rice pudding with plenty of cinnamon.
After a tasting of some thick rice noodle rollups with a distinctively fishy flavoring, Mr. Trillin announced that the next and last stop would be a dim sum feast at an establishment under the Manhattan Bridge.
Soup is as good as its broth, and at Jade Garden the broth was an outstanding part of the three soups we sampled: whipped salted duck egg with mustard greens pork; beef with Chinese parsley and surprise bits of ginger; and congee with pork, a thick rice soup textured like thin porridge that might not be to everyone's taste.
The speciality of the house, after which this old-fashioned shophouse is named, is guaythiew pik gai, a soup noodle dish in which your choice of sen mee (rice vermicelli), sen yai (thick rice noodles), or giem ee (Chinese-style handrolled noodles) is doused in a long-simmering chicken broth and topped with chopped peanuts, julienned green beans and chicken wings that have braised overnight.
Although there's no bacon on this version, we imagine that the thick rice patty feels heavier than some thin strips of bacon would.
Laksa: A prime example of Peranakan cuisine, also known as Nonya -- a mix of Chinese and Malaysian flavors -- laksa is a rich noodle soup with a spicy coconut milk broth and thick rice noodles.
