James wrote:

Don't a lot of people saute rice before cooking? I know my
grandmother did, so I assumed it was pretty common.

It's pretty common in Spanish cooking and probably Mexican too. I also
remember Mexican recipes that use noodles sautéed before cooking in
sauces.

Fideos are not all that well-known here, but most of the people I've seen
who try them like them a lot.

Bob