According to Mashable, KFC rice originated from a 1974 marketing campaign that encouraged Japanese families to cook the dish at home.
[4] A similar recipe using the same name was published by English-language Japanese culture website SoraNews24 in 2013, albeit using additional ingredients such as diced tomatoes and shimeji.
[6][11][12][4] Ni'Kesia Pannell of Business Insider prepared KFC rice herself and stated "it didn't taste as flavorful as I thought it would" despite her expectations using KFC's 11 herbs and spices, but noted it was "really easy to customize", with the additions of hot sauce, butter, and additional soy sauce improving it in her opinion.
She recommended it for those on a tight budget or for meal prep, and suggested experimenting with the addition of vegetables and using fried chicken from other fast food chains such as Popeyes and Bojangles.
[13] Sukhbir Cheema of Mashable SEA noted KFC rice would negatively affect any plans of maintaining a healthy diet, and suggested adding chopped carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, or lettuce to balance it out.