Terms like "rice racer" "rice rocket" and "rice burner" started in US car culture as a pejorative insult for Japanese and Asian import sports cars. The term evolved to "ricing a car" meaning to make cosmetic enhancements that suggest more performance without any actual change in performance, a practice derisively accused of Asian men or drivers of Asian sports cars with decorative modifications.

At some point the term jumped to linux/unix desktops and most people don't seem to know the origin. It has been discussed in the past https://lemmy.world/post/3769853