rice bowl

From rice +‎ bowl.

rice bowl (plural rice bowls)

1. A small bowl from which rice is eaten.
2. A region that produces abundant rice.
3. A dish (typically eaten from a bowl) of which rice is a primary ingredient, such as donburi.
4. A person's livelihood or source of income.
5. (slang) A jealously defended institutional resource such as a program, project, or budget.

• (region): breadbasket (one sense), food bowl

• (region): breadbasket, granary

• iron rice bowl