I know that some people use bread as an eraser for charcoal just as some people use bread to soak up meat juices and broth, so do you think maybe it might be possible to do something similar with clumps of rice?

Rice is white, but then again cooked rice is sticky, so it'd probably not absorb much.

Paper is made out of plant fibers, so it should be edible, shouldn't it? Imagine selling soup with sliced paper as a meal to hipsters.