Cooking rice on a fire pit vs gas burner It is widely believed in East Asia that cooking rice on a fire pit, with firewood as fuel, allows one to make the most tasty rice. Both Cantonese pot rice and Japanese kamameshi, for example, call for cooking in firewood-lit fire for best taste.

Is there a scientific explanation to why cooking rice on a pot in a fire pit, with firewood as fuel, allows one to cook rice better than e.g. on a gas fire, or using a rice cooker?
The simple explanation is firewood produces smoke and other sources of heat don't. Smoke imparts aroma and flavor to the dish. Firewood doesn't cook the rice any better than a gas or induction range or a rice cooker, it's just about the smoke.