Rice upsets him (4)
I believe the answer is:
eric
'him' is the definition.
'rice upsets' is the wordplay.
'upsets' indicates an anagram.
'rice' is an anagram of 'ERIC'.
(Other definitions for eric that I've seen before include "Ernie's comic partner" , "Man" , "- Sykes, British comedian" , "Cantona or Clapton?" , "Ancient blood-money; Ernie's partner" .)