Wolf It Down: White Rice, Yellow Curry, Scrambled Egg

Recreated from The Wolf of Oren-yaro by K.S. Villoso 

He returned with two steaming bowls. They were filled to the brim with white rice, topped with scrambled eggs and thick, yellow curry sauce. It was sprinkled with chopped green onions. My first real meal in two days was heavenly. I couldn’t even tell if Khine was a decent cook or not—I was just that hungry. It was a good thing he had included the chopsticks when he gave me my bowl, or I would’ve just dug in with my fingers and made a fool out of myself. I found myself asking for seconds, which Khine readily obliged. I washed it all down with the promised milk tea, which had since grown cold. It tasted faintly of jasmine and toasted rice.

I like to think of rice in K.S. Villoso’s The Wolf of Oren-yaro as a character in its own right; it has quite a story to tell. Affected by seasonal storms, it becomes a subject of debate for ambitious warlords and a thorn in Bitch Queen Talyien’s backside. It has regional characteristics with something to say about diversity in Talyien’s world (‘Oren-yaro rice is grainier than the sought-after fragrant variety grown in the Sougen region’). Served well, it shows how very magnanimous Talyien can be (“If you continue to serve these rice balls for breakfast, you may keep [your head].”) And for a bonus, it comes in several intriguing guises – rice balls, steamed rice buns, rice coffee, herbed rice porridge and as a purple rice cake. Rather graciously, it also lays itself down as a bed on which other food can shine, variously appearing in cahoots with barbecued eels and pickles, soured white fish with leeks and pig’s-ear mushrooms, a hot and sour soup made of beef leg bones, and fish in a black bean sauce. Yum! My favourite, though, is the meal quoted above because it brings uncomplicated delight in the plot and in real life – like Talyien, we all went back for seconds too (and I got to keep my head).

Ingredients 
For the curry sauce (serves 3-4):

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4-6 garlic cloves depending on size, finely diced
• ginger, finely diced – same amount as the garlic
• 3 tsp medium curry powder
• 3 tsp turmeric
• 400ml coconut milk
• 3 heaped tsp cornflour (add a little more for a thicker sauce)
• 3 tsp soy sauce (add a little more for a saltier sauce)
• 4 tsp rice wine vinegar (add a little more for a more vinegary sauce)

For the rice (per person):

• 100g jasmine rice
• 250ml boiling water
• a pinch of salt (optional)

For the scrambled egg (per person):

• 1 large egg
• 5g butter
• a pinch of salt

To serve (per person):

• 1  spring onion, chopped

Instructions
For the curry sauce:

1. On a medium heat, fry the onion in oil until it's translucent (around 5 minutes). Stir to prevent browning. 
2. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes, stirring. 
3. Remove from the heat and add the curry powder and turmeric. Mix until the onions, ginger and garlic are coated in spice. 
4. Add the coconut milk and return to the heat. Bring the mix to a simmer but don't let it boil. 
5. Add the cornflour and whisk thoroughly to avoid cornflour lumps. The curry sauce will thicken. 
6. Add the soy sauce and the rice wine vinegar. Set aside until ready to serve. Reheat before serving. 

For the rice:

1. Bring the water to the boil. Add salt to the water if desired. 
2. Add the jasmine rice to the water. Bring it back to boiling point, then turn it down to a low simmer. 
3. Leave to simmer for 9-10 minutes without stirring. The water should be fully absorbed and the rice fully cooked. Set aside until your eggs are scrambled. 

For the scrambled egg:
Note: My hob has heat settings from 1-6, I cook scrambled eggs on 4. 

1. Crack the egg(s) into a bowl and beat. 
2. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan until it's melted and starting to bubble.  Add the beaten egg(s). 
3. Leave until the bottom solidifies but the top is still liquid (around 30 seconds). Scramble the eggs so the cooked 'bottom' is broken and coated in the uncooked 'top'. Add a pinch of salt.
4. Scramble and toss for about another 30 seconds until it looks mostly cooked. Remove from the heat a moment before you think you need to. 

To assemble: 

1. Put the eggs into a rice bowl. Pack the cooked rice in on top. 
2. Turn the egg and rice bowl out onto a regular bowl. It'll form a neat dome. 
3. Add the reheated curry sauce around the rice. 
4. Sprinkle spring onions on top.