Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Coconut Egg Jam/Kaya

Diana and I love our morning toast slather with butter and rich Kaya or sometime we simply eat it with our crackers. We are able to buy this jam from the Asian market but they are not as good as the homemade one. That is why I prefer to make it myself. Make from coconut milk, some eggs, sugar and a few pandan leaves. Sound simple enough? Making kaya need a bit of patience as you have to stand at the stove, constantly stirring it for over an hour. In the end you will be rewarded with a pot of rich, sweet and fragrant jam to eat it with your toast. ENJOY!!

(From Wikpedia.org)

Kaya, or coconut egg jam, is made from coconut milk, duck or chicken eggs which are flavored by pandan leaf and sweetened with sugar. The spread originated in Southeast Asia, most likely Indonesia or Malaysia. This is reflected by its tropical ingredients santan (coconut milk) and pandan leaf. Kaya is sweet and creamy, available in golden brown or green colored spread depending on the amount of pandan and extent of caramelization of the sugar. As with other jams, kaya is typically spread on toast and eaten in the morning but is enjoyed throughout the day. Kaya is also used as a topping for dessert like pulut tekan, a dessert of glutinous rice.


Ingredients :

8 extra large eggs
400 ml thick coconut milk
380 grm sugar
6 Pandan/ screwpine leaves

1. Whisk the egg and sugar until well combined. Strain through a sieve. Then add in the coconut milk.
2. Pour the mixture in a thick heavy bottom saucepan. Tie the pandan leaves into a knot and put it into the mixture. Cook the mixture over the lowest heat on the stove. Cook and stir constantly until smooth and mixture thickens. (do not turn up the heat or else the mixture will lumpy or become scramble eggs. You can also cook this kaya in a double boiler)
3. Store in the fridge once it’s cool.


Note : 1. If you like your kaya to be really smooth, just put it in the blender and blend it for a few second when it is cool. 2. If you like caramel colored kaya, just take 100 gram of the sugar and cook it until it turn into caramel, then add about ½ of the coconut milk. Stir till sugar dissolves. Set it to cool and add into the egg mixture before cooking. Since I can't get fresh coconut milk here I just used the can coconut milk.

23 comments:

Kiersten said...

Wow, the texture of your kaya is sooooo smooth! I can't wait till I taste it. :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

wah,your kaya look yummy and nice pale color, am is too lazy to make this..

Elin Chia said...

Hi Gert,
Your kaya looks good..better than store bought ones. I haven't got skill to make kaya... It turns out not smooth...maybe I will try blend it as u advised. Thanks for the tips :))

Rita Ho said...

Lucky me have tasted Gert's kaya twice. It is delicious!!

How long do we have to stand and stir, Gert? I takut my broken heel tak boleh tahan.

Noob Cook said...

wahhhh u even know how to make your own kaya! looks really good and definitely beat those sold outside :D

Little Corner of Mine said...

I love homemade kaya too. Haven't been making it for a while.

mycookinghut said...

I love it Gertrude.. I should make some to spread on bread and indulge in this full of flavours Malaysian jam :)

pigpigscorner said...

wow yours look so smooth! I tried making once and mine was a bit lumpy.

ICook4Fun said...

Kiersten, I have one bottle reserved for you.

Sonia, thank you.

Elin, the next time just put it in a blender and blend for a few seconds and it will be smooth.

Rita, about an hour.

noobcook, thank you.

LCOM, me too :)

Leemei, you should. It taste great with toast :)

Pigpig, when it gets lumpy just put it in the blender and blend it.

Jennifer said...

This sounds really good! Ive not had anything like it!

Beachlover said...

wah!! Gert your kaya without blender look so smooth and fine!! I still didn't have the kungfu and patience yet! now you make me want to make some for myself to eat minus Mishu! hahaha!

cherry potato said...

hi, your kaya looks yummy and very smooth oh..............very admire for you coz i m lazy to do this, hahaha

Little Inbox said...

Your kaya is so rich and smooth. A good spread for toast.

Food For Tots said...

Wow! Your kaya looks so nice with a smooth texture and beautiful colour! Better than the store-bought.

Lin said...

Hi, love your blog. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

Just wondering, will this kaya work as filling inside kaya steamed buns? I would think normally kaya steamed bun version is more like a smooth solid paste than a smooth creamy jam consistency like what you have here, agree? If so, any idea how to make the kaya more like a paste? Would appreciate the input, thanks in advance!

ICook4Fun said...

Jennifer, you should try this. It's really good.

Lesley, I did put it in the blender to smoothed it.

Cherry Potato, thank you.

Little inbox, yea they were really good on toast.

Food for tots, thank you.

Lin, actually this kaya thicken up after I put it in the fridge. If you want something more solid, you can add extra 2 eggs to the recipe and you need to put it in the fridge before using it to make your buns.

Christelle said...

Brilliant!! I just saw a tin of kaya yesterday and toyed with the idea of buying it but did not, and it was a good idea, i'll make it myself instead :))Thanks!

ICook4Fun said...

Christelle, store bought kaya might not taste as good as homemade one :)

Unknown said...

Hi I just stumbled on your blog and I am so impressed! I'm going to try the kaya! Can I ask if I can substitute the fresh coconut milk with the ones in little boxes. There is a brand of coconut milk here called Kara that seems quite popular. Thanks. Tracey:)

ICook4Fun said...

Tracey, I too used can coconut. We can't get fresh coconut milk here.

Kiki said...

nice photos of your kaya :)

I made kaya yesterday but since it's without preservatives n there's 5 fresh eggs inside, how long can I keep it in the fridge?

My hubby advised me to store it in the freezer after 3 days *_*

ICook4Fun said...

Kiki, I actually store my kaya in the fridge and it last for over 2 weeks without any problem.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I have tried this recipe and the taste is really good. However, my kaya is not as thick as yours, a bit runny. I used the kara packed coconut milk.Even after storing in fridge the next day, the consistency is still not that thick. I stirred the kaya for 1.5 hrs.