Jams

Kaya Jam

This coconut-egg jam is ubiquitous in Malaysian railway cafes. I got hooked to it when I was away and have been on a quest to find the best recipe that accommodates local ingredients. Thanks to KitchenTigress and her scientific discoveries, I modified her 10 minutes kaya recipe to create my own version.

Keep in mind to (a) use the freshest eggs possible and (b) constantly stir and watch the jam. When you heed to both commandments, I will guarantee you will get the best homemade kaya. Enjoy!

Ingredients (Yields approx a cup):

5 yolks from fresh medium size eggs- lightly beaten at room temperature, 4 tbs white sugar, 1.5 tbs brown sugar, 0.75 cup coconut cream (not milk as cream has a thicker consistency therefore cooks faster), and 3 to 4 pandan leaves- knotted and bruised

Procedures:

1. Heat 3 tbs white sugar over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to make a caramel

2. Add the rest of the sugars and coconut milk, taking caution of hot steam. Stir slowly until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat

3. Temper the yolks by slowly stirring while streaming in half of the coconut mixture

4. Pour the egg mixture into the rest of coconut mixture. Add pandan. Gently stir the mixture over low heat continuously until the ingredients are well incorporated and the jam thickens and coats the wooden spoon**

4. Remove from heat. Pour the jam through a fine sieve to remove any small lumps

5. Let the jam cool. Serve as a spread on toasted and buttered bread, roll or bun. Store the jam in an airtight container and in the refrigerator

Tips:

**If you see lumps in the jam, quickly remove the jam from heat. Remove the lumps out with a spoon

1. If you can't get pandan (also known as screwpine) leaves, you can substitute with two to three drops of pandan extract

2. For a deeper flavor, substitute brown sugar with palm sugar. It can be found in Asian grocery aisle or store

Fresh yolks

Homemade kaya, under 15 mins to make

Buttered and kaya bread