Kaya

Kaya - first on the list. Growing up, Ah Po always made kaya for home. She'll made it in her yellow-with-green-trimming double boiler with charcoal-fueled flame. I'll start licking them when she was letting them cool, before putting into a glass jar. We'll eat it on bread. It's so smooth and yummylicious, I can eat it on its own, all day!


My first attempt - complete failure! Perhaps I didn't beat the eggs and sugar well enough. Or perhaps there was gunk in the coconut milk. The first batch went into the drain. How hard can this be... Honestly, I picked kaya first also because it appeared to be the simplest according to the cookbook. Not giving up yet. Started attempt number two. This time, I made sure to beat the eggs and sugar really good, and to sieve the coconut milk. And continuously stirring the mixture while heating. Ugh... the stirring! I don't recall Ah Po stirring the whole time! I guess I took things for granted too much. As the aroma of pandan leaves fills the kitchen, it brings me back to when Ah Po is making kaya. Totally worth it!


The taste is ok. The texture, not so good. Ah Po's kaya is always so smooth (it must be her love). Mine turned out to be not so smooth. And less brownish than Ah Po's. Did she use brown sugar? Well, practice shall make it perfect. I still have some pandan leaves :)

Kaya
270 g eggs
250 g sugar
300 ml thick coconut milk
2 pandan leaves, washed and knotted


Beat eggs and sugar, for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer beaten mixture into a pot and stir over low heat. Put in pandan leaves and continue to stir until all the sugar is melted.
Meanwhile, bring water in the outer pot of double boiler to a boil.
Strain the egg and sugar mixture into the inner pot of the double boiler and add coconut milk and pandan leaves.
Continue to stir, while the double boiler is still on the boil for about 20 minutes until the kaya attains a thick smooth consistency.


(Use of double boiler can be improvise (which I did), but be cautious that the kaya does not burn.)

Kaya is a coconut egg jam made from coconut milk and egg, flavored by pandan leaves and sweetened with sugar. Kaya is sweet and creamy, typically spread on toast to make kaya toast.
- Wikipedia