Malaysian Kaya (Coconut Milk and Egg Custard Jam)

Living abroad makes you think of all the simple good food you used to have during childhood. One of my absolute favorite is Kaya and I was so hyped up to make it after my Mom filled me in on how to make it.

The amount of ingredients is simple, ratios is simple (1:1) and they are easy to find. However, the workload on this homemade jam is quite taxing as it demands your attention every second. I salute and admire our grandmother's generation, who would make kaya for breakfast. No wonder people say good food is made with lots of love and care. Kaya is no easy thing to make, imagine all the amount of energy put into producing something that expire in short time with no refridgerator system, yet the love and care diligently cook it with a wooden spatula because no electric beater ever existed... but even if they do, it is not affordable. You'll know what I mean. And whoever the genius is to create something so scrumptuous? You deserve an award.

Ingredients:

(Equal parts of everything... can be a bowl, a can, or 300 gram)

• 1 cup of sugar (you may mix brown and white sugar together)
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1 cup of eggs (beaten until fluffy with electric mixer)
• A few sprigs of Pandan leaves (Screwpine leaves), tied up with string

Fluffed eggs with a 1/4 cup sugar

Coconut milk warming up in the rice cooker with the tied up Pandan leaves

Caramelized sugar under low heat

1. Pour the coconut milk into the rice cooker on warm mode with the Pandan leaves.
2. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl with a 1/4 cup sugar, and use the electric mixer to fluff them up.
3. After that, put the rest of the sugar into a small pot and on low heat, caramelize the sugar slowly.
4. Once it is all melted, pour into the coconut milk immediately. Turn from warm mode to cook. The caramelize sugar will harden once you pour inside but do not worry, it will melt. Stir constantly with an egg beater.
5. Before the sugar and coconut mixture started bubbling, start pouring the egg mixture ladle by ladle. Stir vigorously to avoid getting solid egg lumps. Every ladle has to mix well before the next ladle of eggs come in.
6. When it starts to boil, turn the cook mode to warm, stir even more vigorous now that it has thicken. Watch out for splatters.
7. Once thicken, make sure you turn off the rice cooker quickly to maintain the smooth consistency and avoid curdling. If you have the conventional rice cooker, remove the rice cooker container off from the cooker and let cool. Continue to stir.
8. Place the Kaya into sterilized jars. Let cool before covering the Kaya with the jar cap.
9. Keep in refridgerator. If you see water evaporated onto the cap, wipe it away. It will last for about a week.

Serving suggestion:

Best spread onto toasted bread, butter cakes and salted crackers.