Kaya Toast

This is a common snack food in Malaysia and Singapore which consists of a jam made of coconut milk, pandan leaves, sugar, and eggs spread onto toast.  The whole thing is dipped into a runny yolk topped with dark soy sauce.  It's pretty glorious and an amazing contrast to the toast and eggs from america.  It is sweet and rich enough to be a desert and can really be eaten at any time of the day.

note:
Pandan leaves add a very specific aroma and flavor to the jam that just can't really be replaced.  I believe they sell them at asian groceries, usually frozen or in a paste form.  I got my frozen leaves from a thai restaurant 2 blocks from where I work for super cheap.  If you don't have access to pandan leaves, susan feniger (the chef of this recipe) notes you can use 3 TBL of minced young ginger, steep in the coconut milk for 3 min and then strain.  But, to be honest, you can just leave it out all together.  This will still be amazing.  It will just be missing that very fragrant aroma.

I've also included my homemade recipe for dark soy sauce.


ingredients:

1.  1 cup coconut milk - try to get "Thai Kitchen: Organic Coconut Milk" brand if you can
2.  1 cup granulated sugar - 1/2 for coconut milk, 1/2 for the custard
3.  8 pandan leaves, washed and tied into a knot
4.  1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5.  3 eggs
6.  3 egg yolks

7.  1 cup light brown sugar
8.  1/2 cup soy sauce
9.  1/2 tsp liquid smoke

10.  2 slices good white sandwich bread

11.  1 1/2 tablespoons shaved "salted" butter
12.  1 egg
13.  Dash ground pepper


recipe for dark soy sauce:
yields about 3/4 cup

1.  In a sauce pan, combine soy sauce, light brown sugar, and liquid smoke.
2.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low.
3.  Simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally until reduced to syrupy consistency.
4.  It should taste unpleasantly salty with just a hint of sweetness.  If its too sweet and actually tastes good, add 1/2 tsp of soy sauce at a time and mix until it tastes too salty with just a hint of sweetness.


recipe for coconut jam:
makes about 2 cups.  The jam will keep for 1 week, refrigerated.

1.  Open can of coconut milk then mix well.  Add to a small saucepan, add 1/2 cup sugar and mix well.

2.  Stir in the pandan leaves and salt and bring to a boil over high heat, keeping the pandan submerged in the milk as the leaves cook and soften. 

3.  When the milk has come to a boil, remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.

4.  Remove the pandan leaves from the milk, squeezing any excess liquid from the leaves into the milk. Discard the leaves.

5.  In a medium stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Whisk in the coconut milk mixture to form a custard base.

6.  Place the stainless steel bowl over a medium pot of simmering water on one setting above lowest heat.  If water is too hot, the custard will curdle instantly.

7.  Gently cook the custard, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture thickens, 15 to 20 minutes. The final texture should have a thick custard consistency (a trail of a spatula should remain on the surface of the custard for more than 10 seconds)

note:

Stirring constantly in this step literally means, NEVER STOP STIRRING.  The first time i made this I literally took a 5 second break and the eggs curdled.  5 SECONDS!  If you want to take a break, take the bowl off heat, mix again for another 30 seconds, then rest.

note:

if you have an instant read thermometer, keep the custard at around 150 fahrenheit

8.  Immediately remove from the heat and strain into a medium bowl set over a larger bowl of ice water.

9.  Stir until the custard cools, then cover and refrigerate until needed.


recipe main essembly:

10.  Lay 2 slices of bread on top of each other then toast until browned.  Laying them on top of each other prevents the inside of the bread from toasting and keeps it soft.

11.  Spread jam onto soft side of only one slice of bread.  Don't be too generous.  Just put a solid amount.

12.  Shave or cut very thin slices of "salted" butter and place on top of jam so that it covers almost entire area of the toast.

13.  Place other half of toast on top to form a sandwich.  Cut into quarters.

14.  Make a runny soft boiled egg or a runny sunny side up egg with no salt.

15.  Put a healthy pinch of pepper and about 1 TBL of the dark soy sauce over the egg.

16.  Eat by dipping the toast into the egg yolk.  ENJOY!