Kaya Toast Recipes

SUSAN FENIGER'S KAYA TOAST

Steps:

• In a small sauce pot, mix together the coconut milk and 1/2 cup sugar. 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. When the milk has come to a boil, remove from heat and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.
• Remove the pandan leaves from the milk, squeezing any excess liquid from the leaves into the milk. Discard the leaves.
• 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.
• Place the stainless steel bowl over a medium pot of lightly simmering water. Gently cook the custard, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens, 15 to 20 minutes. The final texture should have a thick custard consistency (a trail of the spatula should remain on the surface of the custard for more than 10 seconds).
• Immediately remove from the heat and strain into a medium bowl set over a larger bowl of ice water. Stir until the custard cools, then cover and refrigerate until needed. This makes about 2 cups coconut jam, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe. The jam will keep for 1 week, refrigerated.
• Spread 2 tablespoons coconut jam evenly over both slices of the bread on the untoasted side. Then place a layer of shaved butter over the jam. Place one slice of bread over the other to form a sandwich.
• Halve the sandwich, and then cut each half into thirds to form 6 even wedges.
• To soft boil the egg, add the egg to boiling water. Cook for 6 minutes, remove and ice.
• Pour the dark soy sauce over the egg and dash with the pepper. Serve the egg alongside the sandwich wedges.

KAYA TOAST

Steps:

• Make the kaya jam: Beat eggs in a large metal bowl. Using a blender, blend half of the coconut milk with the fresh pandan until the milk is fragrant and a light green color. Pour the pandan milk through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the eggs. Use the back of a spoon to press liquid from leaves; discard leaves. Rinse the blender.
• Blend the remaining half of the coconut milk with palm sugar until smooth. Pour directly into the pandan egg mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Set blender aside without washing.
• Fill a large pot with water to a depth of 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium. Set the bowl on the pot to create a double-boiler. (The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.) Gently and frequently whisk the kaya mixture in figure-eight motions until thickened to the consistency of pudding, about 20 minutes. If you hear bubbling in the pot or see the kaya begin to clump, lower the heat.
• Blend the cooked kaya to smooth out any clumps. You should have about 3 1/2 cups. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 30 days. It will thicken more when chilled.
• Make the toast: Fill a small pot with water, cover and bring to a boil over high. Once boiling, gently add the eggs, cover and immediately remove from heat. Let eggs sit undisturbed for 6 minutes. Strain eggs and run under cold water until cool enough to handle. Crack and peel one end of each egg, and gently run a spoon along the inside of the shell to extract the egg within. Divide the eggs between two small bowls. Drizzle with the soy sauce and season with pepper, if using.
• Toast the bread and spread about 2 tablespoons kaya jam on the warm slices. Place the cold salted butter slices evenly on top of 2 slices and sandwich with the other slices. Cut each sandwich in half using the tip of a knife to avoid pressing too firmly on it and serve with the bowls of eggs for dipping.