Kaya Jam Wants to Be Your New Favorite Condiment

Fragrant sauces and spreads are some of the greatest gifts I give myself. Baba ganoush, onion sauce and straight cream cheese can transform anything from a lobster omelet to a pretzel. For sweet dishes, there is kaya jam. This queen of coconut spices pairs well with toast or pies. Most importantly, it is quite simple to prepare it in the home kitchen.

Kaya jam, in its simplest form, is a coconut custard thickened with egg. It is thick like lemon curd, sweet but not cloying, has a delicate coconut flavor with noticeable herbal notes, and color ranges from roasted brown to emerald green. The grassy notes and green color come from a fragrant plant called pandan. This herb is popular in Southeast Asian cuisine and is used as a condiment in a wide variety of contexts. It is mixed with water and added to desserts as an extract, stewed with meat and wrapped around fish. It is described as bright, green, and sometimes with hints of vanilla. ( Read here to learn more about the pandan.)

Depending on where you live, a pandan may be available near you. Look for fresh or frozen leaves at Asian grocery stores in your area. You can also order pandan flavored products online. If you can’t find it, no big deal. Kaya will still have a delicious taste if there are no aromatics. I’m omitting pandan in the following recipe, but you can add ½ teaspoon pandan extract or vanilla extract if you want a little bit.

The procedure in the following recipe is almost identical to making lemon curd. If you’ve never done this, read on. Heat coconut milk (full fat please), salt, white sugar and palm sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Palm sugar is usually found in the bakery section or the international sales section of a grocery store. You can substitute coconut sugar or brown sugar if that suits you better, but the tastes of the three products are slightly different. Prepare the egg yolks in a medium bowl using a whisk.

Stir the coconut milk mixture with a rubber spatula. As soon as the edges begin to bubble and visible steam comes out of the pan, turn off the heat and stir the egg yolks into the mixture. Slowly add the hot liquid to the eggs while whisking. This will raise the temperature without curdling the yolks. Most often, people pour slowly straight from the pot or use a ladle. When you have about 75% coconut/egg yolk mixture, return everything back to the pot. Turn the heat back to medium-low to low and stir the mixture constantly with a rubber spatula. It will start to thicken slowly. This may take five to ten minutes, but take your time or the eggs will boil into lumps.

Once the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula, but not as thick as pudding, turn off the heat. Strain this mixture through a sieve (if you are afraid of lumps, but this is not necessary) and into a bowl. It is not uncommon for the mixture to have a textured appearance, but it should be smooth when you eat it. Place plastic wrap on the surface to prevent film formation and refrigerate it until it hardens, about one to three hours.

Spread this delicious coconut mixture between two slices of buttered toast for a dish called kaya toast, or add a spoonful to your nightly cake, ice cream, or oatmeal. I know I said I use kaya jam for sweet snacks, but it’s not unusual for Singaporeans to serve kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs and soy sauce. Keep the kaya jam well covered and refrigerate for up to a week.

Jam from kaya without pandan

Ingredients:

• ½ can (about 6.5 ounces) full fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons palm sugar, chopped if hard (replace with coconut sugar or brown sugar)
• ¼ cup white sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pandan or vanilla extract (optional)

In a medium saucepan, add coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula.

Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and beat them to break up. Keep a whisk handy. As soon as the milk mixture begins to bubble around the outer edge and steam, turn off the heat and temper the yolks. Whisk while pouring the hot coconut milk mixture into the bowl of egg yolks until they come to temperature. When about 75% of the milk mixture is with eggs, return the entire mixture back to the pan.

Turn the burner back on to medium-low heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula but not as thick as pudding, remove from heat and add extract (if using). Strain through a sieve if you think there are lumps and into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the kaya jam. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about one to three hours.