37. kaya toast - by Natalie
I recently spent a week in Singapore - a place that was home to me for thirteen years, seeing me through my elementary, pre-teen and young-adult years. I didn’t realise until after I had left for College how much the little country meant to me and how much I would miss the local foods. Nearly seven years later, I travelled back to visit some places that are core memories for me.
Growing up, my diet was mainly rice and noodles. But prior to my days of drinking coffee for breakfast, I would regularly visit the local kopi tiam (traditional-style coffee shops) and order one of my favourite breakfast snacks - a plate of kaya toast.
It is not a fancy dish, there’s no bells and whistles. It consists of two slices of toast with butter and kaya (coconut pandan jam), commonly served alongside coffee and soft-boiled eggs. It’s sweet and creamy, but light at the same time. In all honesty, I could eat several pieces of toast layered with Kaya before I feel full. In Singapore, the dish is consumed for breakfast or as a snack. It has become integrated into kopi tiam (coffee shop) culture, being widely available in food chains such as Ya Kun Kaya Toast, Killiney Kopitiam and Breadtalk’s Toast Box.
Kaya is a very sweet coconut custard made with coconut milk and sugar, thickened with egg and often flavoured with pandan leaf. It’s popular throughout South-East Asia, particularly in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and parts of Indonesia.
The origin of kaya toast varies depending on where you look and who you ask. Some say the toast can be attributed Hainanese immigrants who adapted their culinary skills from their service on British ships during the Straits Settlements era. It is believed that they created the spread as an alternative to traditional Western fruit jams. Others suggest that it is a Eurasian jam unique to Singapore and Malaysia, and was originally adapted from a Portuguese egg jam.
Regardless of its origins, it’s become a staple to Singaporean breakfasts and a symbol for local snacks (in 2004, Kaya toast was featured by the Singapore Tourism Board in its “Uniquely Singapore Shop & Eat Tours”). While the preparation method and appearance of kaya toast has changed — many sellers opting for electric grills rather than traditional charcoal grills — the spread itself has remained the same. The kaya spreads used in renowned retailers, such as Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Killiney Kopitiam, are still produced from traditional recipes.
There are various methods and styles for preparing homemade kaya, depending on the recipe. Achieving a perfectly smooth kaya spread can be a time-consuming process, taking several hours to cook. The key ingredients typically include coconut cream, eggs, white sugar, and pandan leaves. In Malay cuisine and certain kopitiam establishments, duck eggs were traditionally utilized in kaya production.
In the past, Hainanese coffee shops that made their own kaya spreads would dedicate up to seven hours for stirring the coconut cream, sugar, eggs and pandan leaves together. Afterward, the mixture is covered and left to simmer for approximately 30 minutes to an hour, until it begins to firm up, signaling its readiness.
Another method involves steaming the kaya mixture to create a solid custard form. This variation results in a kaya custard cake that can be sliced and enjoyed with bread.
However, canned or packaged coconut cream from supermarkets can easily be used as a substitute for fresh cream. Additionally, the use of an electric mixer has significantly reduced the stirring time required.
In Singapore, two common types of kaya can be found, each with its distinct characteristics. The first is a caramel-flavored variation, boasting a rich golden-brown hue obtained through the caramelization of sugar before being added to the mixture of eggs, coconut cream, and pandan leaves. The second variety is known as pandan kaya, distinguished by its vibrant green color derived from either pandan leaves or pandan extract. Due to the presence of caramelized sugar, the caramel variation tends to have a longer shelf life compared to pandan kaya.
Kaya plays a prominent role in Malay and Peranakan cuisine, where it features in a variety of kuih, which are small, bite-sized snacks and desserts. One such example is kuih salat, where a layer of semi-cooked kaya mixture is steamed on top of glutinous rice.
In recent years, local brands and restaurants have expanded the kaya repertoire by infusing it with other flavors. These include options such as sea-salt caramel, salted egg yolk, vanilla pandan, calamansi citrus, and even Spanish saffron, adding a delightful twist to this beloved spread.
I could go on and on about the use of Kaya in different Asian dishes, but you would be reading till the sun goes down. So all I’ll say is that it is a must try if you’re visiting Asia.
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