Update: 9th April 2021
I have made a video on how to cook the Kaya.
Due to thc change of the fat content of the coconut milk that I used, the kaya was a bit oily. I think the fat content of the coconut milk (Aldi Brand) has increased tremendously.
I then tried another brand of coconut milk (KTC), and I used the full 200 ml. The kaya turned out well. Please watch the video for the full steps.
I recommend that you use the normal coconut milk that is flowing, not like the ones that has a lot of solidify fat in the tin.
Seri Kaya, or just ‘kaya’ as we call it is also known as coconut jam. It is made of only 3 main ingredients: coconut milk, eggs and sugar, and a flavouring which we commonly use in most of our local cakes or kuih. –pandan leaves. The pandan or screw pine leaves grow wild in wet swampy area. However is it now commonly grown in the home- usually grown in a pot or in a corner in the garden. The Malaysian home usually have some pots of local spices and herbs like pandan, lemon grass, kaffir lime, normal lime, blue pea flower, banana plant, chillies and basil growing in the garden.
I used to make seri kaya at home when I was a teenager. The proportion was 10 large eggs, I coconut and 1 kati (600g) of sugar and 2 pandan leaves,
Nowadays I tend to use less sugar for health reason.
It is very easy to make, but time-consuming as it has to be boiled using a double boiler or dutch oven for a more than an hour, depending on how thick you want your kaya to be.
Last week I made meringue and had 4 egg yolks left over. So as not to waste the yolks I decided to make Kaya instead. I used a short-cut method and it turned out well and tasted absolutely rich as only egg yolks were used.
So here is the short-cut way of making Seri Kaya
Quick Info:
Serves:
Cost: £
Difficulty: Fairly easy
Makes ½ cup (approx)
Ingredients:
4 Egg yolks
200 ml Tined coconut milk
75g Sugar (approx.) or same weight as the yolks
1 Pandan leaf (screw pine leaf) or a few drops of pandan essense.
Method:
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Place the tinned coconut milk in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
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Heat up a pot of water with the pot big enough to hold the mixing bowl. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
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Open the tin of coconut and scoop out the cream.
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Add the egg yolks, sugar and the coconut cream and pandan leaf ( or essence) in a metal or glass mixing bowl and whisk to mix it
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Place it over the boiling water and whisk so that the egg mixture does not cook and becomes an omelette. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. If you find that the bottom of the mixture cooks too quickly, reduce the fire. You can also use a flat silicon spatula to scrape the bottom. ( I used this after I found that the bottom was solidifying quickly.)
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Keep on stirring / whisking until you get the consistency that you want. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
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Note: The correct consistency is when the kaya appears to be grainy. It is not actually grainy as you have whisked it thoroughly.
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Remove from fire, cool, and keep it in a jar/bottle. It can keep for weeks in the fridge. ( Remove the pandan leaf if you are using it)
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Use it like jam and spread on toast with butter.
Makes delicious ‘Roti Bakar’ or Roti ‘Kahwin’. I will come to that in a later post
