PANDAN KAYA

My fruits preserves is finishing soon. I noticed prices of most fruits [such as Plums, Kiwi etc] for making preserves have gone up exorbitantly. Today, I prepared this Pandan Kaya as substitute for the preserves which we need to spread over bread for breakfast. This Pandan Kaya is much easier to make compared to Caramel Kaya where you would need to caramelise the sugar to a perfect tone so that the Kaya colour would turn out nice. 

This Pandan Kaya is very aromatic as the pandan juice blends very well with coconut milk and eggs.  I used the stirring over direct heat method instead of double boiling.  *This method is quite fast except that you need to keep stirring the mixture  while cooking to get a nice texture and to prevent it from getting lumpy or burnt at the base.*

Overall, I am happy with the result as the 'kaya' is smooth, perfect consistency and nice colour.  It is worth the effort to prepare homemade kaya.  By the way, this recipe uses duck eggs.  It is alright to use chicken eggs but advisable to use large eggs.

Ingredients

[makes 3 tubs x 200 gm]

4 duck eggs - lightly beaten to combine egg yolk with egg white

250 ml thick coconut milk

250 gm sugar

10 blades of screwpine [pandan] leaves - washed and blended with 3 tbsp water

1. Blend pandan leaves with water.  Squeezed out the juice, set aside.
2. In a big bowl, add in pandan juice, sugar and 50 ml coconut milk.  Stir to dissolve the sugar.  Gradually add more coconut milk as the sugar dissolves.
3. Pour in lightly beaten eggs [do not beat eggs until frothy], mix with well.
4. Strain mixture into a heavy based pan [I used Thai 'golden' wok].  
5. Bring mixture to cook over  medium low heat, stirring constantly* until the mixture is of a runny thick consistency [leaves a trail mark as you stir].  This takes about 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, cool before storing in airtight containers.
7. Serve with bread, pancakes or some Nyonya Kuihs.

EZ CARAMEL KAYA

This recipe was from a friend.  She explained it is very easy to prepare and I give it a go as my preserves is soon finishing.  I have being making caramel kaya with this recipe which uses 5 eggs and half of portion of this coconut milk of this recipe.  So if you are looking for a caramel kaya with less coconut milk then you can refer to this recipe.

From this recipe below, I was able to make 4-5 tubs [150 gm each].  Since the process of kaya making is about the same, why not prepare a bigger portion in one go.

Ingredients

[makes about 4 tubs x 150 gm]

6 eggs [AA size]

200 gm + 100 gm sugar

500 ml thick coconut milk

5-6 blades screw pine [pandan] leaves - washed and knotted

Ingredients for Caramel Kaya

 

Beaten  Eggs

Preparing Caramel

1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then strained into another bowl.  Set aside.
2. Place 100 gm sugar in a heavy base pan [I used a copper wok].  Cook caramel over medium low heat.  Stirring continuously until golden brown in colour and sugar has dissolved.  Off heat.  Remove from stove.
3. Gradually pour in the coconut milk, stirring while you pour in the coconut milk.  Add in the remaining sugar and pandan leaves.  Continue to stir until the mixture is well mixed.  
4. Remove from heat and leave to cool down for about 2 minutes before gradually adding in the beaten eggs.  Stir to mix well before returning to cook over low heat.
5. Turn heat to low, place pan over it and continue to stir the mixture for about 15 minutes until paste is of runny consistency.  Paste will thicken slightly when cooled down.  NOTE: it is necessary to stir continuously here to prevent batter becoming lumpy.
6. Store in plastic or glass tubs.  Refrigerate.

Stirring caramel with sugar, coconut milk
and pandan leaves

 

 

CARAMEL KAYA

Lately, have been really busy with many activities and chores to attend.  Home-made preserves [fruit jam] depleting soon  and there is the urgent need to get ready some for our daily breakfast.  It came to my mind that making caramel kaya would be a good alternative as it is quick to prepare.

Remembered that I have downloaded the recipe to try sometime ago.  It is always good to download some recipes whenever I have the time and it will come in handy for immediate retrieval during busy days.

This caramel kaya is easy to prepare with only a few ingredients, simple steps and yet the result is awesome.  It can be kept in the fridge and stays spreadable even chilled.

Recipe adapted from  Kathrine Kwa You-tube Recipe

Ingredients

5 size B eggs

200 gm + 50 gm castor sugar

250 ml thick coconut milk

3 blades screwpine [pandan] leaves - knotted

1. Beat eggs lightly with 200 gm sugar until sugar dissolves.
2. Place 50 gm castor sugar in a heavy base pan.  Heat over medium heat to dissolve the sugar until caramelised, stir ocassionally but careful not to burnt it.  
3. Off heat, gradually pour in coconut milk, stirring while pouring in.  Turn to low heat and stir until the caramelised sugar dissolves but not boiling.
4. Remove from heat, gradually stir in the egg mixture.  Strain into a heavy base pan or wok [I used my Thai copper wok].
5. Add in pandan leaves, cook over medium low heat and stir constantly until kaya is of runny consistency.  Note: If using kaya as filling, best to cook until thick paste consistency for easy wrapping.
6. Cool, remove pandan leaves and store in air tight container.