Nyonya Kaya
Thursday, February 8th, 2007
Well, to begin with, after making this Nyonya Kaya (imaging after 2 hours of steaming), it actually gave me quite a mild shock to find the texture to be quite firm, as opposed to the soft, smooth and creamy Kaya (Hainanese-Style Kaya?) I’ve loved and eaten all my life. Although I shouldn’t be because I’ve seen the picture of the Nyonya Kaya in Mrs Leong’s cookbook so often, which is every time I flip through the book, and it is shown cut up like a kuih (see picture below). It is called ‘Seray-Kaya’ in the book, which I think is a mis-spelling of ‘Serikaya’, and this brings me to another point. Does ‘Serikaya’ only refer to Nyonya-Style Kaya, and when it is called simply ‘Kaya’ it refers to the soft creamy type, anyone can clarify?
The Nyonya Kaya I made, it is firm enough to form into a ball and can be cut up.
The photo of Nyonya Kaya in Mrs Leong Yee Soo’s ‘The Best of Singapore Cooking’.
The Nyonya Kaya is different from the soft creamy type because it uses more eggs in proportion to the coconut cream, more a firm eggy custard, and needs to be steamed as the final stage of cooking. The soft creamy type in contrast uses more coconut cream in proportion to eggs, so it is more of a coconut custard.
This Nyonya Kaya also has an eggy smell, which isn’t surprising since so little coconut cream is used, even the pandan fragrant from the pandan leaves used cannot hide it. It is also firm with a soft texture, I can only describe it as very similar to the texture of soft bean paste filling. Only now I begin to understand how this firm type of Kaya can be used to make, for example, Kaya Puffs, or as custard filling (which basically is firm coconut custard) in Steamed Custard Buns. As I have often wondered previously how it is possible to wrap the soft kaya inside any pastry without it spilling out.
The still spreadable firm Nyonya Kaya for making Kaya Toast.
The recipe below makes about one jam jar amount as it was my first try, so I did only a small amount. But since it takes more than two hours to make the kaya, I would recommend at least doubling the amount, which is worthier for the amount of time spent in making it. I used canned coconut milk to make this, just make sure if you’re also going to use canned coconut milk to choose a good brand.
Adapted from the recipe ‘Seray-Kaya’ in ‘The Best of Singapore Cooking’ by Mrs Leong Yee Soo, published by Times Books International, 2003 reprint edition (first published in 1988).
Makes approx. 300ml.
[Ingredients]
4 eggs
225g (1 cup) granulated sugar
150ml thick coconut milk
5 pandan leaves, tore along the length into 3-4 strips then knotted together
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[Preparation]
1. If you own a double-boiler, use that to prepare the kaya. If you don’t have a double-boiler, use this method as I have done: Prepare two pots, one slightly smaller than the other so that the smaller pot fits into the bigger pot (or alternatively, use a small pot placed inside a wok). The smaller pot should not touch the bottom of the bigger pot (or wok), use something such as a small aluminium stand/rack to elevate the smaller pot if necessary. Fill the larger pot (or wok) with enough hot water so that when the smaller pot sits inside, the water should come at least one-third or halfway up the outside of the smaller pot (like a bain-marie). Ideally the smaller pot should also be the heavy-bottomed type so that it can sit stable in the simmering water without it wobbling about during the cooking process.
2. Beat the eggs lightly, then strain into the smaller pot. Add sugar and knotted pandan leaves. Stir over simmering water until sugar dissolves, about 5-10 minutes.
3. Strain thick coconut milk into the egg mixture. Now use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture in one direction only, either clockwise or anti-clockwise. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of spoon like custard, this takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Pour the custard into a clean glass jar (at least 350ml capacity, or use two smaller jars). Do not fill too full to the rim of the jar, because during the steaming process, the custard will puff/rise up.
5. Cover the jar with a piece of aluminium foil, secure it loosely around the rim of the jar with a piece of string. Prick a few tiny holes in the foil with a fork to allow steam to escape.
6. Place the jar into a steamer with simmering water about 2cm below the jar. Steam for about 2 hours. Wipe the underlid of the steamer cover from time to time to prevent water droplets falling onto the kaya (through the holes in foil).
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Original post by SeaDragon