Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Hainanese Kaya

This recipe is for my daughter, Joanne, this is for you:



Ingredients:
All the ingredients here used a Pyrex measuring cup to measure.

2 coconuts (about 400 ml. coconut milk)
400 gm. eggs (use pyrex measuring cup to measure)
500 gm. sugar
5 pcs. of pandan leaves - tie into a knot

Method:

(1) Stir eggs and sugar over simmering water until sugar dissolves. Strain through a sieve.
(2) Pour back into a pot and stir (double boiler) over simmering water and slightly thickens, gradually add in coconut milk until finished.
(3) Add in Pandan leaves.
(4) Cover the kaya with the pot's cover, followed by the steamer cover and let it steam - every 5 minutes, open up and stir evenly and continue till mixture thickens.
This process takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Note: If you want the caramel coloured kaya, cook about 3 Tbsp of white sugar in a kwali and when it turns caramel in colour,add in a little water and stir till sugar dissolves. Pour into the kaya and stir evenly and continue stirring and steaming till ready. While cooking about almost 3/4 way, you can add in the caramel. As you cook, the colour of the kaya will get darker and darker, so don't put too much. Judge according to your preference.

49 comments:

Gracio said...

Lucy: Im keen on making this, but need ur enlightenment lei, since we do not need to blend the pandan leaves, how do we get the green colour? Is it from boiling it, the colour will be release from the leaves? Can I use canned full cream coconut milk instead? And can i use other weighning machine instead? I dun have pyrex measuring cup...

Thanks Lucy, paiseh so many questions. :)

Aunty Yochana said...

Grace, when you put in the pandan leaves, the kaya will turn green on it's own, it comes from the juice of the pandan leaves. tips: before tying a knot, tear the leaves lightly. Yes you can use a weighing machine. I've not tried with full cream coconut milk but you can try, make 1/2 recipe first. I'm worried that it turns oily because the canned coconut milk has undergone certain degree in cooking to preserve it. Let me know the end result..keen to know too.

rgds.

Gracio said...

hullo lucy,thanks for the quick reply, Appreciate! :)

Btw, can i use dessicated coconut cuz i oso realise that canned coconut milk is alittle oily too...

Aunty Yochana said...

grace,

dessicated coconut is already dehydrated, mmmm....I wonder how you're going to squeeze out the coconut milk.

rgds

Gracio said...

Oh Oke, Haha, didn't know that.. hehe Ok, will try using the coconut milk canned one 1st, and let u know the result. :) Thanks Lucy. :)

Anonymous said...

Dear Yochana,

I do not have a steaming pot, what other pots can I use in step 4?

Thanks.

Yii Ling

Aunty Yochana said...

Yii ling,

You can use any pot as long as it's double boiler. You can even use the kwali to do it. Put the pot into the kwali (put water into kwali as though you're steaming fish).

rgds

Anonymous said...

Dear Yochana,

Thanks for such a good recipe given. The result turns great & yummy!

Anonymous said...

Hi auntie,

I love kaya and tried making it just now.

However, I think i did not get the kaya that looked like yours.

After cooking for almost 3 hours in a slow cooker, I leave the kaya in room temperature to cool.

The kaya tasted sandy and gritty, and a layer of sugar formed on top of the kaya.

Please I need your guidance on this.

Thanks/ YL

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi YL,

I did not use a slow cooker. I used a double boiler and kept stirring all the time but in between I will close the cover to let it steam for a while and then open the cover to stir again.

rgds...

Anonymous said...

Hi aunty,

Thanks for your tips. I think I will try again using a double boiler.

One more thing, does the inner pot touch the hot water from the outer pot?..
Or should we do the bain -marie style? In which the inner pot should not touch the hot water, only let the steam cook the kaya?..
Or like steaming fish, where a metal piece is placed on the kuali?..

Sorry so many "or"...

And which heat should we steam the kaya, high heat or medium?

Thank you again.

Regards/ YL

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi YL,

your pot of kaya should sit in the hot water over medium heat.

rgds

cc said...

Hi aunty Lucy,

I am your new fan too..
Is happy to get kaya recipe from you, thanks for sharing!

cc

Anonymous said...

Dear yochana
I've just tried you're 'Hainanese kaya' n 'Hong Kong Style Ma Lai Koh' its successful, aspecially the kaya.I've tried others recipes but come out very lumpy but your's come out very smooth.
A thousand thanks to u.
Rgds

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Isc,

I'm glad you did well.

rgds

donna said...

Hi aunty yochana,

I tried making half portion of your hainese kaya this morning. Colour turned out similar to yours but found it rather sweet and texture not so smooth like those sold in the shops. Pls. advise. Thks

Aunty Yochana said...

Donna,

If cut down the sugar to your taste. I like it sweet tho.. If you want to have a smooth kaya, you have to stir non-stop. Shops use machine to stir non-stop.

rgds

donna said...

Hi aunty yochana

I actually made a second attempt, cut down the sugar and instead use part of the sugar to make caramel. Added abt 1/2 tabsp. margarine and 1 tsp sugar to the caramel. Ya, I kept stirring and actually for 30mins. The texture turned out smooth but too thick like starch this time. Do u think I should caut down the time to just 20 mins when the consistency appear slightly thicken? Thanks for your earlier advice and the hainanese kaya whether too sweet, rough textured or starchy like, they tasted yummy all the same.

donna said...

Hi Aunty Yochana

Forgotten to mention earlier. I used Ayam brand UHT coconut milk 200ml packet (equivalent to 1 coconut) instead of fresh santan for the kaya. They tasted just as great.

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi donna,

in fact using canned coconut milk is better because they are not so oily as the fresh one.

rgds

Anonymous said...

TO GET THE GREEN COLOR, WE USUALLY ADD SOME PANDAN JUICE.

FELICIA

Kastine said...

Hi Yochana,

Sorry, I know nuts about baking therefore have to ask you a very stupid question.

Is the measuring cup you mentioned the normal type of measuring cup or it is a special one

Cheers

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi qing,

Any measuring cup will do. If you use that cup, use back the same cup.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Can you pls tell me what is Hong Kong Flour and cake Flour.
What can I subs the pandan paste and green tea powder, because i living in Birmingham uk.
thanks
may

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

I tried to make it, but Pandan leaves didn’t colour my Kaya- why? I bought frozen Pandan leaves and then I made all as it was describet in the recipe…

Kasia

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Kasia,

No..don't use frozen pandan leaves. The kaya will turn greyish instead of greenish. What you should do next time is to use dark caramel by putting 2 tablespoon of sugar into the wok, fry till caramel then scoop into the kaya and stir till evenly mixed. Add in only when kaya is about to be ready. Cook till kaya has a nice caramel colour.

rgds.

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi ,

Hong kong flour is superfine and it's normally used for steaming cakes and paus whereas cake flour is another low gluten flour that's normally for baking butter cakes.

Pandan paste and green tea powder are easily available. If you don't have, just use green colouring will do.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Thank you for your answer and your tip :-)
I have another question- pandan leaves give only color or flavor too? You make so many sweets with pandan leaves, panda paste ecc.- it is something new for me and unfortunately I found here only frozen pandan leaves…
Kasia

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Kasia,

yes pandan leaves will give it the colour, taste and smell. Frozen ones are no good. Buy some pandan paste instead.

rgds.

monkey! said...

Hello aunty!
I'm new here; my friend just introduce this place to me and it's fantastic!

Would like to ask u what you mean by 'strain through a sieve'?

Thanks loads,
Monkeyping

Aunty Yochana said...

hi Monkeyping,

Pour the liquid into a sieve and whatever residue is left behind, discard it. This helps to make the kaya smooth.

rgds

AdrianT said...

Hi..Aunty Yochana,

I have tried your Kaya recipe today but i cant get the smooth texture like yours.. :( Need your advise aunty Yochana..i follow all your method. Can i use Double to stir it? Instead of put inside the steamer to steam it?

Thanks s lot

regards
evon

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi evon,

You have to us double boiler and also keep stirring to get a smooth texture.

rgds

AdrianT said...

Thanks Aunty Yochana i will try again...thanks for the advise

regards
evon

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,
I tried cooking the kaya but how to tell whether the kaya is cooked? I kept tasting it during cooking but guess this is not the correct way. Also, I could not get the smooth texture & colour similar to the picture but it tasted yummy. Thanks for the recipe.

Cindy

Anonymous said...

HI! Aunty Yochana,

Finally I tried the kaya last Sun, thks for the recipe it taste yummy.
Aunty Yochana I think you r pretty busy but do hope that you will reply my e-mail soon.

Thks for sharing your recipe & experience.

Best Regards,
Christina Poh

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty,

It's me again tried to make the kaya again last Sat, too sad this time round the kaya seems to a bit watery and not as smooth as the previous time. The coconut milk also not well dissolved. I had been using Ayam brand UHT coconut milk for making the kaya. Need your advice what went wwong.
Thanks
Christina Poh

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Christina

It could be the eggs , not fresh.
Try using fresh coconut milk. Don't let water drip into the kaya while stirring, it will make the kaya watery.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty Yochana,

Will give it a try again this weekend. As I never use squeeze fresh coconut milk before please advise how much water must I add to the coconut? I am using corning ware to cook the Kaya, therefore will place the corning ware over the simmering water to steam as my wok is the big enough to place the steamer stand below? Is this ok?
Sorry I have to ask so many questions.
Thanks, look forward to hear from you soon.

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi anonymous

If you use corning ware, the kaya take a longer time to thicken. do not add water to coconut to squeeze for milk. It must not be mixed with water.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty Yochana,

Thanks for your reply, as you metioned it will take longer time to cook the kaya in corning ware how about using stainless steel pot such as WMF to cook-steam?Must we cover the the kaya as I see some of old coffee shop they just leave it open and keep stirring until it's thicken?
Thanks Christina Poh

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty Yochana,

It's me again,had tried to make the Kaya again last Sun, this time the kaya taste better but a bit dry and also my texture not as smooth as your picture you posted on the blog. Just want to know how long shall we stir each time before we continue to steam the kaya as mentioned in the recipe we need to stir every 5 min during the steam process. Thanks
Christina Poh

Anonymous said...

I have a good recipe for kaya. I used 250g of first santan, bought from the market. 340g of sugar and 6 eggs (360g) . I beat the eggs and santan and then sieve it into a saucepan(I used non-stick) and then I added sugar and 3 pandan leaves tied into a knot. Stir over very slow fire, as slow as possible. Otherwise, it will be lumpy. Whole process takes about half an hour. Do not add caramel. I prefer the pandan smell rather than than the caramel smell.

Anonymous said...

I have a good recipe for kaya. I used 250g of first santan, bought from the market. 340g of sugar and 6 eggs (360g) . I beat the eggs and santan and then sieve it into a saucepan(I used non-stick) and then I added sugar and 3 pandan leaves tied into a knot. Stir over very slow fire, as slow as possible. Otherwise, it will be lumpy. Whole process takes about half an hour. Do not add caramel. I prefer the pandan smell rather than than the caramel smell.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty Yochana's
It's me again, will try to make the Kaya again this or next wkend hope it will turn out well. The last time I use fresh coconut from the market and found it did contain a bit of oil can we use the kind of packet coconut fm supermarket? What kind of utensil to use for stirring wooden spoon or hand whisk? Must we beat up the eggs first?
Thanks Christina Poh

Anonymous said...

Hi! Aunty Yochana,

Had tried to make the Kaya last Sat, it turn out well except my texture of the Kaya is not as smooth as yours (the picture you posted in yr blog. How to get the texture same as yours?

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi anonymous

Keep stirring and it will become smooth..

rgds

Aggie said...

Dear Lucy, I tried yr Hainanese Kaya receipe last evening. I used Ayam brand UHT coconut milk 400g
with about 9 medium size eggs-followed yr receipe to a T and stirred for abt an hour.The texture turned dry and I could hardly spread,it tasted good though. Did I stir too long ? The consistency is not like yours,so smooth and flowy.Did you blend the kaya after cooking to make it so smooth ?
I do not know if the pot I used is more for herb brewing because one pot sits on another but there is only one cover, unlike your "double-boiler" with 2 covers.Sorry for this long question.Hope to hear from you as I would like to try making this kaya again.Thanks.

Jennifer (Malaysia) said...

Dear Aunty Yochana,

thank you for your great recipes... I've tried making kaya for my kids and they loved it. i used the pandan leaves but it didnt come out greenish ...instead its slight greyish in colour. I'm usng the pandan leaves from my garden which i planted it myself.
At my 2nd try out, i'm using 400g fine sugar + 90g Brown sugar.... the colour & taste turn out great ...and its enhanced the aroma of the coconut milk.... less sweet too..... i'm in love with your recipes.... tq again