Kaya

Coconut Egg Custard Jam.

That's what "Kaya" means in Singapore or Malaysia.

And it's what brings back many memories back to my childhood days of having breakfast at an old coffee shop in Singapore called Killiney Kopitiam, even before this venerable institution in Singapore modernized and became somewhat of a chain store.

Back in those days, the coffee shop was old, hot and dingy (with an airwell in the middle) and had about 3 items on their breakfast menu besides coffee and tea - kaya toasted bread, half-boiled egg and french toast with kaya jam. Not much variety to speak of, but man, did the crowds flock there.  Hands down, best coffee, best kaya in town. Not much competition back then (maybe Ya Kun). Now these kaya toast places are a dime and a dozen in Singapore.

I also remember an old Hainanese man back in the kitchen, wearing a light blue pyjamas pants. He was constantly stirring this huge cauldron pot of kaya. And that is the traditional way kaya is made, always stirring under low heat to make sure the jam didn't burn.

Through some internet research, I found a picture of this old Hainanese grandpa (click here for his story and pictures). Apparently he worked at the coffee shop for 54 years until he retired! That's 129,600 hours of cooking kaya in those 54 years - assuming (conservatively) 8 hours per day, 6 days a week and 2 weeks vacation - did I get my math right??

I love kaya but not that much to spend my precious time cooking it the way he did. I was glad to chance upon some recipes that called for a quick and easy way to make kaya - either through the crockpot or the microwave. In the end, I opted to cook through the crockpot and adapted from two recipes (see below for recipe and credits).

Old Hainanese grandpa, God rest his soul - thank you for pouring your heart, soul and life into making wonderful kaya all those 54 years.

Now that you have passed on, I'm glad that that there is an easy way to re-create the wonderful memories of a breakfast in Singapore like I did at Killiney Kopitiam.

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
• 400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
• 450 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 pinch of salt
• A few pandan leaves (Note: I didn't have pandan leaves but the jam came out as well, so don't sweat it if you don't have this)

Method:

1. Break 10 eggs and mix well.
2. Add coconut milk, sugar, vanilla essence, salt and pandan leaves to the egg mixture, and mix well.
3. Pour entire mixture into crockpot.
4. Set crockpot on "High" for 2 hours.
5. When the mixture starts to bubble (about 1 hour), check in and stir.
6. At about the 2nd hour, stir again. 
7. Switch crockpot settings to "Low" for about 15-30 minutes.
8. The jam, when ready, should look like scrambled or curdled eggs - do not panic at this point, see picture below)
9. Puree the curdled egg-looking jam mixture and voila - you will have smooth, velvety kaya jam!*

*You can use a hand blender or whatever food processing machine you have - just one that can puree food.

Makes a few small jars, estimated around 600-900 grams.

To serve:

• Toast 2 pieces of bread.
• Spread kaya jam.
• Cut a few pieces of cold butter and add to bread, if you like.
• Great for breakfast, tea or an anytime snack! 

Credits for recipe: I adapted from these 2 recipes - thank you for sharing them! Click links below.

The Little Teochew
Lily's Wai Sek Hong

The "ugly" mess:

Itek Tim (Sour Duck Soup)

Itek Tim is one of the quintessential Peranakan cuisine that I love, especially on a cold day.

"Itek" means duck in Malay and this dish is a sour, tangy duck soup with preserved Chinese green mustard, tomatoes that gets better after the flavor has deepened after a few days.

I've provided the traditional recipe below, but I'll note that I omitted some ingredients because I didn't have them handy in my kitchen and also, I used a crockpot instead of slow cooking it over charcoal like they did in the old days. Two things that may make my dear bibik grandaunt turn in her grave!

But, I found the end result pretty close to my mom's cooking - but for half the effort!

I consider this a 30-minute meal as that's all it takes to prep the materials, throw them into the crockpot and cook for the next 8-10 hours.  This can be prepared overnight and be ready for dinner the next day, either as a one-dish meal with rice, or as part of a meal.

Ingredients:
2-3 duck thighs, skin removed
2 pack Chinese green mustard (liquid drained, cut up)
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 thumb of ginger
Brandy
2 pieces of tamarind skin*
2 sour plum*
Green chilies*

*omitted as I did not have them handy.

Instructions:

1. Season duck with some brandy.
2. Drain the mustard green of its liquid. You may want to wash it as it is salty.
3. Add all other ingredients into the crockpot (except the chili).
4. Add duck on top.
5. Add enough water to just barely cover the duck (can be a little less as the vegetables and tomatoes will give out more liquid).
6. Set on low and cook for 8-10 hours. 
7. The next day, debone the duck and mix the meat into the soup.
8. This dish should barely need any salt but you can adjust taste accordingly.
9. Traditionally, you would break a few green chilis so that the soup becomes a hot and sour soup.

Serves 4-6

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Stew

Want a delicious meal but don't want to do too much heavy lifting?

Try this easy recipe which only takes 30 minutes of prep time but slow-cook it overnight and you'll wake up to a wonderful aroma in the morning, and ready-made dinners for a few nights!

Ingredients:

• 6-7 chicken thighs, fats removed
• 5 medium potatoes, each sliced into half
• 1/2 head of cabbage, sliced
• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 1 onion, sliced and quartered
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 can of tomato paste
• Chicken broth
• Peas
• Cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp Soysauce (Light)
• 1 Tbsp Soysauce (Dark)
• Salt & Pepper & sugar
• Bay Leaf (optional)

 Equipment:  Crockpot

Instructions:

(A)

1. Marinate chicken thighs with soysauce, 1 tbsp of salt and a dash of pepper.
2. Heat wok with oil to medium heat.
3. Add onions and fry. Then add garlic.
4. Add chicken and stir fry until the outside of the chicken is cooked and slightly brown. OK if the chicken isn't cooked since we're going to cook it a long time in the crockpot.
5. Add a bit of chicken broth to burn off the chicken drippings and add the tomato paste and mix well.

(B)

In the crockpot,

1. Add potatoes first, then cabbbage and then carrots and bay leaf.
2. Next, transfer the chicken with broth into the crockpot.
3. Add more broth until half-way mark. You don't have to completely cover the chicken because the vegetables will give out more water.
4. Set to slow for 8 hours. I usually do this overnight. 

(C)

1. Once the stew is ready, remove chicken pieces and debone them. The chicken will fall off the bones.
2. Remove the vegetables without the broth and set aside.
3. Take the liquid stew and boil to reduce to thicken the stew. To further thicken, use some stew and add 2-3 tbsps of cornstarch, mix well and throw it back in.
4. Add more salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar to taste.
5. When stew is boiling, add frozen peas.
6. Re-assemble chicken, vegetables and stew. 
7. Serve with rice or egg noodles.

Prep time: 30 minutes     Cook time: 8 hours