Remember the old time? Moms and grandmas took half a day to cook kaya in the kitchen. That time no mixer yet, they had to use their hand as a mixer to beat the eggs and sugar until they turned pale yellow. Then another few hours sitting in front of the charcoal stove to slow cook the kaya. I remember my sisters and I took turn to help my mom to stir the kaya. Definately not the fun job in the world but it was well worthy.
The process of making kaya twenty something years ago sure was a long process. That's why I never try to make my own kaya. But the other day when I was sick, not sure what got into me, I decided to make kaya. Of course, today making kaya isn't that time consuming anymore. All you need is approx. two hours then you will have a pretty good homemade kaya.
Here is my version of kaya recipe:
Ingredients A
2 cups of eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanila extract (if you can't find pandan leaves)
Ingredients B
2 pandan leaves, washed and knotted (optional)
2 cups of coconut milk (not thick coconut milk)
1) Use electric mixer, beat ingredients A until they turn pale yellow.
2) Add in ingredients B.
3) If you have non stick pot, you can cook the kaya directly from the stove, if not please use double boiler method to cook your kaya.
4) Cook the kaya at a very very low heat. High heat will turn the kaya into scrambled egg kaya. Don't forget constantly stir your kaya in order to get the smooth texture.
5) It wil take approx. 30 to 45 min for the kaya to thicken up.
6) To get a nice brown color: Over medium heat, caramelized 1/4 cup sugar until they turn dark brown. Pour the caramelized sugar into your kaya and stir well. Turn off the heat.
Leena's tip: Try to use duck eggs to make kaya. You will be so suprise that it actually taste better than eggs.
