Kaya made easy

Bottled homemade kaya jam for the special friend. 

My Dad used to proudly tell us the time he’d overheard my sister, then a primary school kid, yelling across the fence to our neighbour that her father was “the best cooker in the world”. He used to say it with such a glow in his voice, and half-chuckled because although grammatically incorrect, he knew what she’d meant and he cherished the compliment for it was never uttered again as her tastes got fussier and/or more discerning.

Ingredients for kaya jam

This isn’t to say that my Dad’s cooking was tragic, he did cook a few memorable dishes like the homemade ‘char kway teow’ which he never made again because his healthy sensibilities changed his whole perception of what we should be eating. Our foods took on a strict minimalist approach – steamed or lightly poached and without seasoning.

I think we were reared to be Buddhist monks without the saffron attire, shaven heads nor prayerful disposition

Any thing is possible with eggs and sugar

The other day, my 5-year old said those exact words between mouthfuls of freshly made kaya on crackers. Like my Dad, I chuckled under my breath and explained to him the difference between "a cook” and “a cooker” and pointed to the slow cooker that was quietly perched on my counter-top.

Stir it up.

I then realized that those words used weren’t entirely wrong. He’d said it whilst enjoying homemade kaya and that kaya was made in the slow cooker. I didn’t make it per se. In the traditional sense of making kaya, I would have had to slave over the stove, stirred the egg custard under watchful eyes, and curbed any bodily calls for rest or potty breaks. That was my previous method of cooking kaya.

Forget that! These days, I make the lazy ass version of kaya – my slow cooker does it for me. It is true. My slow cooker is the ‘best cooker’!

Place lid on and come back in an hour to check.

I’ve only had my slow cooker for a year, driven by necessity when our kitchen was being remodeled and knowing that our small town had little good food to offer. I bought a moderately priced (about US$30/) slow cooker with only 3 functions – low, high and warm. Other versions had timers which might have been nice to have but I assumed that I would only use the slow cooker for the duration of our kitchen remodeling.

I was wrong.

Lumpy, and a little crusting but don't you worry your pretty head over this. A simple sieve will do magic. 

I’ve cooked many pots of warm glossy kaya; made many tender stews, curries and soups and more so now that I’ve returned to work. My slow cooker would wait bubbling and triumphant as I walk through the doors at 6.10pm smelling dinner in the air; I would immediately know that little tummies would be promptly fed and my night would already be less daunting.

I told you it will glisten sweetly! 

So, if you want kaya in the style of Singapore’s famous Chin Mee Chin in Katong but without having to put up with the grumpy geriatric stalwarts, who ladle kaya with Nazi zeal, do yourself a favour and make your own. It is so easy you’ll have to kick yourself for not trying.

Can't get any more Singaporean than kaya on a Khong Guan cracker.

And by request, here is the recipe for lazy ass kaya (a.k.a ‘slow cooker kaya’) in under 2 hours. Your life is about to be changed – forever.

Lazy ass Kaya recipe in 2 hours

- 400ml thick coconut cream

(I used ‘Goya’ brand of coconut cream)

- 150ml fresh coconut cream

(I used 150 ml of canned coconut cream since I don’t have access to fresh coconut cream)

- 10 eggs, lightly beaten

- 450g regular fine sugar
(adjust if you don’t want it too sweet.)

- 10 pandan leaves washed and tied into a knot
(and if you don't have access to fresh leaves, I use the frozen ones all the time. I might consider pandan paste which is just a bottle of chemicals if my Asian grocery ever runs out of pandan leaves)


Yields about 900g of kaya or about 2 ½ jam jars of kaya.

Method
1. Mix coconut cream, sugar and eggs in a bowl.


2. Turn slow cooker on High and pour mixture in. Stir until all sugar is dissolved.
* It is important that the sugar is dissolved or you’ll have a burnt or brown layer at the bottom of the slow cooker. Some crusting does take place around the edges but that is easily rectified after being processed. 


3. Occasionally stir and check mixture.
I checked it after the first hour and then one more time around the 1.5 hr mark.


4. When the custard thickens and becomes lumpy, turn heat off and take pandan leaves out.


5. Either with a sieve or hand processor, take out lumps.
I used my Bamix hand processor and whisked the lumps out until the jam glistened smooth.


6. Bottle jam or serve out on buttered toast. Be warned, it will not last.

Moments before the words "You are the best cooker" were uttered.