Coconut jam
This is the works. A thick, buttery, sweet spread found in Malaysia and Indonesia. A jar of this green-gold treat found its way into my larder the other day. I’m slathering it over toast like nobody’s business.
Kaya is made from coconut milk, eggs, sugar and pandan leaf. Simple, but deceptively so. Pandan leaves are versatile, finding widespread use in Malaysian, Indonesian, Sri Lankan and Thai cuisine, sweet or savoury. They can also be made into gnarly skirts.
Outside of their natural growing regions, pandan leaves can be found in dried form (and occasionally fresh or fresh frozen) in more adventurous food stores. Thrown them into a curry or use them like vanilla in sweets. Or make that skirt you’ve never dreamed about owning.
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1 response so far ↓
K.Lee // August 12, 2008 at 1:59 am
Over ten years ago, I received a jar of kaya from a food pantry (as in free food for low-income people) in Washington, DC.
The other recipients had no idea what it was, and some were giving away their jars. I was interested, so I accepted a couple of them.
Amazingly, the taste settled very comfortably on my tongue. It was only borderline exotic. When I finally ran out, I missed it.
Later on, I stumbled across candy flavored with pandan leaf at an Asian food store, but it was a poor substitute for kaya.
Now my neighbor is going to Australia, and I’ve requested a couple jars. Even though he’s Australian, and fairly traveled, he has never heard of it.
I just wish I could remember the brand I had. It wasn’t Glory (unless the label has changed a lot since then).
I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on in the US, because the flavor is very “accessible” … NOT an acquired taste at all, in my opinion. Of course, I guess coconut averse folks wouldn’t go for it!