Kaya, the super ingredient of 2022

A taste of kaya, the Malaysian jam made from coconut, eggs and caramel, may change your breakfast habits forever. It originated among the Hainanese community of the Malay peninsula, who tweaked the traditional coconut jams found elsewhere around Asia. In traditional Hainanese cafes (kopitiams), still found all over Singapore and Malaysia, it is smeared on white toast – either thick and fluffy or crisp and wafer-thin – with slabs of fridge-cold butter and dipped into just-cooked “muddled” eggs doused with soy and white pepper. 

Now a new wave of artisan makers is bringing it to the rest of the world, where it’s being hailed as the new salted caramel and adopted by bakers and chefs in baked goods, ice creams and savoury dishes too. Perched on a stool at Mei Mei in Borough Market, London’s first kopitiam, I noted that the stall, which specialises in Singaporean and Malaysian dishes, was selling plenty of kaya toast meal sets and by no means exclusively to southeast Asian diners. Chef-proprietor Elizabeth Haigh – who uses kaya and thick, dark Nanyang-style coffee in her version of tiramisu – says she struggles to keep up with demand for her house-made kaya: “There is a growing curiosity among food obsessives. Kaya toast makes a great snack at any time of day. We sell up to 15kg of kaya a week and can’t always keep up with demand.” Extreme patience is required when making kaya, Haigh explains. She steeps the fresh pandan and adds it to the eggs, coconut cream, sugar and a pinch of salt, then stirs it for many hours to cook and thicken it over a bain marie. What distinguishes the best kaya, a world apart from overly sweet commercial brands with added preservatives, is the natural flavour of using fresh pandan and high-quality eggs.

Malaysian-born Ae Mi’s Madam Chang’s brand is also spreading the word about kaya and showcasing its versatility by introducing a wider range of varieties. Most appealing is her Rum Kaya, a special edition recipe developed with cook Ping Coombes, who won MasterChef in 2014. It is made with toasted coconut rum and gula melaka (palm sugar made from the coconut flower). It would also be brilliant with pancakes. Intriguing too is the Ube Kaya, a subtly sweet and nutty Filipino purple yam vegan version. Mi has recently added a distinctive Blackthorn durian kaya. 

In Manchester’s northern quarter, DGHNT, a one-woman artisan brioche doughnut outfit, sells pandan kaya doughnuts, which can be ordered via instagram (@dghntmcr). Chocolatier Russel Pulian, of Fifth Dimension Chocolates, has created a superlative “Penang” pandan and coconut chocolate inspired by his love of kaya, made with coconut milk chocolate – part of his world travel collection. 

For those with a less sweet tooth, Mi suggests adding kaya to baste roast meat. International chef-restaurateur Wolfgang Puck has created a starter of foie gras paired with kaya toast on his Singapore Spago menu. Pairing cheese, especially more salty blue cheeses, with kaya is proving unexpectedly successful too. The milk fats of the cheese cut through the sweetness of kaya, and the brininess of the cheese balances it. 

Shaking up kaya traditions one step further, bartenders are embracing it as a cocktail ingredient. The pioneering Bitters & Love cocktail bar in Singapore serves up a blend of spiced rum, honey and pandan kaya, which quickly became its signature tipple. The twist? Perched on the cocktail there’s a piece of kaya toast.