Did you know I’m a Malaysian by birth and yet you’d hardly find me blogging about Malaysian food here? Sad fact, I know. The only reason I have for misbehaving is a genuine one — there simply isn’t enough access to many required and exotic ingredients to replicate Malaysian recipes here in Orlando.
I’ve scoured many local ethnic and Asian food stores but almost always left with disappointing outcome. But it’s all about to change for a very yummy reason 🙂
If you want to know more about Malaysia, I’ve written a blog post on this beautiful tropical rain forest, multicultural heritage and everything in between. Just writing about it makes me so home-sick.
Screwpine (Pandan) leaves are so indigenous in Southeast Asian cooking. The sweet fragrance and color, grace many desserts and savory recipes back home. Fresh pandan leaves are torn into strips or tied in knots to infuse a distinct floral aroma and flavor. Not only used in cooking, pandan leaves can be woven, used in religious worship and beauty adornments.
Dare I say, it’s essentially the “vanilla of Southeast”? There, I said it!
It took me so many years in the US to finally get my hands on some leaves, in the frozen aisle. Yup, the frozen aisle has been my savior ever since. I’ve even discovered frozen galangal and durian but that’s a story for another day 🙂
Pandan “Kaya” coconut jam is aptly named for its sweet aromatic taste and richness. Kaya simply means “rich” and pandan leaves –which is the essential ingredient — flavors this coconut jam which is made with coconut milk, eggs and sweetened with sugar. The original color is golden brown which is achieved by the use of egg yolks and the extent of caramelization of the sugars during the entire cooking process.
For this recipe, I’ll be concentrating the green color and flavors of pandan leaves and the end result would be a deep green, sweet and aromatic coconut jam.
My memory of making pandan jam is a nostalgic one. Watching my mom, slaving over hot stove and stirring for hours to make the most delicious pandan jam I’ve ever eaten.
It’s best eaten with lightly burnt and buttered white toasts, with a side of soft-boiled eggs and a strong Malaysian coffee (espresso!). That’s one of many delicious staple breakfast in Malaysia. You’d find almost every restaurant serving “kaya toasts” on their menu.
Now that you are backed with boat-load knowledge on pandan leaves, kaya and everything in between, go and make it. Worry about thanking me later 😀
Ingredients:
Makes 2 medium jars.
- 12 small frozen pandan (screwpine) leaves (3 to 4 if using fresh leaves), chopped to bite size
- 3 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- Two (14 oz /400ml) cans of full fat coconut milk — (if possible, use freshly squeezed thick coconut milk).
Directions:
- Fill a huge saucepan with enough water to act as a double boiler. Heat on medium high until water begins to simmer.
- Blend coconut milk with chopped pandan leaves until leaves are finely crushed or disperses desired green color. Strain through a fine sieve and keep aside.
- Stir eggs, sugar and pinch of salt in a bowl large enough to aid cooking over double-boiler.
- Add in pandan and coconut mixture into the eggs and stir it all to combine.
- Place the bowl over double boiler, ensuring the bottom of the bowl isn’t placed directly over simmering hot water. Stir mixture every now and then. Check for water level in the double boiler. Add in more hot water if needed.
- Cook custard until desired jam consistency & color are achieved. It took me almost 1.5 hours and good amount of stirring to achieve a thick and rich pandan jam.
- Bring jam to room temperature before canning and storing in refrigerator. Jam lasts for a month if stored correctly. Or consumed wisely 😉
Off to enjoy my morning toasts with pandan kaya jam spread all over it. And maybe a strong espresso on the side just to emulate the overall experience of having a Malaysian breakfast in the US.
This is one recipe that I’m holding onto. Forever. Until it’s time to visit “home” 🙂
Have you tried any Malaysian recipe before? Or pandan flavored desserts?
Comments on this entry are closed.
A delightful spread! Perfect with fresh homemade brioche bread. The flavor of pandan is so exhalirating.
Cheers,
Rosa
Rosa — thanks my dear. and yes, brioche sounds delish with this spread 🙂
I love Malaysian food and it’s so interesting learning about pandan from you here! Beautiful pictures, too. : )
Monica recently posted..Tender pancakes with a secret ingredient
Monica — thanks! i hope to feature more Malaysian recipes soon. Provided i get the ingredients needed to make it happen 🙂
Kiran, I thought you were Indian! There are so many Indian spices and dishes here! I don’t know much about Malaysian food but the few things I have tasted were delicious (Malaysian chicken sate is the only I ever posted). I have always found pandan desserts somehow magical with their bright green colour and I still wonder how they taste… I love coconut, so this is maybe the first pandan dessert I will prepare… I must check if my Asian grocery shop sells it frozen. I am lucky to find many fresh “exotic” vegetables here without any problems (galangal is even sold by one of the “normal” supermarkets!). I see sometimes durian too, but haven’t dared buying it yet.
Sissi recently posted..Korean-Style Pork Tenderloin Stir-Fried with French Beans
Sissi — i guess, we are everywhere around the world, huh? 😀 I’m married to an Indian, so naturally there’s a lot of spice and indian recipes here. We use a lot of spices in Malaysian cooking too, but incorporate a lot of fresh herbs that’s local.
I need to try making sate and using durian flesh in dessert. Soon, I hope. Sending positive vibes your way in order to get some pandan leaves 🙂
Excited to share this with my mother-in-law, who is Singaporean and a fabulous cook. She has made kaya toast for us before and I am eager to see how the recipes compare!
Sarvi — yay, thanks so much! do let me know how it tastes. though kaya jam is so readily available in Singapore, there’s nothing like homemade 🙂
Malaysian food might be one of my favorites. This coconut jam, I might just sit in a corner and eat it out of a bottle straight up.:)…thanks for sharing an authentic recipe.
Ash — thanks girl. and i’m with you about sitting in a corner and eating this out of the jar. so dangerously good 😉
This sounds delicious Kiran and your photos are always gorgeous! Have a stellar weekend! 🙂
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker recently posted..Double Chocolate Chip Blondie Bites
Anne — thanks sweetie and hope your week is going great 🙂
I recently spotted frozen pandan leaves here in San Diego. I’ve since had an itch to make kaya toast. I’m going to have to give this a try soon. Looks soooo good!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence recently posted..Pressure Cooker Tomato Sauce
Brandon — oh my gosh! it’s so nice to come across anyone that have tasted the deliciousness of kaya toast! make some soon!!
This looks so delicious, Kiran. I love the color and texture!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking recently posted..Summer Strawberry-Peach Salad with Goat Cheese
Georgia — thanks so much, love 🙂
Unfortunately I have to thank you first :). It will take a while before I can put my hands on pandan leaves, I guess. I thank you because I do love when bloggers share food recipes rooted in their family traditions and because I am more than intrigued (and I enjoy to be so) . Let’s the search begin!
Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ recently posted..On Summer Pasta Salad and on Why you Should Not Rinse Pasta with Cold Water
Daniela — you are just so sweet 🙂
You know what..Ive only heard of Pandan..never tasted or even seen it. I was curious and just looked it up in Google and apparently Pandan in Hindi is Kewra which is used in Indian sweets like rasagulla etc..small world 🙂
Shruti@Part Time Chef recently posted..Black Forest Pancakes {Egg-free} – a guest post for Yummly
Shruti — kewra is actually the essence of pandanus flower. it’s so much more milder and tastes different from pandan leaves 🙂
Perfect for a gathering!!! They are sure to be a crowd pleaser!
CQuek — totally 😉
I spent amazing 2 months in Malaysia and the food was a great experience. I couldn’t wait for an eating time, hahaha.
Marta @ What Should I eat for breakfast today recently posted..Eat Berlin – The Barn
Marta — that is so awesome!! everyone has so many nice things to say about the food experience in Malaysia 🙂
What an unique jam made from pandan leaves and coconut!!! With coconut, it could not be wrong at all. I wish I could try it. I am sure that it’d be my new favorite.
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You recently posted..Castello Moments Paignets — A cross between panini and beignets…
Denise — definitely!
A very beautiful kaya recipe! I need to hunt down some screwpine leaves.
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted..Agar Agar Raspberry Snack
Angie — thanks and yes, you need too 🙂
Funnily enough, I was just looking for pandan leaves last week! I didn’t end up finding them, which really sucks because I swear I used to see them around at the Asian grocers all the time back when I didn’t actually need them! *sigh* But now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen frozen pandan leaves around too- I’ll look for that instead! I’ve still yet to try kaya, but everyone makes it sound so good! I love how cutely you’ve presented it too in those small jars 🙂
Von recently posted..Hainanese Chicken Rice
Von — it happens to the best of us all the time. like the other day, i could swear i finally saw some red currants and now, there’s none. I’ve been dying to try it.
freezer can sometimes be your best friend. I hope you’ll find some solace too 🙂
Ohhh Screwpine! I didn’t know pandan was called like that in english. Alright, my friend brought me some from bangkok a few months back and I realized those were the same leafs like a plant in my garden. Some said it was the indian pandan variation, the flavors were nearly identical, honestly we had trouble to find out big differences. Nobody knows it’s name so I call it pandan. ^.^
I didn’t know you could make a jam of it and then too with coconut. So excited that you posted your recipe Kiran!
Helene D’souza recently posted..Rice patties Recipe with Carrots and Cheese
Helene — and i’m jealous of the pandan plant in your garden. please make use of it, soon 🙂
My mouth is watering just by looking at your gorgeous pictures. I remember enjoying Kaya when I was a kid back in Hong Kong. I agree it’s so sad that many Asian ingredients are simply not available in the States. Not just pandan leave, I can’t even fin packaged kaya in my Asian supermarket. I’m so craving for this homemade kaya now….you bet I’ll be on the look out for the padan leave on my next grocery trip!
Amy Tong recently posted..Meyer Lemonade
Amy — forget about ingredients, i don’t even get the basics ready-made kaya or other packaged Malaysian delicacies. Sigh 😀
I hope you get to enjoy some “kaya” soon. It’s so addictively delish!
I’ve never tried pandan but I’m so intrigued, your jam sounds delicious!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) recently posted..crunchy cinnamon-berry coffeecake
Laura — it’s addictive 🙂
I don’t know much about Malaysian cuisine so this was so interesting to read about! Plus, it looks delicious – can’t go wrong with that. =)
amy @ fearless homemaker recently posted..Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Amy — it’s one of few that I hope to showcase more, soon 🙂
I LOVE kaya!!! thanks for sharing, i´ve never been able to get such a bright green before! and never knew pandan was called screwpine. one my favorite things is kaya puffs, the tiny little dough balls filled with warm kaya. mm, so good! xxx
Gemma — i think, you’d need to use more pandan leaves. that might bring out more color.
Who can forget or resist a good kaya puff. Nostalgic 🙂
I so love the flavour of pandan! In fact we had chicken wrapped in pandan leaves for dinner tonight so I can still smell that sweet smell and imagine your jam 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Manmaruya, Ashfield
Lorraine — finally, a breakthrough of my explanation on pandan 😀
Hi Kiran,
I am crazy about Malaysian food and this spread sounds so interesting. I would love to try it out.
PS: I am looking for a black wrought iron basket in the above picture,please can you tell me where you bought it from?
Asmita recently posted..Chickpeas- “Rawalpindi Channa”
Hi Asmita — the frying basket is a very old French basket that I bought from an antique store in Los Angeles. Perhaps you can try locating it from your local antique stores or Etsy? Good luck.
I love kaya! I tested it in Malaysia and loved it immediately. Thanks for the recipe, I will test it soon… I hope to find pandanus leaves.
Ciao
Orchidea — so so glad you enjoyed kaya while visiting Malaysia. I hope you get to find the pandan leaves, which is an essential in making this recipe. Let me know how it tastes 🙂
I’ve not had a chance to eat much Malaysian food or cook it. I had a good friend who was Malaysian back in England but never did try Malaysian food even with her.
I think you would love my Asian grocery store here, you can find all your ingredients fresh. I feel quite lucky now.
These toasts and jam look yummy! I may have to start my foray into Malaysian cooking with your guidance.
Nazneen
Coffee and Crumpets recently posted..Potato Samosas
Nazneen — it’s never too late. and i must say, i’m jealous of your Asian grocery store 😀
I am so sadly uninformed about Malaysian food and recipes – I’ve eat very little Malaysian food, and have never cooked a Malaysian dish. I should definitely remedy that! This would be a great dish to start with. I’m not sure if I can easily get pandan, but there are a couple of stores I know that would be likely to stock it. I’ll definitely check their frozen sections! Good stuff – thanks.
john@kitchenriffs recently posted..Peachy Cream Shortcake
John — there’s always the time to add this cuisine into your food repertoire 🙂
My mother is Malaysian and I remember eating kaya on toast as a little girl whilst visiting my grandparents! I haven’t eaten it for years, but I still remember the sticky, sweet and rich flavour that is unlike anything else. I completely agree that pandan is the vanilla of the South East. Great description! I had no idea that kaya could be made at home… I need to try this wondrous recipe! Thanks Kiran! xx
laurasmess recently posted..Six-hour Pulled Pork with Homemade Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Laura — wow! you are of a mixed heritage. love it!! definitely try making kaya at home. it’s so rewarding 🙂
Such an interesting jam for your toast! The texture and color are intriguing-don’t have any idea where to find these exotic to me ingredients in my area !? I’m glad you shared something from your childhood so dear to you 😉
Patty recently posted..Roasted Eggplant Lentil Soup with Crispy Sage Leaves
Patty — thank you so much! and yes, it’s quite a task to get pandan leaves. you can usually find some at the freezer section in your local Asian supermarket 🙂
Awee….your name and Indian recipes you post here made me think you are an Indian by birth..loving this authentic Malaysian recipe..have to look out for Pandan leaves now…
Sanjeeta kk recently posted..Baking | Oatmeal & Almond Slices – Of Friends, Food and A Memorable Travel Trail
Sanjeeta — lol, i guess we are spread all over the world, huh? 🙂
So I love the look and idea of this but have no idea where I would find it. Perhaps an Asian grocer. Frozen section?
Cass @foodmyfriend recently posted..Pecan Pie Slice
Cass — thanks and yes, you’d likely find some pandan leaves at your local Asian grocer, in the frozen section 🙂
I am so intrigued by this jam coz it uses eggs! A fabulous post Kiran and I can’t wait to get my hands on pandan leaves although I know it would be an equally herculean task for me as it was for you to hunt for it. Thanks for sharing 🙂
easyfoodsmith recently posted..YAKHNI PULAO
Taruna — yes it was a herculean task! but you’ll never know till you try finding it, so good luck 😀
this is a winner hands down when it comes to our favorite spread which we even have by the spoonfuls as such, gorgeously good 🙂
Kumar — thank you! and i’m glad you love kaya toasts so much 🙂
Such a beautiful post. I’ve never really tried hands at anything Malaysian, since it remains so unexplored to me! Lovely looking jam. Loved your clicks!
Mallika recently posted..Onion Uttappa with Stir-fried Potatoes
Mallika — this is the best recipe to start 🙂
Love this post and you sharing some authentic recipes from Malaysia, Kiran. I just met this week a 2nd generation Malaysian Indian. His grandparents were originally from Kerala. It made me think of you. He too is 100% Malaysian. Just fascinating. Love the props and the photos and what a unique recipe.
foodwanderings recently posted..Portland, Maine – Part I: Booze, But No Moose To Go With It
Shulie — thank you so much my dear. i’ve yet to meet any Malaysian here in Orlando. with the exception of tourists, of course 🙂
This sounds wonderful – so exotic. I never would have thought of combining it with a soft boiled egg. I’ve never been as far East as Malaysia – the Maldives is as far as I’ve gotten. My list of wishful exotic travel destinations is large – this could hold me over for a bit?
Giulia recently posted..Be My Guest with Cannelle et Vanille – Vanilla Bean and Cardamom Yogurt Pops
Giulia — it’s usually served with a side of soft boiled eggs and a strong local espresso. hope you’d get to visit Malaysia someday 🙂
Surprise, I thought you were Indian, Kiran !
Malaysia must be beautiful and I understand very well that you feel sometimes homesick.
I’m living abroad since many years now but can’t help it and always miss my country a bit:)
This spread looks very tasty I must prepare it for my husband who loves coconut milk.
Daniela recently posted..A Delicate Pleasure:Sweet Omlette Soufflé
Daniela — haha, yes I am a 3rd generation Indian 😀 i’m glad that we share a lot of similarities in terms of living abroad.
i absolutely love kaya and enjoy kaya toast very regularly in singapore. never tried making my own though 🙂
Nags — when you get it so easily, why to make it 😀
that’s true but not sure how long this will last 😉
nags recently posted..Methi Thepla – Gujarati Methi Thepla Recipe
so true 😉
ps: i’m unable to comment on your posts. i don’t use my google plus account for posting. just fyi.
no worries at all 🙂
I adore Malaysian food and this Kaya looks so good! I could eat this by the spoonful! Love the vibrant green and such gorgeous pictures as always Kiran 🙂
Kelly recently posted..Raspberry Buttermilk Ice Cream
Kelly — thanks so much dear 🙂
This sounds wonderful!! Never tried something quite like it.. In that note dont think we have even tried Malaysian food.
Mr. & Mrs. P recently posted..Peach and Raspberry Pie
Christy — I’ve tried so many restaurants that serves Malaysian cuisine here in the US, but none by far does any justice to the authenticity of the cuisine. I guess they might have problem scouring authentic ingredients too 😉
Oh, please share more! I love the flavor of pandan, and am so intrigued by this jam. My aunt lived in Malaysia for many years, and they used to visit us in the New York in the summertime, bringing with them stories and flavors (as best as they could replicate). I must ask her if she had a chance to taste this when I see her at our family reunion this week 🙂
Liren recently posted..Simple Sundays | Blistered Padrón Peppers with Buttermilk Aioli
Liren — thank you so much for the encouragement, my friend. i hope to share more Malaysian recipes soon. Did you get a chance to chat it up with your aunt 🙂
Would you believe if I say I have some pandan leaves in my freezer? I fell in love with pandan flavor when I frequently visited Singapore and never got my hands on the leaves until few weeks ago.
Love pandan kaya and your easy recipe.
Lail | With A Spin recently posted..Piyaju, Bangladeshi lentil fritters – A Guest post for Lubna of Yummy Food
Lail — yes i would and you need to use it now!!! 😀
Hi! Another fellow Malaysian here in Orlando 🙂 Which store did you go to for the frozen pandan leaves? I’ve never made kaya before, but I miss it so much I’m going to attempt making it.
Hi Amber,
We should meet!! I bought the frozen pandan leaves from 1st Oriental Market on West Colonial Drive. Good luck making kaya — totally worth the effort 🙂
ps: let me know whenever you want to grab a bite at Mamak restaurant in Downtown.
I live in Orlando as well. Can you divulge which market carries this amazing leaf in the freezer section?
Hi Samantha, I bought pandan leaves from 1st Oriental Supermarket on West Colonial. Good luck 🙂