Homemade Beluga Kaya

Beluga of Kaya?

This homemade kaya earned its name 'Beluga Kaya' because of its tiny round texture which looks a little like caviar compared to its counterpart which is creamy and silky. Many people I know prefer this kaya mainly because this kind of texture is more or less equivalent to 'homemade' and most importantly NO PRESERVATIVES! I admit I am not a kaya fanatic but my hubby can never resist a good bread, butter and kaya snack anytime, anywhere. Not to forget the kopitiam (means coffeeshop) style served with a couple of half-boiled eggs flavoured with light soya sauce and ground pepper. I guess our culture is more of the half boiled eggs rather than the poached ones. I clearly remember paying AUS 9.00 for a couple of poached eggs in a Sydney hotel just because my dear daughter decided to wean herself off milk just right at that faithful period when we were on holiday.

I have here a basket full of free-range farm fresh chicken eggs which inspired me to whip up a small pot of 'Beluga Kaya'. This recipe calls for an equal portion of eggs, castor sugar and santan (first pressed coconut milk). 4 eggs, 200 gm castor sugar, 200 gm santan and 2 pandan leaves (knotted or bruised for more flavour). Heat a pot of boiling water over the stove. In another saucepan, crack in the eggs and beat slightly with a fork, add sugar and stir some more. Slowly stir the saucepan over the pot of boiling water with a wooden spoon. The minute the sugar dissolves (30 seconds), run the liquid through a sieve and discard all semi-cooked pieces of eggs. Return the sieved liquid over the pot of boiling water, stirring consistently, gradually adding the santan and the pandan leaves. Keep stirring until batter begins to thicken and eventually looking like lumpy beluga caviar. Leave to cool before storing in a container.

There are more than one way to make this lovely paste. Some prefer to double boil, some steam and some even use the slow-cooker. Which ever way, the kaya will still be more authentic then the commercial ones. For those of you who like the kaya to be brownish, just caramelise the sugar and cool before repeating the same process. So I guess you know what you have to do when you feel that craving setting in! or just bribe someone to do it for you! Cheers!