Sue Zann Toh

Many are probably not familiar with this, unless you’re Chinese. Kayang is a Chinese version of jam primarily made of coconut milk and a tonne of sugar. It’s spread over toast or any other bread and enjoyed just like jam, only tastier, that’s my opinion, but then again, I was brought up on the stuff so it might be an acquired taste thing.

I’ve never found Kayang at the groceries stores in Australia so if we ever wanted Kayang, we had to make it at home. Spurred on by a recent batch of Kayang from my folks, I decided to share our recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 can of eggs (ie enough egg to fill the coconut milk can)
• 2 cans of sugar (ie enough sugar to fill the coconut milk can twice)

Optional Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 pandan leaves (available from Chinese grocery stores)

Instructions

These are the full instructions and will include the use of all the optional ingredients.

1. In a large casserole pot, caramalise the 2 tablespoons sugar.
2. Once the sugar is caramalised, turn off the heat and allow to cool.
3. As the caramalised sugar is cooling, beat the 1 can of eggs lightly until well combined but not frothy.
4. Strain the beaten egg into a large bowl, don’t skip this step or you’ll end up with lumpy Kayang! (see below)
5. Add the rest of the ingredients to the large bowl and mix, that is:
   • 1 can coconut milk
   • 2 cans sugar
   • 1 tablespoon salt
   • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
   • 2 pandan leaves
6. Add the mixture from the large bowl to the large casserole pot with the cooled caramalised sugar
7. Put the large casserole pot over low heat and cook the mixture with continuous stirring for about 30 mintues, or until cooked. You’ll know that it’s cooked because the consistency will turn to honey.

Tips and Hints

The amounts of each main ingredients is not so important, it’s more important that the ratio of ingredients are maintained, which is 1:1:2 (milk:egg:sugar).

This is a rather easy recipe, but the trick to making great Kayang lies in the ability to avoid lumpiness. Kayang becomes lumpy when the egg in the recipe is instantly cooked. You need a lot of patience with this recipe if you want to end up with a good batch. Here’s some important tips and hints for smooth kayang:

• Don’t skip the straining of the beaten eggs
• Don’t be tempted to use medium or high heat to speed up the cooking process
• Don’t add the mixture in the large bowl to warm or hot caramalised sugar, this will instantly cook the egg and give you lumpy Kayang