Siew Loon and I will be starting a pao/bao (steamed buns) series on Nyonya Food. We are kicking it off with a kaya recipe (Nyonya coconut and egg jam), and then follow with kaya pao/bao (kaya steamed buns), and a couple more scrumptious bao recipes. Whenever I am home in Penang, I love ordering various types of puffy and pillowy steamed buns from coffee shops. It’s wonderful that we have Siew Loon, who is a master in kuih and such preparations to share her wonderful recipes with us.
Contributor: Ho Siew Loon
For the past two weeks I have been trying my hands on making pao/bao (steamed buns) with different types of fillings. Kaya—Nyonya coconut and egg jam—filling is one of my favorites. I decided to make my own Kaya as the store-bought kaya has a thin consistency which I can’t use it for my pao/bao filling. And of course it is always healthier to make our very own Kaya without any preservatives and less sugar…
Kaya is actually from a Malay word which means “rich” based on it’s rich golden brown color. It is a coconut jam made from coconut milk, duck eggs or chicken eggs flavored with pandan leaves and sweetened with sugar. It is widely eaten in Southeast Asia either as a spread on a piece of toast, topping for Nyonya kuih or as fillings for steamed buns (bao) and baked buns.
(Click Page 2 for Kaya/Nyonya Coconut and Egg Jam Recipe)