Kaya Toast Breakfast Set
The Singapore kopitiam breakfast: crisp kaya toast with butter, soft-boiled eggs with soy sauce and white pepper, and sweet milky coffee. Includes homemade pandan kaya.
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total
- 1 h
- serves
- 2
- level
- easy
The kaya toast set is the standard breakfast at Singapore kopitiams (coffee shops). It has three parts: toast sandwiched with kaya and cold butter, two soft-boiled eggs cracked into a saucer with dark soy sauce and white pepper, and a cup of strong, sweet coffee (kopi). Hainanese immigrants ran many of the early coffee shops, and kaya toast is closely associated with them.
Kaya is a jam of eggs, coconut milk, sugar and pandan leaf, cooked gently over a water bath until thick. The risk is scrambling the eggs, so keep the heat low, stir constantly and be patient. A single batch makes more than you need, and what is left keeps for a week in the fridge. Use thin, crisply toasted bread and cold butter that stays in a slab.
Kaya Toast Breakfast Set is one of the best breakfasts from around the world.
method
Make the kaya: whisk the 4 eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl until smooth, then stir in the coconut milk, salt and the knotted pandan leaves. Set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (the bowl must not touch the water).
Cook for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula and scraping the sides, until the mixture thickens to a thick custard that coats the back of a spoon (about 80°C / 175°F). Lower the heat if you see any lumps.
Remove the pandan and strain the kaya if lumpy. It will firm up as it cools. Spoon it into a clean jar, let it cool and chill.
Soft-boil the eggs: bring a pot of water to a boil, turn off the heat, lower the 4 room-temperature eggs in with a spoon, cover and leave for 6 minutes. Crack them into two shallow bowls (two per bowl), splash with dark soy sauce and sprinkle with white pepper.
Toast the bread under the broiler or in a toaster until deep golden and crisp on both sides. Spread 2 tablespoons of kaya on half the slices, lay slabs of cold butter on top, cover with the other slices, trim the crusts if you like and cut in half.
Stir the condensed milk into the hot coffee. Serve the toast, eggs and coffee together, and dip the toast into the eggs.
chef's tips
- The kaya must stay on low heat. If it starts to separate or scramble, take it off the heat and whisk hard.
- Pandan extract (1/2 teaspoon) can replace the leaves, but the leaves give a cleaner flavor and the green color.
- The soft-boiled eggs have runny yolks and wet whites. They are not recommended for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system.
- Kaya keeps up to a week refrigerated. It is also good on pancakes and steamed buns.