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| Breakfast of Kaya jam, butter and toast with soy milk |
Toast. A staple and acceptable food for my breakfast, lunch and
dinner, and one I will be sadly giving up for Lent. It's such a simple
pleasure, and although never really the hero of the show, it is the
silent supporting act to make other food truly sing out. After reading Nigel
Slater's mesmerising words and descriptions in 'Toast', I might stop
here as no other person can give justice to toast like he can.
"It
is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you...Once the
warm, salty butter has hit your tongue, you are smitten. Putty in their
hands."
I only discovered this
little wonder of a recipe a few years ago. Whilst staying in the +852
one summer, I started noticing the emerging market for Hong Kong's love
of toast and little breakfast joints. If you think Mcdonalds in the UK
has a sensational breakie menu (my guilty pleasure of choice) then I
salute you, but it doesn't compare to HK. One major chain is simply
named "toast" and it was here I discovered Kaya. Not that hot chick off
Skins, but a coconut "jam" to best describe it. Luxuriously creamy and
mellow, it's unlike any other jam you've probably had, but as I say with
practically all other recipes, you've got to try this. Pandan leaves
are infused into the mixture which gives the kaya an added edge of
mystery and a "why-do-I-love-this-so-much" questioning after each bite.
Easy to find in Thai supermarkets, it's worth getting these when you
find them (you can freeze them till they are needed).
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| Feel free to add as much as your toast can take - it'll only make life better |
Kaya is
a spread hailing from Singapore and Malaysia, (meaning 'rich' in
Malay), where cafés will set out early in the morning to make fresh
batches. There is a quick fifteen minute recipe for this, but the longer
way gets better results not only in taste, but in satisfaction that it
has been lovingly tended to for an hour for that emotional
investment.
