Coconut Kaya
Move over, strawberry, blueberry, and currant. Step aside, grape. Enter: Coconut jam, a Malaysian specialty that will turn every meal of your day—including breakfast, dinner, and dessert—on its head. Azalina Eusope, a fifth-generation street vendor from Malaysia, makes Coconut Kaya, a jam with the rich texture of peanut butter that comes in two flavors: classic coconut and Pandan Leaf. The classic is good for both savory and sweet applications; the pandan leaf, lighter and grassier, lends itself better to the sweet side of things.
Made by cooking down coconut milk for fifteen hours until it thickens and caramelizes, the jam takes on a nutty flavor that's surprisingly versatile. In Malaysia, Eusope grew up spreading it on toast and using that to sop up soy sauce-doused soft-boiled eggs, a combination that makes a morning yogurt look particularly uninspired. (Speaking of yogurt, swirl in a dollop if the spirit moves you.) Whisk some into a marinade for meat or fish, or into pasta sauce, for a subtle nutty undertone, or use to fill crepes, or drizzle on ice cream. Or just dip a teaspoon in, and have a snack.
Azalina's Malaysian Style Coconut "Kaya" Jam, $9.50 at hungryglobetrotter.com
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