Coconut jam, also known as kaya jam or simply kaya, is a sweet spread made from a base of

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

, eggs, sugar and sometimes pandan leaves as a flavouring. It is popular throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Origin

The origins of kaya are subject to various interpretations. Some sources suggest it is a Eurasian jam unique to Singapore and Malaysia, adapted from a Portuguese egg jam. Others propose that Hainanese immigrants created

kaya toast Kaya toast is a dish consisting of two slices of Toast (food), toast with butter and kaya (jam), kaya (coconut jam), commonly served alongside Kopi (drink), kopi and soft-boiled eggs. The dish was believed to be created by Hainanese immigrants to ...

by adapting what they had previously prepared while serving on British ships during the Straits Settlements period. In Thailand, a similar spread is known as sangkhaya, while in the Philippines, an eggless version called matamís sa báo is made from coconut cream and sugar. The spread's widespread popularity across these regions has led to various adaptations and flavors, making kaya a versatile and beloved component of Southeast Asian cuisine.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

The word for coconut jam in the

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

, kaya, means rich, referencing the texture of the popular food. It is also called srikaya. In Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, kaya has a creamy texture. It is made from coconut milk (locally known as 'santan') and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

or chicken eggs, flavored with pandan leaves and sweetened with sugar. The resulting color varies depending on the color of the egg yolks, the amount of pandan, and the extent of the

caramelization Caramelization (or caramelisation) is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting butter-like flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: (C24H36O18), (C36H50O25), and ...

of the sugar. As a popular local spread, kaya is typically spread on toast to make

and eaten in the morning, but is also enjoyed throughout the day. Kaya can be found in most

kopitiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese communities o ...

and night markets. Different varieties available include the

nyonya The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British, Portuguese, and Dutch colonial ports i ...

kaya, which is of a lighter-green color, and Hainanese kaya, which is of a darker brown and uses caramelized sugar, and is often further sweetened with honey. In this region, kaya is also used as a topping for several desserts including '' pulut taitai'' or ''pulut tekan'', a dessert of sweet

glutinous rice Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated plants or domesticated animals. Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts; they may also hav ...

colored blue with butterfly pea flowers (''bunga telang''), and ''pulut seri muka'', a similar dessert but colored green due to adding pandan leaves. It is also used with

to make ''

kuih ''Kuih'' ( Jawi: ; Indonesian: ; derived from the Hokkien and Teochew ''kueh'' – ) are bite-sized snack or dessert foods commonly found in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and China. It is a fairly broad term which may include items that wou ...

seri kaya''.

Philippines

Philippine coconut jam is known as matamís sa báo (also matamís na báo or minatamís na báo, among other names). The names literally mean "sweetened coconut". It is different from other Southeast Asian versions in that it uses coconut cream (''kakang gata'', the first and second press of grated coconut meat) and cane sugar extract or

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

(treacle). It also does not use eggs and thus is more like

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

rather than

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

. It is often eaten on toast or

pandesal Pandesal, also written as pan de sal (, lit. "salt bread"), is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Description ''Pandesal'' is a popular yeast-raised bread in th ...

or used as a filling for

pan de coco Pan de coco, literally "coconut bread" in Spanish, is a Filipino rich sweet roll that uses sweetened shredded coconut meat (''bukayo'') as filling. It is one of the most popular types of bread in the Philippines, usually part of the "Filipino ...

. When it is mixed with ground glutinous rice paste, it becomes a popular dessert known as

kalamay ''Kalamay'' (also spelled ''calamay'', literally "sugar") is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine, ...

A less viscous version made with

(''gata'') is known as ''

latik ''Latík'' () refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream (coconut caramel) used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to ...

'' (anglicized as "coconut caramel"), and is used in place of

in numerous native Filipino desserts.

Thailand

The kaya of Thailand is called sangkhaya (, ) in Thai. There are two major types of kaya eaten in Thailand. One type is more liquid than the other, while the less thick kaya is similar to what is eaten in Malaysia and Indonesia. People either spread it on steamed or toasted bread or dip the bread into kaya. This kind of kaya is commonly sold by street vendors but has recently been brought into tea and coffee shops. Another type is a concoction that has a less sticky and more custard-like texture. It is sometimes called "coconut custard" in English and is used to make '' sangkhaya fakthong'' (, ; ''sangkhaya maryu'' in Lao), sangkhaya

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

or custard pumpkin, '' khao niao sangkhaya'' (, ),

topped with sangkhaya, and ''sangkhaya maphrao'' (, ), sangkhaya served in a coconut.

Samoa

Coconut jam is known in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

as siamu popo. The word ''siamu'' in Samoan is loaned from English "jam" and ''popo'' refers to a mature coconut that is used for eating, usually for the extraction of coconut cream. The preparation of ''siamu popo'' doesn’t require eggs, the sugar is caramelised and coconut cream and citrus leaves are added. It has a consistency resembling a mixture of syrup and caramel. ''Siamu popo'' is often used as a spread on toast and is used in desserts, most often used as a filling for a doughnut called german bun.

References

External links

*
Famous Thai Dishes
including photos of Thai ''sangkhaya'' desserts
Not your usual kaya
with three recipes made with palm sugar, pumpkin and taro {{Thai cuisine Jams and jellies Bruneian cuisine Indonesian cuisine Malaysian cuisine Filipino cuisine Singaporean cuisine Thai cuisine Malay cuisine Southeast Asian cuisine Samoan cuisine Foods containing coconut Custard desserts Dips (food)