This post is a tribute to my recently departed home in LA. I first ate Kaya toast at Susan Feniger's now-shuttered restaurant Street, which served street food from around the world. Despite its Indonesian origins, I think the dish is a perfect representation of Los Angeles - a brightly colored mess of divergent flavors and textures, living in harmony under a golden sun. The dish is sweet, salty, a little weird, and utterly different than anything else in the world. This is late-night stoner food at its best.
My friend Breana put it best. "It's the last bite, the bite you look forward to when you're eating pancakes and sausage, that last bite where you scoop up all the syrup with some sausage and it's sweet and salty and amazing. Except every bite is the last bite."
Kaya toast takes a little time, so you may want to make the coconut jam in advance and then toast the bread and cook the eggs when you're ready to eat, whether it be Sunday morning or late, late Saturday night.
Kaya Toast
Yield: 4
Cook Time: 40 min Prep Time: 30 min Total Time: 1 hour 10 min
Ingredients
8 oz / 235 mL coconut milk
1 cup / 200 g plus 2 Tbs sugar, divided
salt
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/4 c / 60 mL soy sauce
8 slices bread
4 eggs
2 Tbs butter
Cilantro or salad greens (optional garnish)
In a small saucepan, combine coconut milk and 1/2 cup sugar, plus a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
While cooling, in a small saucepan, bring soy sauce and 2 Tbs sugar to a boil. Reduce for about 5 minutes, then pour into a small bowl.
In a stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Whisk in the coconut mixture.
Place the stainless steel bowl over a medium pot of lightly simmering water. Whisk the mixture until it forms a custard, stirring constantly. After about 15 minutes the mixture will thicken into a creamy, spreadable consistency. The mixture should hold its shape when you drag the spatula through it.
Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl, pushing through with the rubber spatula to remove any curdled egg. Cover and refrigerate until needed. You can do this step in advance. The jam will keep for 1 week, refrigerated.
Toast the bread.
While bread is toasting, fry the last 4 eggs for a sunny side up, runny yolk.
Butter the toast. Spread about 2 tablespoons coconut jam on a piece of bread, then top with another piece. Cut in halves.
To serve, plate a fried egg with 2 sandwich halves, then drizzle some of the soy sauce mixture over the egg. Serve extra soy on the side and add a touch of cilantro or a handful of greens for color.
