Coconut jam (Filipino: matamís sa báo, matamís na báo; Indonesian: seri kaya,
srikaya; Malaysian: kaya, Vietnamese: ca dé) is a jam made from a base of coconut milk, eggs and
sugar. It is popular in Southeast Asia, mainly in Brunei, Indonesia (especially in Palembang),
Malaysia (especially in Malacca where it is originated), the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Contents
1History
2Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
3Philippines
4Thailand
5See also
6References
7External links
History[edit]
The origin of Kaya Jam is unclear, but it is believed to have been brought over from Portugal during
the occupation of Malacca in the 15th century. The cuisine is claimed to have been invented by
Portuguese descendants of Melaka. The current coconut jam served in southeast Asia, is highly
similar to the Portuguese traditional cuisine, Doce De Ovos (Sweet egg cream).[1]
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore[edit]
A close-up of Kaya showing texture
The word for coconut jam in the Malay language, kaya, means rich, referencing the texture of the
popular food. For Malaysians, Indonesians and Singaporeans, kaya,[3] also called srikaya (coconut
egg jam), is a sweet creamy coconut spread made from coconut milk (locally known as santan)
and duck or chicken eggs (which are flavored with pandan leaf 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 of the sugar. As a popular local spread, kaya is typically spread on toast to
make kaya toast and eaten in the morning,[4] but is also enjoyed throughout the day. Kaya can be
found in most kopitiam and night markets.
Different varieties available include the nyonya 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 Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, kaya is also used as a topping for several desserts
including pulut taitai or pulut tekan, a dessert of sweet glutinous rice 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 glutinous rice to make kuih seri kaya.
Philippines[edit]
See also: Kalamay
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 (treacle). It also does not use eggs and
thus is more like syrup rather than custard. It is often eaten on toast or pandesal or used as a filling
for pan de coco. When it is mixed with ground glutinous rice paste, it becomes a popular dessert
known as kalamay.[5]
A less viscous version made with coconut milk (gata) is known as latik (anglicized as "coconut
caramel"), and is used in place of syrup in numerous native Filipino desserts.[6][7]
