Kaya Toast

Kaya Toast with Soft-Boiled Eggs (Singapore)

A classic Singaporean breakfast set: crisp toast slathered with coconut-pandan jam and a cold slab of butter, served with jammy soft-boiled eggs seasoned with dark soy and white pepper, alongside strong kopi.

Prep

10 min

Cook

10 min

Total

20 min

Serves

2

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •4 slices white sandwich bread, thin-sliced crustless loaves are traditional; a soft Pullman-style bread is ideal
• •60 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into a thick slab for the sandwich
• •60 g (¼ cup) kaya (coconut-egg-pandan jam), store-bought green or orange kaya is fine; homemade gives a looser set
• •2 large eggs, for soft-boiling; use the freshest eggs you can find
• •1.5 L (6 cups) water, for boiling the eggs; enough to cover them comfortably
• •1 tsp fine salt, for the boiling water
• •2 tsp dark soy sauce (老抽), for the eggs; do not substitute light soy
• •ground white pepper, ½, white pepper is traditional; black pepper is acceptable
• •2 cups (16 fl oz) strong kopi or coffee, optional, for serving

Steps

1. 1 Bring 1.5 L water and 1 tsp salt to a rolling boil in a small saucepan. Lower 2 eggs in carefully with a spoon and boil exactly 6 minutes 30 seconds for jammy yolks (6 min for runnier, 7 min for firmer). While the eggs cook, prepare an ice bath.
2. 2 Scoop the eggs out and immediately plunge them into the ice bath for 2 minutes to stop the cooking and loosen the shell. Crack all over and peel gently under cold running water. Set aside, uncut, until serving.
3. 3 Toast the 4 bread slices in a dry skillet over medium heat, in a toaster oven, or over a charcoal grill (the traditional charcoal version gives the most authentic flavor; a stovetop grill pan is the closest home substitute). Toast until deep golden and crisp on both sides.
4. 4 Lay the hot toast slices on a board. Spread kaya generously on 2 slices while still hot so the jam melts slightly into the crumb, then place a thick cold slab of butter on each of the other 2 slices. Sandwich the kaya sides against the butter sides and press down gently. Trim the crusts if you like and cut each sandwich diagonally into 2 triangles.
5. 5 Place each peeled soft-boiled egg in a small saucer or cup. Using the back of a spoon, gently crack and break the egg in half lengthwise so the yolk stays soft and runny. Drizzle 1 tsp dark soy and a pinch of white pepper over each egg.
6. 6 Serve immediately with the kaya toast triangles and a cup of strong hot kopi. Eat the egg by scooping it up with the toast, dipping it into the seasoned soy-pepper sauce.