Singaporean Kaya Toast with Savory Half Boiled Eggs
Let’s make Singapore’s favorite breakfast: Kaya Toast with Savory Half Boiled Eggs. Think crispy toasted bread layered with sweet coconut-pandan kaya jam and a thick slab of cold butter, dipped into a soft, runny eggs with soy sauce and pepper. It’s a savory-sweet breakfast combination that’s comforting, nostalgic, and so easy to recreate at home. This is the same classic set you’ll find in kopitiams that’s takes only 10 minutes to make right in your own kitchen!
Singapore’s Favorite Breakfast: Kaya Toast and Eggs
Earlier this month, I visited Singapore and became really obsessed with their classic breakfast: Kaya Toast and runny eggs. Kaya jam and cold butter between toasty bread dipped into jammy, savory, peppery eggs is the perfect balance of sweet and savory. It’s usually a breakfast favorite, but you can really enjoy this any time of the day. Of course, it’s usually paired with a cup of tea or coffee, so I have my favorite matcha latte.
I really want to recreate this popular coffee shop set at home, since Dom’s never had it before. I’m really glad that I grabbed a jar of Kaya jam before I left, because this breakfast has changed Dom’s life. Enjoying this in my own kitchen brings back such good memories of being in Singapore!
Ingredients For Kaya Toast
- 4 large eggs
- 4 slices bread
- 3 tablespoons kaya jam
- 4 tablespoons cold butter thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce or to taste
- ½-1 tsp ground white pepper or to taste
Kaya Jam
If you’ve never tried kaya jam before, it’s a silky, custard-like spread made from coconut milk, eggs, sugar, and pandan leaves. Sweet, fragrant, and so comforting, it’s the star of kaya toast. I brought back a jar of the famous Ya Kun Kaya Jam from Singapore last week. Opening it instantly takes me back to the kopitiam, or coffee shops.
At home, I love layering it thick on warm toast so the vanilla-like pandan fragrance blooms. In coffee shops, they spread it fast and thin for consistency, but making it myself means I can be generous as I like.
Cold Butter
One of the best textures of Kaya toast is that layer of cold butter. When I make kaya toast at home, I always use firm, super cold unsalted butter. Cut into thin slices, the butter keeps its shape instead of melting right away. This actually also keeps the toast crisp. I love that contrast of warm toast, cold butter, sweet jam. The chilled butter slowly in your mouth as you chew, turning the flavor into a creamy bite.
Soft-boiled Eggs
These soft-boiled eggs are what make kaya toast feel like a full breakfast. I cook mine for about six minutes, then slip them straight into an ice bath so the whites stay tender and the yolks turn runny and golden. When I crack them into a small dish, they’re jiggly and silky, almost like a warm custard sauce.
I season them simply with soy sauce for saltiness and a little white pepper for warmth, which makes the eggs taste complete on their own. When you dip your Kaya toast into the eggs, the savory flavor balances the sweetness of the kaya and the richness of the butter. It really keeps you going for more!
How To Make Kaya Toast
- Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the eggs and cook for 6–7 minutes for soft-boiled with runny yolks.
- Transfer the eggs immediately into an ice bath (or a bowl of cold water) to stop the cooking. Let them cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread until golden brown.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of kaya jam evenly on each slice of bread.
- Take cold butter straight from the fridge and slice it into thin slabs, about 2–3 mm thick (a little less than ⅛ inch). Lay the butter directly on top of the kaya jam on two slices of bread, then close each sandwich with the remaining bread. Cut each sandwich in half.
- Crack 2 soft-boiled eggs into each small bowl. Add a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkle of white pepper. Stir gently and enjoy the eggs alongside the kaya toast.
How To Enjoy Kaya Toast with Eggs
- Dip it: Stir the eggs with soy sauce and pepper, then dip your toast right in so the kaya and butter get coated in the silky egg.
- Slurp and bite: Eat the eggs with a spoon, almost like a warm custard, and take turns with bites of toast.
- Soak it: Tear the toast into pieces, drop them in the eggs, and scoop everything up together.
- Keep it separate: Eat the toast first for its crisp bite, then enjoy the eggs on their own.
Other South East Asian Recipes You Might Love
Singaporean Kaya Toast with Savory Half Boiled Eggs
By Tiffy Cooks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 4 slices bread
- 3 tablespoons kaya jam
- 4 tablespoons cold butter thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce or to taste
- ½-1 tsp ground white pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the eggs and cook for 6–7 minutes for soft-boiled with runny yolks.
- Transfer the eggs immediately into an ice bath (or a bowl of cold water) to stop the cooking. Let them cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread until golden brown.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of kaya jam evenly on each slice of bread.
- Take cold butter straight from the fridge and slice it into thin slabs, about 2–3 mm thick (a little less than ⅛ inch). Lay the butter directly on top of the kaya jam on two slices of bread, then close each sandwich with the remaining bread. Cut each sandwich in half.
- Crack 2 soft-boiled eggs into each small bowl. Add a dash of soy sauce and a sprinkle of white pepper. Stir gently and enjoy the eggs alongside the kaya toast.
