Singapore Kaya Toast with Runny Soft-Boiled Eggs

⏱ 45 min · Serves 2

The ultimate kopitiam breakfast: crisp-toasted white bread slathered with silky homemade coconut-pandan jam and cold slabs of butter, served with warm jammy eggs splashed with dark soy and white pepper. Sweet, salty, savoury — pure comfort in ten bites.

Per serving: 595 kcal · 16.5g protein · 66.0g carbs · 30.0g fat

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs (1 for the kaya, 2 for serving)
• 100ml full-fat coconut milk
• 70g caster sugar
• 1 pandan leaf, knotted (or 1/4 tsp pandan extract)
• Pinch of salt
• 4 slices soft white bread
• 30g cold salted butter, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• Pinch of ground white pepper

Method

1. Make the kaya: whisk 1 egg, the coconut milk and sugar together until smooth, then strain into a small heatproof bowl. Add the pandan knot and a pinch of salt.
2. Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir constantly with a spatula for 15–20 minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Don't rush it or it will scramble. Discard the pandan and cool slightly (it thickens further as it cools).
3. Soft-boil the eggs: bring a small pan of water to a boil, lower in the 2 remaining eggs and cook 6 minutes for a just-set white and molten yolk. Plunge into cold water for 1 minute, then keep somewhere warm.
4. Toast the bread until deeply golden and crisp on both sides — a hot dry frying pan or grill gives the best kopitiam char. Trim the crusts if you're feeling authentic.
5. Spread two slices generously with kaya, lay thin slices of cold butter over the top, sandwich with the remaining toast and cut into fingers.
6. Crack the eggs into two small bowls, splash with dark soy and dust with white pepper. Dip the toast fingers straight into the egg and eat immediately.