The Exotic Qua Tao

When my mother was a child, living in a small village in Vietnam, her aunt returned from travels west carrying a single red apple. The family, from the eldest to the smallest child, gathered as her aunt unwrapped tissue paper to reveal the first apple (qua tao in Vietnamese) any of them had ever seen. Her grandmother received the honor of cutting this exotic and extravagant fruit into 32 slices. Then everyone feasted in silence, savoring as slowly as possible.

Immigrating to the U.S. years later with my sister and me in tow, my mother arrived at a house with three apple trees in the backyard. To this day she confesses that their laden branches, first sighted during October’s splendor, sealed her decision to settle. After sending photographs of the windfall to her family as evidence of American prosperity, she quickly set about learning the art of cooking apples.

My mother absorbed much of her English from reading recipes, and a thin volume on apples borrowed repeatedly from our local library provided her with years of lessons. Early every autumn, she took a week’s vacation to prepare apple jelly, cider, vinegar, butter, dumplings, cakes, pies and countless other apple concoctions.

Apples boiled into jelly on the stove, while in the oven another bushel melted into sauce. In the corner of our living room, a dehydrator hummed day through night. As my mother packed her annual shipments of clothing and medicine for relatives in Vietnam, she lined the boxes with bags upon bags of sweet, chewy apple slices. She reveled in having, finally, too much of a good thing.

We still joke about the apple wheat muffins that defined Sunday morning and the pork chops with apples that sneaked up on us every Wednesday night. Although we obediently ate everything our mother prepared, my sister and I much preferred to eat our fruit crisp off the trees, our greed tempered only occasionally by worms or stomach aches.

We discovered that unripe apples could taste like green mangoes, especially if dipped in that syrupy mix of fish sauce, sugar and black pepper that flavors popular Vietnamese snacks. Long before star fruit or cilantro appeared in nearby grocery stores, we arranged slivers of green apple next to lettuce leaves, cucumber and mint to wrap with our spring rolls.

Each tree bore a unique kind of apple. We never traced their botanic lineage but gave them such ignoble names as “the corner tree” or “the old tree” or “the green tree.” But with time, we learned and accepted their attributes like old friends.

My own favorite offered green-gold apples with an enduring tartness, their flesh so fine-textured and juicy it shone translucent with every bite. This tree also happened to be the one closest to the house, a definite advantage when snack pangs hit.

We left the fruit on the other two trees for my mother to gather and cook. From the corner tree came red- and green-streaked apples destined for pies, cobblers and jellies. The gnarled tree by the garden provided deep red apples with russeted shoulders and a creamy texture perfect for applesauce. Its fruit dropped easily, covering the ground beneath the tree like fragrant cobblestones.

Next to the polished beauties in the supermarket, the apples from our trees looked sadly small and misshapen. My mother used to reassure us that worms know good fruit, and that scabs on apples, just like scabs on people, mean a life full of flavor. Now, like some culinary curmudgeon, I look askance at fancy store-dressed fruit and rove the farmers’ markets hoping to find my old friends, flaws and all.

Twenty-five years and many moves later, my family still remembers the apple trees that first welcomed us to our home in America. One week before my sister married, she received a stack of recipe cards. Along with her favorite pork and cabbage soup and shrimp fried rice, she found a chocolate cake recorded in our mother’s familiar script. Its secret ingredient?

Applesauce, of course.

Baked Applesauce

Active Work Time: 15 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 1 hour

Baking the apples with a touch of butter creates a comforting applesauce with richer flavor and thicker texture than simmered sauces. Select red apples for a delicate, rosy hue. You can peel the apples before cooking, if desired. Crush with a potato masher for a chunky texture or puree for a smooth texture.

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup water

2 pounds tart cooking apples (especially Empire, McIntosh, Gravenstein or Newtown Pippin), cored and thinly sliced

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

* Combine lemon juice with water in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add apples to lemon water as you slice them to prevent browning. Sprinkle apples with sugar and dot with butter.

* Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees, stirring occasionally, until apples are very soft, 30 to 40 minutes.

* Cool slightly, then pass apples through a food mill. Adjust flavor depending on sweetness of apples, adding sugar or lemon juice to taste.

About 2 cups, or 4 servings. Each serving: 229 calories; 59 mg sodium; 16 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 1.20 grams fiber.

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Active Work Time: 15 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes plus 15 minutes cooling

This is the perfect snack cake with a glass of milk for an afternoon break. If you’re using homemade applesauce that is very thick, thin it with a little water before measuring it.

2 cups flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups applesauce

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Butter, for greasing

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

* Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into large bowl.

* In another bowl, whisk together applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until blended. Make a well in dry ingredients. Pour in applesauce mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spread batter into greased 13x9-inch pan and smooth top. Sprinkle evenly with walnuts and chocolate chips.

* Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

15 servings. Each serving: 258 calories; 90 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.72 gram fiber.

Apple and Coconut Soup

Active Work Time: 15 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Vegetarian

This fragrant soup is adapted from a recipe in “Nicole Routhier’s Fruit Cookbook” (Workman, 1996). It can be chilled and served as a refreshing first course.

3 Pippin or Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups finely chopped onions

4 kaffir lime leaves plus more for garnish or grated zest of 2 limes

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk, stirred until smooth

1 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

* Slice apples and toss with lime juice to prevent browning.

* Melt butter in large soup pot, add onions and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.

* Stir in apples and lime leaves (or half of lime zest). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit has softened, about 5 minutes.

* Add broth, coconut milk and water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until apples are completely mushy and broth is infused with lime flavor, about 10 minutes. Remove lime leaves and reserve.

* Puree soup in blender or food processor until smooth. If needed, return soup to pot and reheat. Season to taste with sugar, salt and pepper. Garnish with lime leaves or remaining lime zest.

4 servings. Each serving: 258 calories; 625 mg sodium; 16 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 1.92 gram fiber.

Braised Pork Chops

Active Work Time: 25 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 50 minutes

Serve these sweet, succulent pork chops with sauteed Swiss chard, rice cooked with slivered almonds and a simple green salad.

4 pork loin chops, 1-inch thick (preferably bone-in, center-cut)

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 firm apples (such as Jonathan, Rome Beauty or Granny Smith), cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated ginger root

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup dry apple cider or fresh apple juice

2 tablespoons butter

* Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat until hot. Sear pork chops until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove chops and set aside on plate.

* Reduce heat to medium. Add apples and saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger. Return chops to skillet, pushing apple slices to edge of pan or arranging them over meat. Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and cook chops until nicely browned on bottom side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn chops and stir apples. Cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until meat is faintly pink near bone. Remove chops to plate and cover.

* Increase heat to high and add stock, apple cider and butter. Cook sauce, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle sauce and apples over pork chops and serve immediately.

4 servings. Each serving: 404 calories; 278 mg sodium; 75 mg cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.46 gram fiber.