This being the month of Christmas, a holiday celebrated among 160 of the 195 countries that make up this planet, I’ve decided to do a monthly installment of how different countries around the world celebrate this special holiday in their kitchens and feature their signature holiday meals. Some may be sides, some may be mains, maybe a dessert or two, some may be a complete dinner. Only time will tell by which country my girls have randomly pulled out of Santa’s hat.
I know what you’re thinking…"isn’t China a secular country that doesn’t shy away from persecuting religious people?” Yes, China has long been associated with horrible crimes against humans. So celebrating Christmas in China is clearly just of the commercial variety...and why not? They use slave labor for everything, including plastic junk that stupid Americans incessantly buy every year...because, hooray capitalism!😕
Anyway, the tradition in China is to give a decorated apple to your loved ones on Christmas Eve. Since you can't eat a painted or glitter-bombed apple, I decided to make a Chinese Five-Spice Apple Pie instead. It was tasty and my only regret is that my crimped pie crust edge would have stayed aloft instead of falling flat...oh and that my wife hadn’t dropped a tomato on it before I even took a photo of it. If you’re wondering why this post seems extra cranky today, it’s because I got caught behind an early school bus in my neighborhood which made us miss my daughter’s bus. So, I had to drive her to school and the traffic around there is insane because suburbanites don’t know how to drive. Guess I'll have a slice of leftover pie for my troubles!
Chinese Five-Spice Apple Pie
Crust
2.5 cups AP flour (plus more for rolling)
2 tbsp sugar (plus more for sprinkling the top crust)
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, chilled in the fridge
12 tbsp butter chilled in the fridge
Ice water
Cling wrap
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Filling
5 lbs golden delicious apples
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp butter
1 packed cup brown sugar
2 tbsp AP flour
1.24 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
Prepare the crust by placing the first 3 ingredients into a food processor, mix briefly to combine. Cut the shortening into half-inch pieces and throw into the processor and blend for 12 seconds. Cut the butter into quarter-inch pieces and throw into the blender. Pulse until the mixture turns crumbly (you may need to use a rubber spatula to push down dough from the walls of the processor bowl).
Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Sprinkle on 6 tbsp of ice water and mix together with a spatula. If not coming together, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water, one-at-a-time. After mixing in the additional tablespoon of water, press the dough together with your hands to see if the dough is just moist enough that it can form a smooth mass. You will still see butter and shortening pieces in the dough, that is a good sight.
Separate the dough into two separate balls with a roughly 60/40 ratio as you’ll want the larger portion for the bottom crust. Form each dough portion into a 4-6 inch disk and place each one individually onto a large piece of cling wrap. Wrap them up and place them in the fridge. Chill at least an hour or up to a day.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling by peeling, quartering and coring the apples. Then, slice them ¼-inch thick. Place the sliced apples into a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice with a pinch of salt.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Pour in the apples and any juices from the bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and cook for about 15 minutes until just softening, stirring every 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and return the cooked apples to the bowl. Reduce the liquid in the pot for about another 8-10 minutes until syrupy.
Meanwhile, place a baking sheet on the lower-third rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the 2 tbsp of flour and Chinese five-spice together in a small bowl and reserve.
When the liquid has reduced, pour it over the cooked apples and allow to cool to room temperature. Then, sprinkle the flour/spice mixture on top of the apples and stir to combine until no more traces of dry flour can be seen.
When ready to bake the pie, take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes prior to rolling. Meanwhile, prepare your work surface and rolling pin by dusting it with flour.
Place the larger dough portion onto the prepared work surface and roll it out into an approximate 12-inch round. You may need to add flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Loosely roll the dough onto your rolling pin and place into a pie dish. Lifting the edges up, carefully press the dough down into the dish. Leave the overhanging dough. Pour the apples into the dough-lined pie plate.
Roll out the second dough disk into an approximate 10-inch round. Loosely roll it on your rolling pin and roll out on top of the pie filling. Press the dough pieces together and remove any dough excess that is over an inch long.
Lift and tuck the excess dough, folding it underneath itself. Using your index fingers, spaced about an inch apart, crimp the dough in a zig-zag fashion. Slice four 2-inch long vents into the dough. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg white and sprinkle about a half tablespoon of sugar over the surface.
Place the pie dish onto the preheated sheet pan in the oven. Bake for an hour until the crust begins to brown. Place the cooked pie on a cooling rack and let it cool for about 4 hours.
Slice and serve with either whipped cream or ice cream.
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Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.