“Come quickly, I have something special for you,” my Auntie Rita beckoned to me early this year. What could she be bringing from the barrio? I was in awe, it was anunas (Annona reticulata) - a sweet, heart-shaped and red-skinned fruit related to the unaba/gunaba (guyabano) and anatis (atis) which can be gleaned from the fruits’ morphology. I spent a reverent moment staring at the fruit not because it was spectacular but because it was the first time I’ve seen one in my life although I kept hearing about it for as long as I can remember.

As a child, I would listen intently to my grandmother and grandaunt when they would refer to it as one of their favourite fruits. My mother, her siblings, their cousins and most older people in our clan had fond memories eating anunas straight from the trees. Frustrated at being deprived of what I thought was such a wonderful fruit, I would often ask how it looked like and how it tasted. They would say it’s pinkish to almost red, the flesh looks like a soursop’s (guyabano in Tagalog, guanabana in Spanish - Annona muricata) but sweet without the sour taste. Oh indeed it was sweet and the flesh was creamy, unlike the fibrous soursop and much less grainy than the atis (sugar/custard apple, sweetsop - Annona squamosa). It is one of the ‘migrant fruits’ which made their way to the country through the Galleon Trade.

Due to its shape, it is called corazón in Spanish and Bullock’s heart in English. It’s interesting to find out that anunas is also known as custard apple. I grew up using the term to refer to atis, which is in turn called sugar apple. The business of naming… here we go again!
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The heartiest of appetites are brought on by rainy days - that’s what I notice. Almost anything tastes good. Freshly steamed rice with tuyo (dried salted fish, usually sardines) dipped in very spicy vinegar, bibingka, fish escabeche - all these and a lot more are perfect when the skies are pouring. At home, all sorts of soups make their appearance.

One of the most favoured is a soup made from tinapa (smoked fish) in a tomato base. Originally, it is called sabo tinapa-culut apalya but since I couldn’t find culut (culatding in Tagalog - thanks Maricel!) - the tendrils and very small leaves occuring in clumps and only emerge after harvesting the bitter gourd (ampalaya in Tagalog - Momordica charantia) - I had to settle for the regular bulung which means dahon in Tagalog and leaves in English.

If culut is used, the leaves are placed into the soup upon serving it on the table, just before eating. If regular leaves are used however, these are dropped into the pot to cook slightly. Since the leaves are still somewhat fresh when eaten, there is no bitter taste. However, if they are left to steep in the soup for a long time, the bitter taste then comes out. For many Kapampangans however, it is this taste which is sought after. We love spicy, sweet, sour and bitter in our food. And apalya is not worthy of its name if it is not bitter. In our family, much as we love this soup freshly cooked, we also like it the day after, when the taste of the leaves have flavoured the broth. Re-heated once or twice, it is a balm to the body and soul, especially on a rainy day.
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