Oaxacan Chicken Mole Recipes

PAN-FRIED MOLE CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Season chicken thighs well with ½ teaspoon salt (add more to taste), pepper, and garlic granules. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken thighs skin-side down and cook undisturbed until nicely browned, about 5-6 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, about 4-5 minutes more. Transfer to plate and set aside.
• Pour the fat oil from the pot (but keep all the brown bits). Add tomato sauce and stir until pot has been deglazed. Add mole paste and stir until dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Add broth and season with remaining salt and sugar. Stir until the mole sauce has thickened, about 5-7 more minutes. Add back in the chicken and bring to a slow simmer. Cover and allow the chicken to finish cooking through, about 15 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with rice on the side, if desired.
• You will have some mole left over. Freeze leftover mole sauce for up to three months or seven days in your freezer.

MOLE NEGRO OAXAQUENO: OAXACAN BLACK MOLE

Steps:

• In a 2 gallon stockpot, heat 5 quarts water and onions, celery, and carrots to a boil. Add chicken pieces and poach, covered, over low heat for about 35 to 45 minutes, until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Remove the meat from the stock. Strain and reserve the stock.
• Heat 2 quarts of water in a kettle. On a 10-inch dry comal, griddle, or in a cast-iron frying pan, toast the chiles over medium heat until blackened, but not burnt, about 10 minutes. Place the chiles in a large bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 1/2 hour. Remove the chiles from the soaking water with tongs, placing small batches in a blender with 1/4 cup of the chile soaking water to blend smooth. Put the chile puree through a strainer to remove the skins.
• In the same dry comal, griddle, or frying pan, grill the onion and garlic over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside. Toast the almonds, peanuts, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cloves in a dry comal, griddle or cast-iron frying pan for about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan.
• Over the same heat, toast the chile seeds, taking care to blacken but not burn them, about 20 minutes. Try to do this outside or in a well-ventilated place because the seeds will give off very strong fumes. When the seeds are completely black, light them with a match and let them burn themselves out. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl. Soak the blackened seeds in 1 cup of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and grind them in a blender for about 2 minutes. Add the blended chile seeds to the blended chile mixture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in an 8-inch cast-iron frying pan over medium heat until smoking. Add the raisins and fry them until they are plump, approximately 1 minute. Remove from the pan. Fry the bread slice in the same oil until browned, about 5 minutes, over medium heat. Remove from pan. Fry the plantain in the same oil until it is well browned, approximately 10 minutes, over medium heat. Set aside. Fry the sesame seeds, stirring constantly over low heat, adding more oil if needed. When the sesame seeds start to brown, about 5 minutes, add the pecans and brown for 2 minutes more. Remove all from the pan, let cool, and grind finely in a spice grinder. It takes a bit of time, but this is the only way to grind the seeds and nuts finely enough.
• Wipe out the frying pan and fry the tomatoes, tomatillos, thyme, and oregano over medium to high heat, allowing the juices to almost evaporate, about 15 minutes. Blend well, using 1/2 cup of reserved stock if needed to blend and set aside. Place the nuts, bread, plantains, raisins, onion, garlic and spices in the blender in small batches, and blend well, adding about 1 cup of stock to make it smooth.
• In a heavy 4-quart stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of lard or oil until smoking and fry the chile paste over medium to low heat, stirring constantly so it will not burn, approximately 20 minutes. When it is dry, add the tomato puree and fry until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the ground ingredients, including the sesame seed paste, to the pot. Stir constantly with a wooden soon until well-incorporated, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock to the mole, stir well, and allow to cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Break up the chocolate and add to the pot, stirring until it is melted and incorporated into the mixture.
• Toast the avocado leaf briefly over the flame if you have a gas range or in a dry frying pan and then add it to the pot. Slowly add more stock to the mole, as it will keep thickening as it cooks. Add enough salt to bring out the flavor. Let simmer another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not stick, adding stock as needed. The mole should not be thick; just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Place the cooked chicken pieces in the leftover stock in a saucepan and heat through.
• To serve, place a piece of chicken in a shallow bowl and ladle 3/4 of a cup of mole sauce over to cover it completely. Serve immediately with lots of hot corn tortillas.
• You can use oil instead of lard to fry the mole, but the flavor will change dramatically. In our pueblo, people traditionally use turkey instead of chicken, and sometimes add pieces of pork and beef to enhance the flavor. You can use leftover mole and chicken meat to make Enmoladas or Tamales Oazaquenos made with banana leaves.
• Inspired by Maria Taboada and Paula Martinez

COLORADITO (RED OAXACAN MOLE)

Steps:

• Put the chicken into a pan with the onion, garlic, and herbs; cover with water and add salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering until the chicken is just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove the stems, if any, from the chiles, slit them open, and remove veins and seeds.
• Toast the chiles on a hot comale for a few seconds on each side, pressing them down until the inside flesh turns an opaque, tobacco color. Rinse the chiles in cold water, cover with hot water, and set aside to soak for about 15 minutes.
• Put the tomatoes into a blender jar and blend briefly. Heat 1 tablespoon of the lard and fry the sesame seeds for a few seconds until a deep golden brown. Transfer with a slotted spoon, draining them as much as possible, to the blender jar; add the oregano, cloves and allspice and blend until smooth, adding a little more of the water in which the chiles were soaking if necessary.
• Add more lard to the pan and heat; add the onion and garlic and fry until translucent.
• Add the cinnamon pieces and fry until the onions and garlic are lightly browned.
• Transfer with a slotted spoon to the blender jar. Add the plantain and bread to the pan and fry over low heat until a deep golden color; transfer to the blender jar. Adding more chile water if necessary, blend until you have a smooth puree. Gradually add the soaked chiles with more water as necessary and blend until smooth. When all the chiles have been blended, dip a spoon into the bottom of the blender jar and take out a sample of the sauce to see if the rather tough chile skins have been blended sufficiently. If not, add a little more water, stir well, and then blend for a few seconds more.
• Heat the remaining lard in a heavy pan or saute pan, add the blended sauce and chocolate, and cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, for about 15 minutes. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and the chicken pieces, taste for salt, and cook for 15 minutes more. The sauce should be fairly thick and lightly cover the back of a wooden spoon.
• Serve with white rice and tortillas.

CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• Put the chicken and peppercorns in a large pot, cover with water and season with salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat and cook until tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large plate and set the cooking liquid aside.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing, until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish and transfer the rest to a blender. In the same skillet, toast the cloves, cinnamon stick, and anise and coriander seeds until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add to the blender.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chile peppers. Heat 4 tablespoons canola oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles and fry until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with hot water and set aside to soak until pliable, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds and tortilla pieces to the oil in the skillet and cook, stirring, until the seeds and tortillas are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add to the blender along with the oil from the skillet. Add the softened chiles and puree, pouring in 2 to 3 cups of the soaking liquid to make a thick, smooth sauce.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add 4 cups of the reserved chicken cooking liquid and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, about 20 minutes. Add the chocolate and simmer, stirring frequently, until the chocolate melts and the sauce reduces, about 20 more minutes. Add the sugar and season with salt.
• Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and warm through over low heat. Garnish with the reserved sesame seeds.
• Photgraph by Con Poulos

OAXACAN BLACK MOLE: MOLE NEGRO

Steps:

• Put the chicken into a saucepan with the garlic, onions, and mint. Add the water to cover and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan, and continue simmering until the chicken is just tender, about 35 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth. Remove the stems from the dried chiles. Slit them open, and remove seeds and veins, reserving the seeds. Toast the chiles for about 50 seconds on each side; if you're using guajillos, toast them longer, until they are almost charred, about 2 minutes.
• Rinse the chiles in cold water, cover with hot water, and leave to soak for about 30 minutes. Put the reserved chile seeds into an ungreased frying pan and toast over fairly high heat, shaking them around from time to time so that they brown evenly. Then raise the heat and char until black. Cover with cold water and set aside to soak for about 5 minutes. Strain and put into a blender jar. Add the broiled tomatoes, unpeeled, to the blender jar along with the water, cloves, allspice, thyme, marjoram, and oregano.
• Heat some of the lard in a small frying pan and fry the sesame seeds until a deep golden color, a few seconds. Strain, putting the fat back into the pan and the seeds into the blender jar, and blend as smooth as possible. Fry the rest of the ingredients, except the chiles and chocolate, 1 by 1, strain, and put into the blender jar, blending after each addition and adding water or broth, as necessary, to release the blades.
• Heat 1/4 cup of the lard in the heavy pan in which you are going to cook the mole, add the blended mixture, and fry over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan from time to time, for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put a few of the chiles and about 2 cups of the water in which they were soaking into the blender jar and blend until smooth. When you have blended all the chiles, add them to the fried ingredients together with the chocolate and cook for 5 minutes longer.
• Add about 4 cups of the chicken broth and continue cooking for 35 minutes. Skim the fat that forms on the top if you are going to make tamales or mole. It is added to color and flavor the masa. Add more broth if necessary, the mole should just coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the chicken and salt to taste; cook for 10 minutes longer.

OAXACAN RED MOLE SAUCE (MOLE COLORADITO)

Steps:

• Chicken:.
• Cook the chicken in 4 cups of water, with garlic, onion and salt on medium heat for 45 minutes. Check to make sure that the chicken is cooked through.
• Mole sauce:.
• Wash the chiles with a damp cloth, remove the stems of the chiles, slit open with a knife and remove the seeds and veins. Toast the chiles on both sides in large frying pan over high heat, making sure that they do not burn.
• Soak the chiles in boiling water to soften them for about 10 minute Meanwhile, fry the almonds in 3 tbls. of the shortening on medium heat for 5 min., or until they are a golden color.
• Take them out and set aside.
• Next fry the raisins until they puff up and the skin browns a bit, then remove and strain in a sieve. Turn the heat down a bit, and fry the sesame seeds in the same oil, adding a little salt to prevent them from jumping from pan.
• Once golden, remove and store on an absorbent paper towel. Still in the same oil, fry the slices of bread, until they are golden. Remove and put on an absorbent paper towel. On a dry pan or skittle roast the garlic, onion and tomato until they are nicely toasted with black spots.
• In a blender, grind the chiles with a half cup of water, and add more water as necessary to blend. Once the mixture is smooth, pour into a saucepan and fry with one tbsp of the shortening for 10 minute on medium heat. Stirring occasionally to ensure that it does not stick to the pan.
• Next, blend both the roasted and fried ingredients together, until smooth. Blend the tomatoes and strain through a colander and add into the chile mixture. Now add the cinnamon sick, thyme, marjoram(if using) and the oregano. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add the chicken broth, salt, sugar and chocolate on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick. Cool for 15 minutes. Pour the chicken in a serving dish, serve with rice.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH OAXACAN MOLE

Steps:

• Wash the chile, remove stem and seeds. Place in a medium bowl and cover with warm water. Let stand for 30 minutes. While chile is soaking, add the sesame seeds and spices to a large skillet and toast over moderately low heat, stirring until fragrant. Place toasted mixture in a grinder and process to a fine powder. Set aside.
• In the same skillet add in 1 tablespoon oil and warm slightly. Stir in raisins, almonds and tortilla. Cook over low heat until almonds are toasted and raisins plump. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook, turning frequently until skins are blistered on all sides. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring until lightly browned taking care not to burn the garlic. Place contents in a blender or food processor container and lightly chop.
• Add a tablespoon of oil to skillet, stir in chopped vegetables and spice mix. Cover over medium heat until warmed through. Drain the chiles and add along with chicken stock. Partially cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat, add in chocolate and process in a blender in batches or using stick blender process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet warm 2 tablespoons of oil and in batches if necessary brown chicken over high heat, turning as needed to brown all sides. Place browned chicken in oven proof dish, pour prepared mole over all. Cover and bake in preheated oven until chicken is cooked through, approximately 1 hour. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with additional sesame seeds and chopped fresh cilantro.
• Note: The mole can be prepared ahead of time and frozen in 2 cup portions. Defrost in refrigerator and warm before pouring over browned chicken. Bake chicken and mole as directed.

OAXACAN CHICKEN MOLE

Steps:

• Using 1 tsp of the chili powder, season the breasts, along with salt and pepper to taste.
• In a heavy skillet that comfortably holds both breasts, heat the oil over mediium-high heat and cook the chicken until brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side); transfer cooked chicken to a plate and add the remaining chili powder, along with the cumin and cinnamon, to the skillet and saute, stirring, for 15 seconds.
• Stir in the tomatoes and their juices along with the chocolate and simmer until the sauce thickens up, about 5 minutes.
• Add chicken, along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate, back into the skillet and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes.
• Taste sauce; add salt and pepper if desired.