Pollo Oaxaca 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.

OAXACAN CHILLIED CHICKEN/POLLO ENCHILADO OAXAQUENO

Steps:

• First add the 2 quarts water to a pot with half the onion, bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and the chicken pieces cover and cook for 45 minutes or until meat is tender but not falling of the bone. Set aside. I usually do this in the early afternoon right after lunch. Set aside
• About an hour before dinner time I add 1/2 the oil called for to a large skillet and heat it up some. I add the dried guajillo peppers and fry over a medium flame taking extreme care not to burn them. This is a tricky step as the chiles can burn very fast you must watch them closely and keep turning them over a very low flame or have your electric burner on medium low. Chiles should be turned until they become pliable not soft just pliable about 3 to 5 miniutes. Remove to a dish and add the one large fresh jalapeno or hot green pepper fry on all sides about 3 minutes remove and place with the dried guajillos.
• Next add the fried Guajillos, fried green pepper, half remaining onion, remaining garlic clove, vinegar, quartered tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and one cup broth. Blend in blender on high until all is liquified.
• Next strain the blended chile mixture and discard any residue. Heat the remaining oil in a large pot until shimmering add the chile mixture to the the oil and fry. Be careful it will sputter. lower the flame and stir the simmering chile taste if it needs more salt. Add cumin powder, oregano, dried avocado leaves optional, Add chicken pieces and another two large spoonfuls of chicken broth or about a 1/4 to a 1/2 of a cup. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
• Serve alongside your favorite Mexican rice side dish. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top of your chicken.
• Toasted sesame seeds: Heat a small fry pan add the sesame seeds and over a low flame toast until seeds become golden about 3 to 4 minutes sprinkle on chicken after serving. Buen appetite. PS please do not use any other fresh avocado or dried avacado leaves if you have a tree. The avocado leaves I am talking about are one kind of avocado found and grown in Mexico and that is edible. They can be bought dried and as I mentioned before sold under the brand name "El Guapo"or you can order and buy on line I believe Amazon carries them. DON'T USE ANY OTHER KIND OF AVACADO LEAVES.