One of the sauces that’s long been on my To-Do list is Mexican mole sauce. It hadn’t been top of mind though until I came back from Mexico City with a couple of chocolate bars that turned out to be the key ingredient to a traditional Oaxacan mole sauce.
One of the reasons I’ve never tried to make a mole sauce is that I knew it would be long process if done the classic way. This means toasting dried peppers, grinding, stirring, some blending, then probably more stirring – with a lot of long simmers in between. Though I have to say that it’s definitely worth it. Just like making beef burgundy from scratch, it requires going the long route to get the most out of this dish.
What I made was a pretty decent version of a traditional mole poblano sauce. Oddly, it doesn’t involve any poblano peppers. When doing some research beforehand, I found that I’m not the only one confused by this. What I did use were three varieties of dried chiles: ancho, pasillo and chipotle.
The chocolate here is interesting. I mentioned that I was on a business trip in Mexico City and wanted to pick up some authentic chocolate from Oaxaca. When I got home, my wife and I immediately opened them up, and were immediately disappointed. It wasn’t anything like we expected. Gritty, oddly sweet and a little bit waxy. Later I find out that Oaxacan chocolate bars are intended for either making hot chocolate….or mole sauce. Thus, mole poblano went on the menu for that weekend.
The corn tortillas are used to thicken the sauce and give it body. This is very similar to what a cornstarch slurry does in my Crispy Lemon Tofu dish. For nuts and seeds, I used a combination of almonds and sunflower seeds. Like the chile peppers, both the almonds and the sunflower seeds need to be toasted beforehand to bring out their full flavors.
I put the pumpkin seeds, almonds and the ancho, pasillo and chipotle peppers on a silpat-lined sheet pan and toasted them under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Be super careful, you can from 0 to Burnt really fast if you’re not moving them around and watching closely. Keep a pair of tongs in one hand to turn over the peppers regularly as well.
Rather than grind the peppers in a spice grinder, I reconstitute them in hot water and use them whole in the sauce. They’ll eventually be ground up when you run the sauce through the blender. Two advantages to doing this: 1. You can remove all of the internal seeds and veins from the chiles that create the heat and 2. You can use the chili water to make stock (I use Better than Bouillon brand reduced sodium chicken base. )
This all depends on how spicy you like your food. If you want it hot, by all means leave in those little white pepper seeds and use the chili water.
A couple of areas where I deviated from the traditional preparation: Many recipes will fry the peppers in oil after toasting. I skipped that. Instead of roasting peanuts, I used peanut butter.
The classic mole poblano sauce is served with chicken, though here in my dish it’s served with tilapia. I try to get fish into as many dishes as possible since I eat plenty of chicken or turkey throughout the week. You’ve probably noticed tilapia popping up a lot here….it’s my go-to for making fish tacos and I’m regularly making a breading for tiliapia with some sort of nut….such as an almond crusted tilapia.
For plating the dish, I’ve served the mole with a mix of brown rice and wild rice. No particular reason, I just had both on hand. In the end, it actually made for a nice presentation with the wild rice mixed in. I use a Zojirushi Rice Cooker for all things rice. It’s super easy that way and it’s one less thing you have to mind on the rangetop.
When you’re ready to serve, start with the sauce. Ladle a small amount of it on the plate and give the plate a swirl so that it covers the bottom. Then add the rice, then add the fish.
I also saved a handful of the toasted sunflower seeds to garnish the dish as well.
The fish is merely lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. I didn’t want to do anything to detract from the amazing flavor of the mole sauce. I’ve left the fish part out of the recipe below though. All I did was cook it in a saute pan for 4 minutes per side after the sauce was done.
If you live in Chicago, and are curious about mole before jumping into the recipe head first, there are a lot of great restaurants to find a mole. The king of all things mole is Topolobampo. It will also leave a dent on your credit card. More casual is Mixteco in the Ravenswood neighborhood.
This makes a pretty big batch, which is great because you can save some in the freezer.
Enjoy!
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Looks perfect! Making Mole has been on my to make list forever! Who knew pb would be in the ingredients?!
I need to cook with brown rice a bit more. I am a basmati addict through and through My recent post Summer Recipes Series
"What I made was a pretty decent version of a traditional mole poblano sauce. Oddly, it doesn't involve any poblano peppers. When doing some research beforehand, I found that I'm not the only one confused by this."
Allow me to help alleviate the confusion, even if I'm some 17+ months late. :) In both contexts (chile and mole), "poblano" is an adjective which roughly translates as "of the sort found in Puebla." Puebla is a central Mexican state east and south of Mexico City. So "chiles poblanos" are a type of pepper either originating from or made popular in Puebla, and "mole poblano" is the sort of mole sauce typical of Puebla (as opposed to, say, mole oaxaqueño, the black mole from the south).
Once you understand this, you realize that it makes no more sense to be confused that mole poblano contains no poblano peppers* than it does to be confused that New York style pizza doesn't contain any New York strip. :)
You are correct, by the way, that a good mole, made the long way, is more than worth the effort. I strongly recommend the version found in Rick Bayless' "Mexico: One Plate At A Time"; the explanations, illustrations, and variations make it the best cookbook of any kind that I've ever owned.
* - But in truth, mole poblano does contain poblano peppers, since ancho chiles are nothing more than dried, aged poblanos. (Similarly, chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeño peppers; I'd further add that chipotles are not traditionally found in mole poblano, as they add both more heat and smoke than is typically called for. The more traditional mix is ancho, pasilla, and mulato.)
Eastern Mexico and southern Mexico City. Therefore, the "Chile poblanos" is a type of chili either originated or Puebla make popular
Hot pepper seeds are NOT the spicy part of the pepper!
Hmmm, you’re right. Seems that’s an untrue food myth like “searing meat seals in the juices”.