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mole poblano


Vikram

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Some expert advice needed. I've just returned (to India) from LA where I went quietly mad in Grand Central Market buying anchos, serranos and all those other types of chillies, so different from Indian chillies and which we never see here. And at one of the stands I saw these bowls of brown sauce which I was told was freshly made sauce for mole poblano (or is the sauce called mole poblano, and is so what's the whole dish that's made with it using chicken called?).

Naturally I bought some and it survived the return journey reasonably well. It tastes great - sweet and spicy and a bitter-rich chocolate taste coming through. So I've been looking for recipes on the Net on how to use it, and I've become a bit confused. None of the recipes, naturally, is catering for lazy cooks who get in the sauce readymade, but even if one adapts accordingly, I'm still confused on how to prepare the chicken. Some recipes say boil, some say fry - what's the best way to do?

Any guidance will be gratefully received and even though this is egullet, please don't tell me I have to make the sauce from fresh. Next time, I promise, this time I just want to use the stuff I bought in LA,

Vikram

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I usually boil the chicken.

For a couple breasts I also throw in a couple cloves of garlic and a tablespoon-ish palm full of mexican oregano. Sometimes a half of a white onion if one is on hand.

If I have leftover broth laying around I will sometimes substitute 1/2 of that for 1/2 the water.

Shred the chicken when done and add to your warmed through sauce. Use the reserved cooking liquid to thin your mole if necessary.

I also frequently use leftover baked chicken for this same application.

As long as you are not using overcooked chicken you should be fine.

edit: spelling

Edited by sladeums (log)

...I thought I had an appetite for destruction but all I wanted was a club sandwich.

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You can also roast pieces and serve whole, with the mole poured over, sprinkled with sesame seeds and some white rice and black beans on the side - this is the plated version...

Good point! Toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top of the plated dish adds a really nice texture and flavor. And as Sandra mentioned, rice and beans are a traditional and apt accompaniment.

I've made turkey mole and basically poached a turkey breast in water with some aromatics (onions, celery, etc). It is good not to overcook; the poultry will also get reheated in the sauce prior to serving.

(If you ever do have the ingredients on hand :smile: , it is well worth making from scratch; out of any non-Indian dish, it is probably the one that most reminds me of Indian food with the incredible layers of balanced yet intriguing spice flavors. The interesting things with these dried mexican chiles is that there are overtones of fruit in the taste).

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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In Mexico, mole is traditionally made with poached turkey breast, and now most commonly with chicken - breast to be fancy, and if you can afford it - otherwise, the whole chicken. Mole is the 'Spanishizing' of the Nahuatl (Aztec/Mexica) word 'molli' which translates roughly as 'sauce.' For example, 'guacamole', that much beloved shimmery green dip made from avocados, translates into avocado sauce 'ahuacatl' + 'molli'. But historically, and certainly since the Conquest, moles of all types have been most closely associated with turkey or chicken - so much so that your question as to whether 'mole' refers only to the sauce or to the whole thing, is a very apt one.

The chicken is put in water to cover with a clove of garlic, a slice of white onion, maybe a piece of carrot, a sprig of mint, and sometimes a little Mx oregano (Lippia graveolens or L. mexicana). The breast is retrieved and served whole, or sliced on the diagonal and fanned across the plate, the sauce being ladled over it.

It is really the chicken broth that is useful: it is the universal medium for thinning a mole paste to thin it to sauce consistency. Everyone has chicken broth hanging around most any hour of the day.

That being said, I always buy mole pastes in the markets there and bring them back with me. That way I can pick up a rotisserie chicken (no bbq flavor, please!) on the way home, dilute the appropriate amount of paste into chicken broth (ok, in a rush I'll use Swanson's!) cook it down a bit, thin it, and then pour it over the sliced roasted chicken. It's very good, and it's quick.

Once you've made mole a few times, you are in a much better position to evaluate the quality of any prepackaged mole pastes you might want to buy. In the States it's hard to find good ones - in Mexico there are areas where you wonder why anyone usese anything but the pastes sold in the markets. They are that good.

Theabroma

Edited by theabroma (log)

Sharon Peters aka "theabroma"

The lunatics have overtaken the asylum

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Once you've made mole a few times, you are in a much better position to evaluate the quality of any prepackaged mole pastes you might want to buy. In the States it's hard to find good ones - in Mexico there are areas where you wonder why anyone usese anything but the pastes sold in the markets. They are that good.

Theabroma

Thanks for all your guidance and extra tips Theabroma. How wonderful to be able to buy great pre-made moles.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Just to throw in a couple of comments.

(1) Mole is not just one thing, as many of you know. There are all kinds of moles, thick spicy sauces, and the taste and color depends of the particular ingredients.

(2) The mole pretty much stands alone. When made it is a thick, thick paste that survives without refrigeration for at least a week or two.

(3) Because of this, you don't cook the chicken, turkey or vegetables (romeritos and dried shrimp tortitas in mole is a traditional Christmas dish) in mole. They would burn.

(4) The poaching liquid is used to dilute the thick mole paste.

(5) People in Mexico often (as Theobroma says) buy prepared mole. The grocery stores have them in huge plastic buckets and in more or less good canned varieties. And every town has a street vendor who is known for her mole paste. If you do make it yourself, it's just for big celebrations.

Turns out it was five comments,

Cheers,

Rachel

Rachel Caroline Laudan

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I am imagining, smoky, earthy, chocolatey, and spicy.. is that right?

Some don't include chocolate, but the most-famous ones do, and I'd say your description is perfect.

But, do remember that the chocolate flavor isn't overwhelming. And its definitely not sweet. So imagine "smokey, earthy, spicy" with some plain cocoa powder. Not sweet at all.

Mole is one of the greatest dishes in the world.

And, although this is likely no help to those of you that live in such locations as India, my method for acquiring fabulous mole is to be nice to somebody that makes it (Memesuze).

And when I asked her how to best plate the mole she so graciously had given me, she said, "I don't know really. I usually just put a little chicken on a fresh hot corn tortilla and ladle the mole on and fold it up and eat it while standing over the sink watching the juices drip."

Which is just exactly what I did.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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thank you, ma'am - mole-making is a glorious enterprise. My only forays have been with the queen of moles: mole negro. The first time, using Zarela Martinez's recipe, took one long session of about 5 or 6 hours of processing and cooking. Now, knowing what the techniques are, and how to divide up the stages, it takes only about 3 or 4 hours to produce a huge batch for gifts and my freezer. I highly recommend Zarela's recipe for the negro, and don't doubt that any of the other types [7 in all, I think] she prepares would be outstanding. I used The Food and Life of Oaxaca, but her Food from my Heart has similar recipes. There's chiles [i found some chilhuacle negros once and used them in my last batch], dried fruits, nuts and seeds, sherry, chocolate, roasted onions and garlic and tomatoes and I can't remember what else. I encourage you to take it on, especially in a cool month when you don't mind standing at the stove....

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This is probably my favorite mole, manchamanteles. It's a mole with fruit, and so a little sweeter than some. I think it's more accessble than most, especially the mole poblano, which I think is the worst one to be your first mole because it can have such a strong and unusual flavor. Mediocre mole poblanos have turned many people from moles for the rest of their lives.

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgmancha.html

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This is probably my favorite mole, manchamanteles. It's a mole with fruit, and so a little sweeter than some.  I think it's more accessble than most, especially the mole poblano, which I think is the worst one to be your first mole because it can have such a strong and unusual flavor.  Mediocre mole poblanos have turned many people from moles for the rest of their lives.

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgmancha.html

This sounds wonderful! Thanks for posting it. I've got to try this.

-therese

Many parts of a pine tree are edible.
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