National Dish Mexico: Mole Poblano (Recipe)
In this article
Mole Poblano contains somewhere between twenty and thirty ingredients and takes most of a day. Chocolate is in there, but it is not a chocolate sauce: the chocolate is one dark note among chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and fruit, and it should not be identifiable.
About Mole Poblano
Mole poblano comes from Puebla and is Mexico’s most famous mole. Several kinds of dried chilli are toasted and soaked, nuts and seeds are fried, spices toasted, and everything is ground and then fried again in lard before being let down with stock.
The frying of the paste is the step that matters. A mole that has not been fried and reduced tastes raw and thin.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 500 g chicken breast
- 50 g pasilla chillies
- 50 g mulato chillies
- 25 g Mexican chocolate
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon aniseed
- ½ cup chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Shopping for the ingredients
Ancho, mulato and pasilla are the three chillies of a classic mole poblano, and a chipotle for smoke. Mexican chocolate, sold as Ibarra or Abuelita, is coarse and cinnamon-spiced; dark chocolate plus a pinch of cinnamon substitutes. Chicken thighs or a whole bird beat breast.
Preparing the dish
Toast the chillies in a dry pan for seconds only, until they smell fragrant but before they darken. Burnt chilli makes the whole mole bitter and there is no recovering it. Soak them in hot water for twenty minutes, then blend with some of the soaking liquid.
Step-by-step instructions
- Clean the chillies, deseed them, toast them briefly in a dry pan, then soak in hot water for about 20 minutes.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and fry in a pan with a little oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, lightly fry the diced onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cumin, oregano and aniseed and toast for a further 5 minutes.
- Transfer everything with the soaked chillies to a blender, pour in the chicken stock and blend to a smooth paste.
- Fry the paste in a little oil for 10 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and thickens.
- Let it down with more stock, add the chicken and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the Mexican chocolate until melted and the sauce coats a spoon; adjust salt.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Mole poblano is naturally gluten-free if you use corn tortillas and check the chocolate, some brands of which contain milk. Traditional recipes sometimes include a piece of bread or tortilla as thickener; use tortilla for a gluten-free version.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Mole over roasted vegetables, mushrooms or tacos de papa works well. Use vegetable stock, oil rather than lard, and a dairy-free chocolate. Mole is often eaten meat-free during Lent in Mexico.
More tips and tricks
Toast the chillies for seconds, not minutes. Fry the blended paste properly before adding stock, which is the step that turns raw ingredients into mole. And make it a day ahead: mole improves substantially overnight and most Mexican households make it in quantity.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Raisins, plantain and almonds are all traditional and add sweetness and body. Turkey rather than chicken is the older version. Mole amarillo and green mole are the other members of the family.
Ingredient substitutions
Dark chocolate with cinnamon replaces Mexican chocolate. Guajillo can stand in for one of the chillies. Almonds, peanuts and pumpkin seeds are interchangeable in the nut component.
Drink pairing ideas
A Mexican red or a smoky mezcal. Atole de chocolate is the traditional accompaniment at festivals. Horchata cuts the richness.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve the chicken with the mole poured over, sesame seeds scattered on top, arroz rojo and warm corn tortillas alongside. Mole is dark brown and looks it; do not try to make it pretty.
A bit of history
The legend has nuns in a Puebla convent inventing it for a visiting archbishop, throwing everything they had into one pot. What is certain is that mole combines pre-Columbian ingredients with those brought by the Spanish, and that it is Mexico’s festival dish. It anchors Mexican cuisine.
More recipe ideas
- Arroz Rojo
- Enchiladas de Mole Verde
- Enchiladas Rojas
- Mole Amarillo
- Pollo en Adobo
- Tacos de Pollo al Pastor
Summary: Mole Poblano
Mole poblano is chicken in a sauce of toasted chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and chocolate. Toast the chillies briefly, fry the blended paste until it darkens, and make it the day before.
