Mole Sauce
My mom loves it.
I love my mom.
I would like to treat her right Sunday by making some even though I'm an eager but inexperienced cook and was wondering if any of you have or could point me toward a good recipe, or one that possibly is a little simpler than those I find on epicurious and other sites.
Thanks in advance and happy mothers day in advance to all the chowhound mothers.
Matt L
May 05, 2004 11:44AM
Today's food section of the San Jose Mercury News ran a story about mole.
In order to read the story on the internet, you have to "register". The link will hopefully take you to today's Merc's food section, then pan down.
The article is by a woman whose grandmother made mole sauce. When the author asked her grandmother to make the sauce more often, the grandmother said it was only for special occasions. The author explains how long it takes to make mole and understood why her grandmother said "special occasions". She "shortcuts" the exercise by using a commercial product. I don't have the newspaper and am not sure of the brand of mole; Dona Marie ?
Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercur...
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What kind of mole do you want to make for her? Verde, Rojo and Amarillo aren't terribly difficult or time consuming and could be accomplished by a novice cook. Mole Negro is a long process with a multitude of steps that require a reasonable amount of cooking expertise.
If you aren't looking to make Mole Negro, I have a couple of recipes for Mole Verde and Mole Amarillo that I could share with you. These are some of the moles that are eaten on a regular, if not daily basis. Mole Negro is usually reserved for special occassions.
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My BIG suggestion to you is to NOT make it if you never have before. Mole basically means "sauce" in Spanish and there are dozens of different kinds. Oaxaca and Puebla are most known for their moles, and each region in itself has many different types - yellow, red, pipan, etc. I'm assuming you are referring to what is the best known mole in the U.S. - a deep rich red mole, made from various spices, herbs, chiles, and a bit of chocolate. The traditional recipe has over 20 ingredients and besides being costly if you don't already have a big pantry full of these ingredients, there is no guarantee it will come out the way you like it - it is a matter of fiddling with quantities and making it over and over until you get it right (ie, the way you like it).
Dona Maria is one of the most common jarred varieties - it is basically a paste to which you'll add chicken broth. I suggest cooking your chicken parts in the broth slowly until they are very tender. And don't overcook the breast; it will get dry and stringy if you do, so put it in last. You can then pour off the fat and combine this broth with the mole sauce, cooking slowly, then doing a final heating of the chicken in it. Serve with white rice and corn tortillas.
In Mexico, many home cooks buy mole paste at the mercado. If you live in an area with a lot of Mexicans, you may be able to find this kind of paste at a Mexican market or deli. If you do buy this kind of mole, ask about the proper ratio of paste to broth, since it is highly concentrated.
If you do decide to make your own, I suggest looking at books by Diana Kennedy. There is also an article on Puebla, which includes info on their mole, in the May issue of Gourmet magazine.
Buen suerte!
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I had very good luck on my first try with the first recipe (it is divided into 2 parts) at the mole pages from Ramekins. Lots of ingredients but not particularly difficult to find if you have mexican markets near by. I found it to be vastly superior to any of the store versions I have tried and better than most of the restaurant versions I have tried which are usaly too sweet for my tastes. This recipe had a nice balance between sweet and earthy flavors (nuts, bread, tortillas, chiles) with a nice medium amount of chile heat on the finish. There are also a few simplified versions on this site but I love my mom too much to make her microwave mole! :)
Good luck,
Nathan
Link: http://www.ramekins.com/mole/recipesm...
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Strange - this website uses the same basic url "ramekins.com" as the cooking school in Sonoma, but other than that, there seems no connection. If you just use the base url w/o extensions, you get the home page for the school, and there's no way to get to the mole pages from there. Also, in style and visuals, they seem to be two unrelated sites. Can anyone explain this?
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I second (or third?) the Dona Maria's approach. Its easy and the results are quite good.
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Some stores carry Bueno instead of Dona Maria. They are about the same. But if you have a choice, go with Dona Maria.
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Matt, your heart is in the right place for certain.
The mole version most familiar to folks north of the border is Mole Poblano, the Puebla-style mole that sometimes has as many as 30 ingredients, all requiring toasting, roasting, chopping, grinding, blending, etc.
If you can find a market catering to Mexicans in your vicinity, ask the owner to recommend either a brand of mole in a jar or, as another poster suggested, a place to buy the homemade paste.
Cook your chicken gently, as yet another poster said, and then use the chicken-cooking liquid to thin the mole paste when it's time for that. Start thinning little by little till the mole is the consistency of a thickish gravy. Add the chicken to the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes. When you put the mole on the platter or plate to serve, sprinkle it with lightly toasted sesame seeds and garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro.
Serve your mole with Mexican rice, refried beans, and hot tortillas--and some guacamole, if the spirit moves you.
When your Mom arrives for dinner, put a CD of mariachi music on to play (be sure Las Mañanitas is the first cut you play--it's the traditional serenade for Moms on their day). Your Mom will besarte los pies--kiss your feet.
Feliz Día de las Madres--Happy Mother's Day to you, and Buen Provecho.
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Thanks to all of you. Really, really great advice.
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Even if you are not an experienced cook, I think you should make it yourself. I've never had mole in a jar, but have had it in restaurants and it pales in comparison to the home made version.
What you need is TIME, not cooking experience. There are a lot of toasting, roasting steps - sometimes several times just for one ingredient. However, the results are well worth the time.
As someone had mentioned, Diana Kennedy is a very good cookbook source, as is Rick Bayless. Get it from the library.
If you start your mole in advance it will likely be a lot easier.
Good luck!!!
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