Chicken Mole

Foundations Referenced

• → Chicken Stock
• → Mirepoix concept (adapted: onion, garlic, tomato)

Ingredients

Mole Sauce

• 4 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 dried chipotle chile (or 1 canned chipotle in adobo)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces
• 1 onion, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 oz Mexican chocolate (or 1.5 oz dark chocolate + pinch cinnamon)
• 2 cups chicken stock (→ foundation)
• 2 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
• Salt, sugar to taste

Chicken

• 6 bone-in chicken thighs, or 1 whole chicken, poached and shredded
• Salt, pepper

Method

1. Toast chiles: In a dry skillet, toast dried chiles 1–2 min per side until fragrant and pliable. Cover with hot water, soak 20 min. Reserve 1 cup soaking liquid.

2. Toast nuts and seeds: In the same dry skillet, toast sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and almonds until golden, 3–4 min. Toast tortilla pieces until crisp.

3. Char aromatics: Dry-roast onion quarters, garlic, and tomatoes in skillet until blackened in spots, 8 min.

4. Blend: Combine soaked chiles (drained), toasted nuts/seeds/tortilla, charred aromatics, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and 1 cup stock. Blend until very smooth, adding soaking liquid as needed.

5. Fry the mole: Heat lard in a deep pot over medium-high. Pour in mole paste (it will splatter — stand back). Fry, stirring constantly, 5 min until darkened and fragrant.

6. Simmer: Add remaining stock and chocolate. Stir until chocolate melts. Simmer 30 min, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar to balance bitterness.

7. Cook chicken: Season thighs, sear in a separate pan. Add to mole sauce, simmer 25 min until cooked through. Or poach chicken separately and serve with mole ladled over.

8. Serve: Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and warm tortillas.

What You're Learning

• Mole is a sauce built in layers: chiles, nuts, seeds, chocolate, spices — each toasted separately for maximum depth
• "Frying" the blended paste concentrates flavor and changes the sauce's character
• Balancing complex flavors: bitter (chocolate, chiles), sweet (sugar), acid (tomato), heat (chipotle)
• This is one of the most technique-dense sauces in any cuisine