Easy Mole Recipe - Thrift and Spice (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in mole? ›

The key fruit ingredient in mole sauce is not a traditional fruit but dried chili peppers. Mole sauce is a complex and flavorful Mexican culinary delight that combines various ingredients like chocolate, spices, nuts, and, importantly, dried chili peppers.

Chocolate. One of the most popular ingredients in mole is chocolate, which adds a rich, slightly bitter flavor to the sauce. The chocolate used in mole is usually Mexican chocolate, which contains cinnamon and other spices, giving the dish a unique taste.

In general, moles mix ingredients from five different categories: chiles (at least two different types); sour (tomatoes or tomatillos); sweet (dried fruits or sugar); spices; and thickeners (bread, nuts or seeds). Once the paste is formed, it's mixed with water or broth, and then simmered for hours until it's thick.

Other ingredients can include black pepper, achiote, huaje, cumin, clove, anise, tomato, tomatillo, garlic, sesame seed, dried fruit, herb like hoja santa, and many other ingredients. Mole poblano has an average of 20 ingredients; mole almendrado has an average of 26, and Oaxacan moles can have over 30.

For a homemade remedy, mix three parts castor oil and one part dish soap. Add four tablespoons of the mixture to a gallon of water. Soak the tunnels and entrances to evict the moles and soak the holes to evict gophers. Castor oil is one of the most effective home remedies to get rid of these animals.

One of the most treasured ingredients used in the mole is xocolatl – Aztec word for chocolate.

Mole is created from dried chiles, nuts, seeds and sometimes, chocolate and more ingredients. Did you know that many traditional moles require 30 ingredients and some may even have 100 or more? This is why mole sauce has a complex flavor – one that you cannot explain directly.

To add savoriness and acidity, I used tomatoes. Specifically, canned tomatoes which are always in my pantry. Mole sauce should be thick. Nuts or bread are common choices to thicken the sauce, so I used almonds.

Mole's tale begins with its indigenous Nahuatl root word, mōlli, which translates to “sauce.” However, mole is not just a sauce, but rather the entire main dish. Its murky origins are commonly traced back to a tale about a nun at the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, Mexico, in the late 1600s.

Why is mole sauce so good? ›

Mole is full of plants, meaning you'll eat a variety of vitamins and minerals while consuming the sauce. Think: iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and more. Mole is also super versatile, meaning it can be a nice way to make proteins and veggies more decadent and delicious to consume.

It's served on a corn tortilla topped with diced onion and cilantro. “Mole is pretty heavy sauce; it's very potent with all the peppers but it's relatively mild. The anchos give a slight kick but it's not that spicy,” Wornowicz said.

Despite the diversity of moles that exist, most moles include nuts or seeds, chili peppers and dried spices. Many types of mole also include either fresh or dried fruit. The whole mixture usually gets ground or pureed together, yielding a thick yet pourable sauce.

This Dry Mexican Mole Spice Blend recipe contains just 4 spices in perfect balance – cumin, cocoa, red chile powder, and cinnamon. This spice blend is reminiscent of a Mexican mole, and is a quick and easy way to add bold flavor to lamb tacos, stews and soups, even dry-rub a chicken…

Chef Saúl Montiel from Cantina Rooftop in New York returns to Epicurious for the next installment of Passport Kitchen, this time building the complex flavors of a traditional mole poblano from over 30 ingredients. Mole, it's like a song.

Perilla, cilantro, and the wild herbs de conejo, as well as the addition of peanuts and sesame also permeate the versatile mole—resulting in its exceedingly unique taste and texture. Given the many steps and myriad of ingredients, it's only natural that time and patience are of the essence during its preparation.

Apply castor oil.

This multi-purpose vegetable oil is often effective in eliminating moles because it makes the soil smell bad to them (you may notice a faint odor). Castor oil doesn't kill these animals, but it does upset their digestive systems.

Moles are small coloured spots on the skin made up of cells called melanocytes. These produce the colour (pigment) in your skin. Some moles are present at birth, although most develop during the first 30 years of life.

What Does Mole Sauce Taste Like? All mole sauces taste a bit different. Some are sweeter, others are spicier, and they have varying consistencies—but they all feature spicy, smoky, and earthy-sweet notes contributed by ingredients such as chiles, nuts, warm spices, raisins, and tomato.