Mole is a Mexican sauce made with chiles, spices, and sometimes chocolate, often served with chicken and rice. There are many variations of mole, including Poblano, Cacahuate, Coloradito, and Verde, each with a unique flavor.
Mole (pronounced MOL-ay) refers to a series of salsas made in Mexico, the most famous of which are a combination of a variety of chiles and chocolate. Since many mole sauces also contain chicken stock, it’s ideal to pour the sauce over the chicken. Chicken mole can refer to any chicken seasoned with a mole sauce, or it can refer specifically to mole poblano: Pollo con Arroz (chicken with rice).
Chicken Poblano mole is a complex dish to make when it’s done the traditional way. Different hot peppers can be used for the sauce. Mole also includes spices such as cumin, peanuts, Mexican chocolate or sugar-free chocolate. Onions and garlic help balance the flavors.
The type of chicken used in the mole can vary. Some cooks prefer to use white meat chicken, but others like to use boneless thigh meat, as its richer flavor complements the mole sauce. Chicken is usually sauteed in oil until cooked through. Some recipes actually call for partially browning the chicken. The chicken is then placed in a saucepan, covered with the mole sauce and cooked until cooked through. Typically, chicken is served with rice.
There are many simplified chicken mole dishes. Some chefs recommend the casserole method and skip the peanuts, adding peanut butter to the mole instead. Canned chiles can be used, as they may be easier to work with and more readily available. While this is not authentic, it is still pleasing to the taste buds of many cooks.
You don’t need to stick with the Poblano mole when making chicken mole. The Mole de Cacahuate, for example, omits the chocolate and uses ground peanuts. For those who find it odd to use chocolate in a savory sauce, Mole de Cacahuate recipes may be the perfect solution. Also, this sauce is a traditional condiment for chicken in Mexico.
Other sauces that can be used to make mole include red Mole Coloradito. It’s quite similar to other moles, but it also includes tomato and can be a nice topping. Mole Verde is another sauce that can be delicious as part of chicken mole and uses pumpkin seeds and ground tomatillos to produce a beautifully light green sauce.
In Mexico, some moles are very popular in different regions. Oaxaca is considered the most diverse in its offering of these sauces. When traveling there, visitors may want to ask what kind of mole they are getting when the dish is served. It can really vary, but each sauce has a unique flavor and taste that makes them worth trying.
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