Dear Eric: My friend brought me some Mexican chocolate and I made mole sauce. It was delicious, but my supply of Mexican chocolate will soon be gone. It is different from any other chocolate I have tasted. Do you know of any place in Victoria where I could buy it, or do you have a recipe for mole sauce using local ingredients?
Patricia
I was able to purchase Mexican chocolate in Victoria at the Mexican House of Spice, 2020 Douglas St. It’s a small, but packed-with-stock shop rich with Mexican ingredients you might not find anywhere else in town. They also offer tastes from other Latin American countries, the Caribbean and Africa. They are open Monday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Patricia was correct in saying Mexican chocolate is different from other types of chocolate, such as dark Belgian chocolate you might melt, dip and coat strawberries with, or the milk chocolate used for commercial candy bars.
Mexican chocolate is made by blending cocoa beans with sugar and other accents, including almonds, and spices, such as cinnamon. The resulting chocolate is richly flavoured, but is grainy and less smooth than the types noted above.
Mexican chocolate is often sold in individually wrapped tablets. Because of its grainy texture, it’s not chocolate you unwrap and eat; it’s chocolate you would most often melt and use to flavour drinks, such as hot chocolate, desserts and also savoury things, such as the molé Patricia made.
The word mole comes from Nahuatl (Aztec) word molli, meaning “concoction.” That makes sense because from Mexican household to household, molé can vary greatly, depending on what’s locally available, what the cook might have on hand and what their personal tastes are.
In a past article on mole, I noted that, in general, it’s a rich, dark, reddish-brown sauce usually served with poultry, but now is also served with pork and other meats. Several varieties of chilies, tomatoes, seeds, raisins and spices are some of the ingredients that could go into the sauce, which is usually smooth. A little Mexican chocolate is also added to some recipes near the end of cooking, which melts into the sauce, giving it added richness and colour.
For today’s recipe, I decided to stir shreds of cooked chicken into a rich molé sauce and use that to fill tacos. Very inviting and even more so when enjoyed with a margarita or cold beer.
Chicken Mole Tacos
Tender shreds of chicken, stirred into an aromatic, nicely spiced sauce flavoured with a hint of chocolate. To make the tacos, you mound the chicken mixture on warm corn tortillas with other tasty toppings.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: About 80 minutes
Makes: Four to six servings
For the chicken
4 large bone-in chicken thighs
(about 750 grams total weight)
2 cups chicken broth or stock
2 cups water
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
8 large cilantro sprigs
1 large garlic clove, chopped
Set the chicken thighs in an eight-inch wide pot. Add the stock, water, onion, cilantro and garlic. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat until the liquid gently simmers. Simmer the chicken, partially covered (don’t completely cover, as steam needs to escape), for 45 to 50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and very tender. Lift the chicken out of the pot, set on a plate and cool to room temperature. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve. You should have at least 1 1⁄2 cups; if not, top with water.
Use chicken and cooking liquid as described below.
For the mole sauce and tacos:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup diced chopped white or red onion (divided)
1 medium poblano pepper, diced
(see Note)
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 1⁄2 tsp. chili powder
1⁄4 to 1⁄2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp. oregano
1⁄4 cup raisins
1⁄4 cup unsalted, roasted pumpkin seeds
1 (14 oz./398 mL) can tomato sauce
1 1⁄2 cups chicken-cooking liquid
1 1⁄2 oz. (half a tablet) Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 (6-inch round) soft corn flour tortillas
1 ripe, large avocado, cut into small cubes
1 cup (about 100 grams) queso fresco, crumbled (see Note)
24 to 36 fresh cilantro sprigs
Place the oil in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add 1⁄2 cup of the onion, poblano pepper and garlic and cook until softened, about five minutes.
Mix in the chili powders, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, raisins and pumpkin seeds and cook one minute more.
Add the tomato sauce and 1 1⁄2 cups cooking liquid to the pot and bring to a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as needed. Partially cover the pot and gently simmer mole sauce 20 minutes, or until richly flavoured, aromatic and lightly thickened.
While the sauce simmers, remove the skin from the cooked chicken thighs, and then pull the meat into about two-inch long, 1⁄2-inch wide shreds and set in a bowl.
Cut two, 12-inch long pieces of aluminum foil. Stack six tortillas in the centre of each piece of foil and wrap them up.
When the sauce has simmered 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 F.
Purée the mole sauce in the pot with hand blender, or in a food processor or blender. Return the sauce to a simmer.
Add the chocolate and stir until melted and well combined; season the mole sauce with salt and pepper. Mix in the chicken shreds and simmer until heated through.
Meanwhile, set the tortillas in the oven to warm up, about 10 minutes.
To serve, top each warm tortilla with some of the chicken mixture, remaining onion, avocado, queso fresco and cilantro sprigs and enjoy.
Note: Queso fresco is a fresh, soft, tangy Mexican-style cheese sold in the deli section of some supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you could use soft goat cheese in this recipe.
Fresh, dark-green poblano peppers are sold at many supermarkets.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
