News (Noticias) Tagged ‘mole sauce’

Most Americans are unfamiliar with authentic Mexican mole sauce. While some may recognize it as “that sauce with chocolate in it,” only aficionados of true Mexican cooking know the subtleties of a great mole.

In general, we think of mole as a sauce or family of sauces. But this assumption has been hotly debated. As Rick Bayless, Chicago’s well-known Mexican chef explains, a sauce is rarely used as just a coating or an accessory in Mexican cooking. This is particularly true for stew-like dishes such as mole poblano, the version of mole that includes chocolate and is frequently combined with poultry. Dishes like this rely on the so-called sauce as the base of the meal, providing its essence as well as its glory.”*

“Not too long ago, I invited Bruno Figueroa, the Mexican governments top representative in Silicon Valley, to try the mole sauce at La Milpa in Milpitas. The handsome young diplomat said the chocolate and chili sauce was the best he’d tasted here, but still a notch below the moles in the Valley of Mexico.

Now, the consul general is knee-deep in a spicy, international mole.

Figueroas pointed, public criticism of the San Jose Police Department for abuse of Mexican nationals and Latinos was probably unprecedented for someone in his position. His defense of a local Mexican businessman accused of resisting arrest may ignite a cross-border debate over the treatment of immigrants, but also over foreigners meddling in local affairs.”

“Thousands of protesters driven from the city center by federal police after months of paralyzing demonstrations vowed to retake the main plaza on Monday.

Oaxaca remained split between the protesters demanding Gov. Ulises Ruiz’s resignation and those yearning for a return to the tranquil days when tourists browsed shops and dined on the region’s famous mole sauce.”

Getting hungry yet?

“There almost are as many mole sauce recipes as there are kitchens in Mexico, particularly in the states of Puebla and Oaxaca. And their colors are just as diverse — from the black or deep mahogany-red moles made with red chilies and unsweetened chocolate to mole verde — the type made green with the addition of green chilies — serrano or jalapeno being the most commonly used. Green mole sometimes even contains pumpkin seeds. To complete the rainbow of colors, there are orange and yellow moles as well.

American-born Diana Kennedy, the doyenne or godmother of Mexican cooking, taught me how to make mole several years ago in a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education in midtown Manhattan (then known as Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School).”

“You know Mexican food isn’t Mexican food. The cheese-covered burritos and chimichangas of Tex-Mex have nothing to do with the grilled fish of Veracruz or the mole sauces of Oaxaca.

But how about the Latino foods that aren’t from Mexico, either?

Go farther south, into Central and South America, or east, into the Caribbean. The influences are Spanish, Moorish, Portuguese, African. The roots are ancient, dating to native tribes.”