Every culture has foods they like to pass down from generation to generation. Each is unique in its own way and some are especially saved to celebrate special holidays and events. However for my family, mole holds a special place in our heart and bellies. While there are a variety of dishes they like to make for special events mole has always been the go to traditional dish. Before this paper, I didn’t know much about the chocolate sauce that has left a positive impression on the world. However, after some research I found that after the creation of mole many people of different races and ethnicities recreated the recipe for mole and according to Cocking’s, these “moles are named for their ingredients and flavors, such as pipián, huaxmole and almendrado.” And because of this Barclay and Farfan say, “this tasty and complex sauce has moved way beyond Mexican convent kitchens. With Mexicans migrating around the world, foreigners are learning how to make it, too.” Upon further research I found that there are two legends to how mole was created. The first says, “that 16th Century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de los Angeles, upon learning that the Archbishop was coming for a visit, went into a panic because they had nothing to serve him. The nuns started praying desperately and an angel came to inspire them. They began chopping and grinding and roasting, mixing different types of chiles together with spices, day-old bread, nuts, a little chocolate and approximately 20 other ingredients.. and the other legend states that mole came from pre-hispanic times and that Aztec king, Moctezuma, thinking the conquistadors were gods, served mole to Cortez at a banquet to receive them. This story probably gained credibility because the word mole comes from the Nahuatl word “milli” which means sauce or “concoction”. Another connection could be that chocolate was widely used in pre-columbian mexico, so people jumped to that conclusion.” Aside from the legend mole did go on to become an extremely well liked dish. To me mole is a pretty significant dish in my life because growing up with it; it has earned its place as being a dish that represents more than just a cultural dish for me. It represents love, togetherness, and defiance against an ever changing world that believes there is no space for things that make a certain culture distinguishable.
Mole Poblano is a dish that can be traced back to the 16th century in Puebla, Mexico. It is important to not that mole is a sauce that is traditionally used to go on top of chicken or turkey. However, for this paper I will be talking about mole as if it were a dish as a whole. Mole is a dish that requires a lot of time and energy. Thats because if it is being made from scratch there are ingredients like nuts, cloves, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chile ancho, mulato, chipotle, and chocolate that you have to grind down into a consistency where they will mix well together. Not only that, but since it is such a time consuming dish, it is typically only made for birthdays, weddings, or special occasions. Because of this Mole is traditionally made being surrounded by the people you love, or it is a dish you make out of love. In my family whenever Mole is made it is greatly appreciated because we know it comes from a place of love and care. Mole is especially saved for birthdays because along with foods like carnitas, birria, and carne asada it is everyones favorite and it is hard to go wrong with such a delicious dish.
The reason I decided to use Moles as my topic is because growing up I remember mole being a beloved dish that both my mama Guile and mama Eustolia enjoyed making. However, for me it was a dish I tried avoiding like it was the plague. For my Mama Guille’s mole poblano, I did not like the sweetness it always threw me off and I would look straight towards my sister and beg her to eat it for me; otherwise I would grab napkin by napkin spitting the mole back out into the napkin. When it came to my Mama Eustolias mole rojo, I was afraid it would be too spicy and on top of that sweet. I never gave it a chance because of how afraid of it I was. The things that saved me from starving for the day were the rice and beans that are traditionally served as the sides for both moles.
Mole Poblano
Servings 8
8.25 oz of Doña Maria mole
1 1/2 lbs- chicken -First, you want to clean the chicken. Once it is clean you
2- garlic cloves want to get a medium sized stock pot and put the 1/2 gallon of
1/2 – White Onion water, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 white onion, 1 1/2 lbs of chicken, and
1- gallon of water salt to taste, but for this (my) recipe 1 serving spoons will do.
1- serving spoons of salt Leave chicken to boil for 25-30 minutes or until tender.
3- Oaxaca chiles
3- chiles California -Second, with the remainder of the water put the chiles to boil in 5- Chiles de Arbol small stock pot. This will take an approximate 20 minutes. When done, toss the chiles and some water from where it was boiled in a blender for 3-5 minutes.
Side
1- Red Onion (optional) -Thirdly, in a large sauce pan you put the 8.25 ounces of the Doña
2- juicy limes Maria mole. As it begins to melt you gradually add chicken broth from the chicken you made earlier while continuously whisking.Add broth according to how thick you want the sauce. Lastly, add chicken. Sesame seeds serve as garnish.
Bringing it all together, when my grandmother makes this dish she serves it up with rice, beans, tortillas, and some sliced onion with salt and lime. My Mama Guille’s cooking is amazing and I cannot really say she has ever made a dish that I did not enjoy, but mole was the one dish that I had to make myself in order to truly appreciate it because I never understood why people loved it so much, but most of all I did not understand why my father loved it so much. However, after making Mole with my grandmother and sharing that experience with her I had a whole new appreciation, and suddenly it seemed like Mole was the best dish in the world. For me Mole Poblano was definitely an acquired taste, but once you get a taste and experience all laughs and joy that go into making this dish; well, it is hard to not love it.
The process I went through for this dish was extensive. I had planned out to buy the ingredients in advance in order to have plenty of time to work on it. I bought the ingredients at both Winco and Food 4 Less in order to make sure I got the freshest ingredients at a great price. Luckily for me, I was not alone through the process of cooking the food. Joining me is my boyfriend, Daniel. I am more than happy to share my families traditional mole with him and see how he likes it compared to his families. Not that it will be better; it could be worse but sharing the experience is what matters. I hope to show him a little bit more about my side of the family and their traditions, and in general teaching him how to make both of my favorite moles. Once we got home from the store we began to cook everything. I noted things down as we went along
just to make sure that I had all the steps and accurate measurements for you all.
Mexican red Rice Beans (of choice red, black, pinto)
1cup – rice 3 cups- uncooked beans
1 1/2- tomatoes 1/2 gallon- water
1/3 – white onion 1 1/2 serving spoons of salt
2 1/2- cups of water Optional
3 tablespoons- powder chicken broth 1/2- white onion
2- tablespoons – oil 2 garlic cloves
2- garlic cloves
Rice instructions; fry 1 cup of rice and 2 Put everything except salt in a medium sized
Garlic cloves in Tablespoons of oil until pot and leave to boil for 45-60 minutes.
slightly brown. Add salt when tender and leave to boil for
Blend onion and tomato with 1/3 cup of water 10 more minutes.
Pour into rice, and add powdered chicken broth
And 2 cups of water. Let boil for 15-20 minutes.
My maternal grandmothers Mole Rojo originated in Aguascalientes. This is a dish that takes some serious precision simply because if you add too much flour all you will end up having it a dish that taste like flour with clumps all over the place. However, if you do it right you get a magical dish that just pairs so well with rice, bean, and tortillas. This dish, like mole Poblano is also time consuming, but when my grandmother makes it she is surrounded by her daughters and granddaughters. It is a dish that brings different generations together to share the feeling of togetherness. I mean we even have family that live more than 100 miles away that come all the way home just to get a plate of chicken mole, Mexican red rice, and beans.
Mole Rojo
Servings 6-8 First, in a medium sized stock pot put half a gallon of water
1 1/2 lbs- chicken half a white onion, two garlic cloves, 1 1/2 pounds of
2 – garlic cloves chicken, and salt to taste. Leave chicken to boil for 25-
1/2- white onion 30 minutes or until tender.
3- serving spoons of salt
1- gallon of water Second, with the remainder of the water put the chiles to
2- cups of flour boil in a large stock pot. This will take approximately 30-
Sauce/ Mole 40 minutes. When done transfer chiles into blender. This
1- bag of Chile ancho might take a couple of tries in order to blend all the chiles to
1- bag of Chile de Arbol a good even consistency, add water for better consistency
1- garlic clove and add 1 garlic clove. Strain to remove seeds and set aside
1- serving spoon of oil
1 1/2- cups chicken broth Thirdly, pre-heat a Sauté Pan or Braiser Pan with 1 serving 1 bag- chile California spoon of oil. When hot add chile sauce leave on low.
forth, put 2 cups of flour and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth in a blender and blend until it has an even consistency. Then gradually add being to add flour to mole sauce with a strainer while continuously mixing the sauce.
Serve it up with Mexican red rice, beans, and tortillas. I personally enjoy putting the mole on top of the rice just to give it an extra flavor, but that is just my preference. I was doing some research on these dishes and found an article that states, “Mole and other traditional foods reflect family heritage and regional cultural inheritances, as do rituals and beliefs surrounding their preparation.” I found this to be interesting and accurate because Mole is a dish that like I said brings everyone together. It’s not just one plate you get just like it is not just one process or conversation. Through the years of cooking these dishes I have learned a lot about my mother, my grandmothers, and my great grandmothers. Generation by generation the pass on their knowledge and teach us their ways of preparation and in turn we either continue or create out own way of creating the dish. It all comes down to priceless recipes, moments, and feelings that will last a lifetime through countless generations.
Overall, these two recipes represent all the growing up I have done thought out the years. It also represents my families culture and heritage which means a lot considering they came to united states in a time where total assimilation was occurring. It means a lot to me that they never lost their roots or sense of who they were even after learning English and going to American schools my family still practiced their traditions and never pushed me or anyone into not speaking Spanish or dressing a certain way to fit in. My family showed me that there is so much to be proud of, and that is something I hope to pass on to the next generations of our family.
By the end of the cooking process Daniel and I were exhausted, but after it almost felt like we had shared an experience that brought us closer together. The labor was a long and strenuous process simply because we started fairly late and I had just gotten out of work, and we slightly overcooked the chicken. However, we shared laughs, stories, and overall happiness which is what this dish is supposed to do. We even managed to put our own twist on the dishes, and personally I feel like it was a good move. I hope one day I get to try his families Mole because he swears by it like I swear by mine. That is what is so great about mole though; everyone has their own way of making mole there is brown, red, black, and green. The variations could be endless, but at the end its all about being surrounded by the people you love and bringing everyone together as a family. While I had a rough and rocky start with Mole Poblano and Mole Rojo I am now glad to say that every year on my birthday I get a massive plate of Mole, Mexican red rice, and beans.
This is our final result, “Traditionally, ingredients are ground by hand, making it an all-day affair. But today, grinders and blenders make the task much easier, cutting down the cooking time to four to five hours.” However, it took us about 5-6 simply because we had to make two moles. Aside from that It is fair to say we are going to have more than a couple of days of eating chicken mole, rice, and beans. Even though we added our own twist to the dishes they came out pretty solid. A bit on the spicier side, but still a delicious blend.
References
Barclay, E., & Farfán, K. C. (2013, January 18). Mexican Mole Has Many Flavors, Many Mothers. Retrieved March 05, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/01/18/165494749/mexican-mole-has-many-flavors-many-mothers
Christie, M. E. (2004). Kitchenspace, fiestas, and cultural reproduction in Mexican house-lot gardens*. The Geographical Review, 94(3), 368+. Retrieved from http:// link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A137212814/AONE?u=csudh&sid=AONE&xid=f0289448
Cocking, L. (2016, November 10). A Brief History Of Mole, Mexico’s National Dish. Retrieved March 05, 2018, fromhttps://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/a-brief-history-of-mole-mexicos-national-dish/
(n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2018, from http://www.mexonline.com/molepoblano.htm