Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Diving Into Mole, One of Mexico’s Most Famous Sauces

In the land of sauces, mole is considered to be the royalty. This infamous Mexican marinade is wonderfully complex, with a host of styles that involve long lists of comforting ingredients. It can be slathered on everything from chicken and pork ribs to mushrooms and tofu. Generally, mole is rich and earthy, with a bit of a kick and spices like chili pepper, cinnamon, and cumin. It’s something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of sauce that puts a dent in your pantry organization but comes together beautifully. 

Related Guides

To this day, two Mexican states compete for the title of mole creator in Oaxaca and Puebla. Like so many great dishes, mole’s impetus is believed to be the ingenuity and resourcefulness of poor folks. A popular genesis story for the sauce takes place at the Covenant of Santa Clara in Puebla where nuns were forced to quickly assemble a dish for a visiting archbishop. A witches’ brew of sorts, the hastily made concoction included chili peppers, nuts, old bread, and some chocolate. They drizzled it over turkey and blew the archbishop’s mind.

Molé
fitopardo/Getty Images

Mole touts a fitting name as the word translates from an old indigenous language to “mix.” A simpler version existed before Colonial times and, after, was adapted into something with newfound ingredients like pumpkin, sesame seeds, almonds, and plantains. Chocolate, which feels like a major mole characteristic today, is believed to not have become a focal point until the post-Hispanic era.

There are several kinds of mole and the culinary-minded have been riffing off of these for generations. Mole poblano is arguably the most popular, occasionally even dubbed Mexico’s official national dish. It’s made up of some 20 ingredients, including dried poblano pepper (mulato peppers) and chocolate. Mole negro is the most celebrated to come out of Oaxaca and believed by many to be the most complex. It requires hoja santa, a fragrant herb which translates to “sacred leaf.”

There are many more types, too, each reflecting the regional ingredients of the broad and varied Mexican landscape. Pipian mole, for example, is made of squash seeds informed largely by the Mexico City area. There’s manchamanteles (“tablecloth stainers”), a riff on mole that involves dried chilies, tomatoes, and more. Or mole verde, made green thanks to some combination of green peppers, celery, cilantro, and epazote, just to name a few ingredients. An estimated 300 kinds are known to exist south of the border. Mexican regions battle over its makeup and heritage in the same way Americans do with barbecue (like smoking a brisket). 

Because everybody loves a record, the largest batch of mole is reported to have been created at a mole festival in Puebla in 2005. The pot measured more than eight feet in diameter and more than six feet in height, requiring some 1,700 pounds of mole paste and 5,500 pounds of chicken. Oh, to have dived into that sweet and savory nectar of the gods, just once.

Restaurants all over the world create their own unique styles of mole. The permutations are virtually endless because it tends to involve so many ingredients and regional blends. Some of the best pre-made versions are courtesy of Los Angeles institution, Guelaguetza (for the record, LA has more Oaxacan restaurants than anywhere outside of Oaxaca). We suggest the bundle pack, which includes the eatery’s black, red, and Coloradito moles.

Molé
arturogi/Getty Images

Guelaguetza is highly regarded in the realm of mole, having turned out some great ones from its Koreatown restaurant for almost 30 years. It’s now a second-generation outpost known for its lively atmosphere as much as its colorful moles. The restaurant is always worth a visit while in the city of angels but, for the time being, we’ll have to stick with online tutorials and recipes from the eatery.

There are a few other options out there for those who don’t have the time or ingredients to assemble a proper mole. XILLI out of New York has a nice, complex option. You can also get a solid mole brought in straight from Oaxaca via the folks at Zingerman’s. If you are up for whipping up your own, Rick Bayless is a great resources for all things Mexican cuisine. Be sure to have a margarita or two while preparing things.

Many of the best, of course, are painstakingly put together at home or in restaurants. If your favorite Mexican restaurant isn’t doing takeout during quarantine, look out for imported moles at area specialty stores and grocers. And when we’re all traveling and gathering again, check out the largest mole festival in the country.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
How To Make an Herb Butter Sauce for Almost Any Dish
hands cutting butter on a cutting board.

We've said it before and we'll continue to say it; butter is amazing. The flavor is superb and adds a certain creamy texture to food. It's perfect as an ingredient but it's also perfect as a finishing sauce. Some great pan sauces come from the meat drippings, a little white wine, herbs, and some cubes of ice-cold butter.

With this fresh herb sauce recipe, the possibilities are pretty much endless. You can create so many variations with so many different herbs. Technically, this sauce could be considered to be a lemon herb sauce but you can also substitute fresh lemon with lime juice for an even deeper complexity; maybe add some cilantro for a Mexican-inspired sauce. Make a garlic herb sauce for chicken or if you're a fan of lamb, you can create a mint butter sauce for those lamb lollipops.

Read more
How To Cook a Delicious Meat Sauce From Scratch
Generic-Bolognese-Sauce

When we think of meat sauce, the first thing that likely comes to mind is a thick and delicious Italian ragú. However, there are many variations of meat sauce that incorporate many different types of meat and bases for the sauce. Some meat sauces have ground beef, while others might call for pork, lamb, or chicken. Tomatoes are a common base for meat sauces, but some recipes use cream, yogurt, or even nuts.

Although pasta is a meat sauce’s best friend, it also pairs well with rice and other grains. You can even put a meat sauce on bread. If you think about it, sloppy joes are just meat sauce in a bun. Also, chili is a meat sauce enjoyed on hot dogs, fries, and mac & cheese.
Related Guides

Read more
The 11 Best Soy Sauce Brands From Around The World
Pouring soy sauce into a white bowl

For many, soy sauce is reserved for dipping sushi or a dash of flavoring on fried rice. For others, namely every East Asian country, soy sauce is a culinary staple. It's much more than soy and wheat fermented with koji mold; it's a driver of the cuisine. In fact, almost every Asian country has its own process for creating soy sauce that provides a unique flavor profile for that region's cooking.

To help you, we made a guide so you can figure out which kinds of soy sauce would be best for the type of cuisine you're cooking. There are a lot of artisanal soy sauce makers out there that are getting super innovative. We understand that taste is subjective, and we encourage you to always go with what your taste buds crave. Still, this list of soy sauces is based on the criteria of popularity, availability, taste, and versatility.

Read more