🍗 Mole negro

Name: Mole negro
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexico · Oaxaca
Ingredients: 800 g chicken pieces; 6 dried chilhuacle negro or mulato chilies, 2 pasilla chilies; 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves; 40 g dark chocolate; 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 tbsp oil, salt; 8 corn tortillas to serve

Origin: Mexico · Oaxaca

630kcal

per serving · 350 g

180kcal

per 100 g

46 gProtein13 g / 100 g

32 gFat9 g / 100 g

35 gCarbs10 g / 100 g

Mole negro is the darkest and most famous of the Oaxacan moles: a thick, almost black sauce of toasted dried chilies, spices and a little chocolate, served over braised chicken. It tastes smoky, bittersweet and gently spicy, with a velvety texture. It is served with rice or warm corn tortillas, and is a centrepiece of weddings and Day of the Dead celebrations.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Low-carb10 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein13 g protein per 100 g — 29% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken, chocolate

Contains glutenbecause of: tortilla

Contains dairybecause of: chocolate

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk ⚠ Tree nuts ⚠ Sesame

What it is made of

chickenmole negrochili pepperchocolatetortilla

Recipe

4 servings150 min

Ingredients

800 g chicken pieces
6 dried chilhuacle negro or mulato chilies, 2 pasilla chilies
2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves
40 g dark chocolate
1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp oil, salt
8 corn tortillas to serve

Method

Simmer the chicken in salted water for 35 minutes; keep the broth.
Toast the chilies until dark, then soak them in hot water for 20 minutes.
Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic, then blend with the chilies, spices and some broth until smooth.
Fry the paste in oil for 10 minutes, then add the chocolate and broth and simmer for 30 minutes until thick.
Add the chicken, heat through and serve with warm tortillas.

How to make it lighter

Use skinless chicken breast or thigh.
Keep the sauce to about 4 tbsp per plate; most of its calories come from the oil and chocolate.
Serve with a salad and one or two tortillas instead of rice and tortillas together.

History

Oaxaca is known as 'the land of seven moles', and mole negro is the best known of them. Mole sauces combine Mesoamerican chilies and cacao with spices that arrived after the Spanish conquest; stories that credit their invention to colonial-era convent nuns are popular legends rather than documented history.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Mole negro and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →