P
Mexican
Mole rojo de Puebla (simplified red mole)
Mole rojo de Puebla is a red mole simpler than mole poblano — made with guajillo, mulato, and pasilla chiles, tomato, garlic, onion, almonds, raisins, and a small amount of dark chocolate. It does not have the 30-ingredient complexity of mole negro or the full mole poblano, but produces a deeply flavoured red sauce suitable for chicken, turkey, or pork enchiladas. The home cook's mole: achievable in under 2 hours with good technique.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4
guajillo chiles
stems and seeds removed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
mulato chiles
stems and seeds removed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
pasilla chiles
stems and seeds removed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 medium
tomatoes
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
3 cloves
garlic
Your own market
1 medium
white onion
roughly chopped
Your own market
50 g
blanched almonds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
40 g
raisins
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
20 g
Mexican dark chocolate
1–2 squares, roughly chopped
Your own market
2 tbsp
lard
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
500 ml
chicken or turkey stock
warm
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
to taste
salt
added at the end only after tasting
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Set a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium heat. Press each dried chile flat against the surface for 10–15 seconds per side until fragrant and slightly darkened — they must not blacken or char. Transfer immediately to a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 20 minutes. The chiles are ready when fully softened and pliable throughout.
2
Drain the soaked chiles, reserving a little soaking liquid. Combine in a blender with the tomatoes, garlic, onion, almonds, and raisins. Blend to a smooth paste, adding the minimum soaking liquid needed to get the blades moving. Pass the entire batch through a medium sieve, pressing firmly with a ladle; discard the skins and seeds retained by the sieve. The strained paste should be uniformly smooth with no grainy texture.
3
Heat the lard in a wide, heavy pot over high heat until shimmering. Pour the strained paste into the hot lard in one movement — it will spatter and sizzle immediately. Fry, stirring constantly, for 5–8 minutes until the paste darkens by one or two shades and pulls away from the sides of the pot in a cohesive mass. This step is where the dish lives or dies: a raw, unfried paste will never develop the depth of a properly cooked mole, regardless of any correction added later.
4
Add the warm stock gradually, stirring to incorporate fully after each addition. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20–25 minutes until the mole coats the back of a spoon cleanly — it should neither run off freely nor sit immobile like a paste.
5
Add the chopped chocolate and stir over low heat until completely melted and integrated, approximately 2–3 minutes. The mole should appear glossy and uniform. Taste before seasoning — the almonds, raisins, and chiles carry salt; add only what is required.
6
Remove from heat and rest the mole uncovered for 30 minutes. The acidity mellows and the flavours integrate during this rest. Reheat gently before service over chicken, turkey, or pork enchiladas.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Whole dried chiles sourced from a specialist Mexican producer — guajillo, mulato, and pasilla each from a named harvest; Mexican chocolate from Oaxaca (Mayordomo or equivalent); rendered fresh lard from a butcher.
02
Estate — Whole dried chiles from a reputable Latin grocer with visible flexibility and intact skins; Mexican chocolate tablets (Ibarra or equivalent); good-quality rendered lard.
03
Market — Dried chiles from a well-stocked supermarket; a high-percentage (70%) dark chocolate in place of Mexican chocolate; neutral vegetable oil in place of lard — a meaningful compromise at the fry step.
04
House — Dried chiles from a standard supermarket spice section; any bittersweet chocolate; vegetable oil. The dish remains functional but the flavour depth is noticeably reduced at each substitution.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. Toasted chiles release a dry, sharp, slightly smoky fragrance — no acrid or burnt note.
◇Touch. Soaked chiles are fully soft and pliable with no stiff or leathery patches.
◇Sight. The fried paste has darkened visibly and pulls away from the pot wall as a cohesive mass.
◇Sight. The finished mole coats the back of a spoon cleanly — it holds without dripping freely and without sitting immobile.
◇Smell. After the 30-minute rest, the sharp raw chile edge has softened into an integrated, rounded aroma.
◇Where it lives or dies. The mole lives or dies in the lard-fry step: pouring the strained paste into hot fat and cooking it to a darkened, cohesive mass is the irreplaceable transformation that separates a flat raw blend from a deep, cooked mole.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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