Cooking in
British Columbia
Mexican
Relleno para Chiles Pasillas de Oaxaca
A picadillo-style stuffing from Tlaxiaco in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca, built around braised pork and layered with the sweet-savory contrasts that define festive Oaxacan cooking. Raisins, slivered almonds, green olives, pineapple, and plantain are folded into a tomato base and packed into smoke-dried chiles pasillas de Oaxaca — a chile distinct from the dried chilaca of central Mexico — then battered in egg and fried. The result is rich, complex, and unmistakably regional.
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Cook
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
8–10 large
chiles pasillas de Oaxaca
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
450g (1 lb)
stewing pork with some fat, cut into 2.5cm (1-inch) cubes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Salt to taste
Your own market
3 tablespoons
pork lard
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
5
garlic cloves, finely chopped
Your own market
1/3 medium
white onion, finely chopped
Your own market
3
tomates verdes (tomatillos), husks removed, finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
225g (8 oz / about 250ml)
ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1/2 small
plantain, peeled and cut into small cubes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
125ml (1/2 cup)
raisins
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
83ml (1/3 cup)
slivered almonds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
63ml (1/4 cup)
pitted green olives, finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1/2
thick slice pineapple, peeled and cut into small cubes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
stems flat-leaf parsley (about 265ml / 1 heaped cup), finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Sugar to taste
Your own market
Beaten egg and oil for frying
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Tomato sauce made with reserved pork broth, to serve
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Wipe the chiles pasillas de Oaxaca clean. Toast lightly on a dry comal, then soak in warm water until pliable. Remove, pat dry, and set aside.
2
Place pork cubes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook at 90–95°C (194–203°F) until fully tender. Remove pork, reserve the broth, allow meat to cool, then drain and chop into small pieces.
3
In a wide, heavy pan, melt the lard over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion until soft and translucent, 8–10 minutes.
4
Add the chopped tomatillos and tomatoes. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture is dry and no liquid pools in the pan.
5
Stir in the plantain, raisins, almonds, olives, pineapple, and parsley. Cook briefly until the fruit begins to soften. Add the chopped pork, stir well, and continue cooking until the filling is cohesive and well seasoned. Adjust salt and add a pinch of sugar if needed. Spread onto a tray and cool completely.
6
Make a careful lengthwise slit in each chile (scissors work well) without cutting through the base or removing the stem. Remove seeds and veins gently.
7
Fill each chile with the cooled stuffing and press the edges together to close.
8
Dip each stuffed chile in beaten egg and fry in hot oil at approximately 175°C (347°F) until golden on all sides.
9
Drain briefly and serve with a tomato sauce prepared using the reserved pork broth.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Pinch the rehydrated chile between thumb and forefinger: it should feel like supple leather — no cracking, no sliminess — and release a clean, woodsmoke scent distinct from the vegetal earthiness of a central Mexican pasilla.
◇Cut into the fried chile immediately after plating: the batter should shatter audibly at the knife and remain bonded to the chile skin rather than sliding off as a separate shell.
◇Taste the picadillo before stuffing and look for no single element dominating — the pork's savoriness, the olive's brine, the raisin's sweetness, and the plantain's caramel should each register in sequence, not simultaneously.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies in the moment the stuffed chile meets the hot fat: if the lard or oil is below 170 °C (338 °F), the egg batter absorbs grease and slides from the chile's skin; above 185 °C (365 °F), the batter sets before it can seal around the filling, leaving gaps that burst in the pan and scatter the picadillo.
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V
What to Pour
The pairing
Beer
From British Columbia
Beer lager
Without alcohol
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VI
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The working kitchen