Red Chile Adobo

The flavor of this typical marinade/coating will depend on the hotness and the variety of the chiles used. The recipe illustrates one technique of preparing dried chiles so as to soften them and enrich the flavor, by first frying them in hot fat (being careful never to scorch—the dish will have a horrible bitter taste) and then soaking them in hot water. In only a few recipes are dried chiles just put in the dish as is. Usually they are roasted on a griddle, fried, or softened in hot