Name: Mole Rojo (Red Mole)
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 2 bay leaves; ¼ cup (50 g) sugar; ⅔ cup (100 g) sesame seeds; ¾ cup (120 g) peeled and chopped apple; ⅔ cup (100 g) raisins; 3 whole cloves; 1 cup (125 g) tomatillos, husked and rinsed; 3½ ounces (100 g) pan de yema (can be substituted with bread crumbs or challah); 3½ ounces (100 g) ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed; 10 cloves garlic, peeled; ¼ teaspoon allspice berries; 1 large ripe plantain (about 170 g), peeled and chopped; ½ cup water; ⅛ teaspoon peppercorns; ¾ cup (105 g) raw almonds; 4 teaspoons sea salt; 4½ cups (1 l) chicken stock; 1½ cups (160 g) chopped onions; 1 large cinnamon stick; ⅔ cup (100 g) roasted peanuts; 1¾ ounces (50 g) Oaxacan or Mexican chocolate; 1¾ ounces (50 g) guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed; 1⅓ cups (250 g) chopped tomatoes; ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves; 3½ ounces (100 g) chilhuacle rojo chiles, stems and seeds removed; ¼ cup dried oregano

Preparation info

Serves
8 to 10

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Oaxaca

By Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral

Published 2019

About

One of the most common questions we get at the restaurant is about the differences among moles. It’s not just the color. The flavor profiles of the red, black, green, yellow, coloradito, chichilo, and every other mole are very different. The red and black moles are the closest in flavor, because they share a lot of the same ingredients, but a few chiles and techniques change in the process. Unlike mole negro, where the chiles are fried to achieve a glossy, pitch-black color, m