Authentic Mole Poblano with Dark Chocolate and Tender Chicken
A rich and complex Mexican mole sauce featuring dark chocolate, dried chiles, and warm spices, served over perfectly cooked chicken. This traditional Pueblan dish balances sweet, smoky, and savory notes for an unforgettable spring celebration meal.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, about 1.2kg total
- 4 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried mulato chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium white onion, quartered
- 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 medium tomatoes, halved
- 60g dark chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, divided
- 40g raw almonds
- 40g raisins
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
- 750ml chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Fresh coriander for garnish
- Warm corn tortillas for serving
Instructions
Toast the dried chiles in a large dry skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side until fragrant and slightly puffed. Place in a bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 30 minutes until softened.
Season chicken thighs with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides for about 8 minutes total, then set aside.
In the same dry skillet, char the onion quarters, garlic cloves, and tomato halves until blackened in spots, about 10 minutes. Peel the garlic when cool enough to handle.
Toast the sesame seeds (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish), almonds, and torn tortilla pieces in 1 tablespoon oil until golden, about 3 minutes.
Drain the soaked chiles, reserving 120ml of the soaking liquid. Add chiles, charred vegetables, toasted seeds, almonds, tortillas, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and black pepper to a blender with 250ml chicken stock. Blend until completely smooth, about 3 minutes.
Heat the Dutch oven over medium heat. Pour in the mole sauce and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes until darkened and thickened.
Add remaining chicken stock, reserved chile soaking liquid, brown sugar, and salt. Stir well and bring to a simmer.
Nestle the browned chicken thighs into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75°C (165°F) when measured at the thickest part.
Remove from heat and stir in the chopped dark chocolate until completely melted and incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
Serve chicken thighs with generous amounts of mole sauce, garnished with reserved sesame seeds and fresh coriander. Accompany with warm corn tortillas.
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