Readymade Mole: Teloloapan

Readymade Mole: Teloloapan

A few weeks ago, I read with some dismay that Yum Thai used readymade curries and other sauces on some of their dishes. But I was younger then and mistakenly thought that sauces, to be good, had to be pretty much “homemade.”

Yesterday, The Wife wanted to have turkey, a likable though generally drab bird. I suggested we make a mole for it. I checked a few recipes and realized that if we decided to go with any of them, it would basically take all day to procure ingredients and prepare the dish.

So I took the lazy way out.

I went to Nuevo Mundo (5901 Roosevelt Road, Cicero) and bought some tortillas…and a tub of super red mole Teloloapan, a product of Guerrero. I checked the ingredients, and it had the cocoa, pumpkin seeds, biscuit meal, almonds, raisins, and a number of unnamed spices – for $3.99.

Back home, with a little juice and some pan-frying, this readymade mole was just fine…in fact, it was probably better than I could have made (and it was way less expensive; to buy the various peppers and other ingredients to make it all at home would probably have cost $20 – and a half-day or more of my time).

Super red mole Teloloapan is chocolate-y and nutty, with a nice bite that is high on flavor though low on Scoville units (you feel instant heat, but it doesn’t last – for fans of pain, I might suggest pumping it up with a few splashes of hot sauce). You can adjust the density of the sauce by adding more or less bird juice, and I was pleased to see that my youngest daughter found it quite delicious (though it was more spicy than she’d usually prefer, and she had to overcome the immediate teen girl reaction: “You’re putting chocolate sauce on TURKEY!").

A lot can be learned by cooking from scratch, but I’ve made the decision to allocate fewer hours to preparation and more to consumption of food.



Mole and Oaxacan dream creature

great idea. On occasion I have done the same thing. I will usually take a premade mole and work in a bit of toasted sesame, scharffenberger cocoa powder, salt, and sugar to taste to bump it up a bit. Not to be delusional, but it really isn't too far from a Geno Bahena original. It is amazing what you can do with a bit of creativity.

has anyone compared some of the various Teloloapan mole pastes available? I've used "el calvario" in the past and found that it needed a little thinning with turkey stock and to my taste the addition of a little sesame and cumin

I'd be interested if folks found one distinctly better than the others. It seems as if, at least they are all using the same company to do their packaging, as they are almost indistinguishable from their containers

When I first ate the mole at La Oaxacena, I was pretty sure they were making it, it seemed so rich, so homey, so real. I asked several times on visits to see their operations, but they were always cagey. It finally dawned on me (and confirmed by someone else) that they did not make their own mole. But I later learned that the mole base was brought in from Mexico, Oaxaca, and that kinda satisfies me as to the realness of the mole.

I've tried making the green Guerrenese mole found around town at various stores (comes in a powder), but without much success.

Rob

zim wrote:I've used "el calvario" in the past and found that it needed a little thinning with turkey stock and to my taste the addition of a little sesame and cumin

Zim,

My guess is that most of these thick pastes must be thinned with turkey juice, chicken broth, or some watery additive (the directions on the side of my container indicated this, too).

It's interesting to me that both you and MJN added a little sesame. None of the receipes I had called for sesame, but I can definitely see how that flavor would work. I do add a little vegetable oil to the pan to help soften the paste, and I could just as easily use sesame oil. Perhaps I'll try that for lunch.

Hammond

David,

I wouldn't add the chinese sesame oil, its pretty strong stuff. I went with a little ground sesame, alternatively if you have it you could go for the gingelly oil (much lighter stuff) they have at kamdar.

When I made mole poblano for Christmas last year, I was really struck by how well the product would likely stand up to being sold, prepackaged. Kennedy's recipe advises mixing the paste up and storing it in the fridge for a few days before adding the broth. I'm not sure what additional preservatives are needed to make the product shelf stable.

It's funny, usually going through the labor-intensive process of making something from scratch reinforces how much flavor you lose from prepackaged products. But making the mole made me more interested in products like the Teloloapan than I previously had been. I haven't gotten around to trying it yet, but I'm not at all surprised that it's pretty decent.

Aaron Deacon wrote: I'm not sure what additional preservatives are needed to make the product shelf stable.

Strangely, the Teloloapan mole I bought says quite clearly, in two languages, "Doesn't need to be refrigerated." Now, they may mean "until opened," but it doesn't say that on the label.

Also on the label, and even more strangely, it claims that a 250 gram serving (one half the tub) nets out to 25 calories. If this is true (and I'm dubious), then this is the most flavorful damn 25 calories you'll find.

That said, I'm refrigerating the remaining mole.

Hammond

I'm bumping up this old thread to ask what recommendations for store-bought mole anyone might have. I haven't eaten much mole in my life, but my son was in Oaxaca this summer and brought back a tub of mole paste, which was very delicious and easy to use. And I'd like to buy some more. Any brands you have found that are especially good (and where to get them (I'm on the far north side, but I do get around the city) or any brands that I should stay away from? I'm most likely to use it with poultry (and maybe tofu, is that too disgusting?? Can I make vegetarian dishes with mole??)

David Hammond wrote:My guess is that most of these thick pastes must be thinned with turkey juice, chicken broth, or some watery additive (the directions on the side of my container indicated this, too).

Actually, that is pretty much what defines mole. When I went to cooking school in Oaxaca, we were told that the difference between a mole and those dishes where food is cooked in thick sauces is that mole is always a paste that is thickened, traditionally with the broth from boiling the meat over which the mole is served. So yes, you do always have to thin a mole.

In response to Judy H -- every Hispanic grocery store seems to have a range of moles and pipians (pipian is a Mayan word and mole is a Nahuatl word, but both are essentially the same thing -- pastes that are thinned to make sauces), and I have yet to find one I don't like. I have found, however, that at least at the Carniceria Jimenez where I shop, anyone I've asked has been delighted to point out which products they like best. My two favorite choices (not brands) among the local products I've tried are mole rojo and pipian verde. I've tried a few different ones and found all to be authentic and excellent.

I find that, generally, pipians are found in glass "jelly jars" that can be recycled as juice glasses. Moles tend to be in cardboard containers with plastic lids, reminiscent of those used for pre-made icing.

There are several Carniceria Jimenez locations -- the website shows them all: http://www.carniceriasjimenez.com/

It's a fabulously easy way to make a meal special on an evening when one doesn't have time to cook.

Just checked the "this week's specials" for Carniceria Jimenez, and pigs' heads are on special for 69 cents a pound. I figure that's news that someone on the forum will be glad to hear. (They always have pigs' trotters, as well as cows' hooves, but I haven't seen the pigs' heads before.)