Mexican · Oaxaca · main

Mole Coloradito con Pollo

Name: Mole Coloradito con Pollo
Prep time: 2 h 24 min
Total time: 2 h 49 min
Cuisine: Mexican · Oaxaca
Ingredients: chicken — 1600 g; ancho chiles — 90 g; guajillo chiles — 60 g; tomatoes — 500 g; white onion — 200 g; garlic — 18 g; plantain — 200 g; blanched almonds — 60 g; sesame seeds — 40 g; canela — 2 g; cloves — 9 g; dried mexican oregano — 4 g; oaxacan drinking chocolate — 45 g; pork lard — 120 g; chicken stock — 1500 g; salt — 10 g

Mole Coloradito con Pollo reads umami 6.0, richness 5.7 and salinity 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Mexican · Oaxaca main, about 2 hr 49 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.4 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.0 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.0 · Richness 5.7 · Salinity 4.6 · Nutty 3.6 · Allium 3.6 · Sweetness 3.3 · Warm Spice 3.0 · Earthy 2.3 · Fruity 2.3 · Floral 2.3 · Sourness 1.9 · Heat 1.6 · Smoke 1.3 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Bitterness 1.1 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (16)

chicken — 1600 g
ancho chiles — 90 g
guajillo chiles — 60 g
tomatoes — 500 g
white onion — 200 g
garlic — 18 g
plantain — 200 g
blanched almonds — 60 g
sesame seeds — 40 g
canela — 2 g
cloves — 9 g
dried mexican oregano — 4 g
oaxacan drinking chocolate — 45 g
pork lard — 120 g
chicken stock — 1500 g
salt — 10 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 49 min (2 hr 24 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 118.7 kcal, 8 g protein, 7.4 g fat, 5.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Poach the chicken in the stock with a piece of the onion for 30 minutes, until the thigh juices run clear. Keep the pieces warm and save every drop of the broth.
Toast the anchos and guajillos on a dry comal over medium heat, about 20 seconds a side, pressing them flat until they smell like raisins and tobacco. They should go pliable and fragrant, never black — coloradito lives or dies on this.
Soak the chiles in hot water 25 minutes. While they sit, char the tomatoes, onion and unpeeled garlic on the comal until they are soft and blistered black in patches, about 12 minutes.
Fry the plantain and almonds in a spoonful of the lard until deep gold, 5 minutes, then toast the sesame, canela, cloves and oregano in the dry pan until the sesame just begins to pop.
Blend it all with a cup of the broth and push it through a sieve — coloradito should be velvet, with no chile skin left in it.
Heat the rest of the lard in a cazuela until it ripples, add the paste in one go and fry it, stirring, 15 to 18 minutes, until it turns the colour of old brick and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Loosen with the broth, drop in the chocolate, and simmer gently 45 minutes until it is glossy and just thick enough to nap a spoon. Season, return the chicken, and give it 15 minutes to take the sauce on.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo Capeados — Mexican
Ndizi Nyama (Green Banana and Beef Stew) — Tanzanian
Spinach Chicken Meatballs in Curry Sauce — Indian
Middle Eastern Cinnamon-Spiced Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers — Middle Eastern
Coda alla Vaccinara — Italian · Rome

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.