Hazel Park, MI — Prior to my years living in Phoenix, I admittedly had limited exposure to genuinely authentic Mexican cuisine. I had only been to Mexicantown, a neighborhood of downtown Detroit where many Mexican families established themselves in the 1920s, about twice to dine at the restaurants renowned in the metro for their traditional and authentic dishes. So, my five years in Phoenix granted me incredible exposure to Southwest and Mexican cuisine, for which I’m eternally grateful!
As my foodie logs expanded in knowledge and experiences over those years, I began favoriting a few particular foods from Mexican cuisine. From the million food shows I watch on Netflix to hitting the streets and checking out new restaurants or popular spots for my old food franchise, I learned I particularly enjoyed birria, chorizo, cochinita pibil, and mole! I’ll order a birria taco or quesa-birria anywhere I see it on a menu, I cook VERY often with chorizo (foreshadowing), I save cochinita pibil for rare/special occasions, and with mole, I love the different variations and ways it can turn out!
While it’s safe to say I’m not going to be attempting to make birria or cochinita pibil anytime soon, I figured one day recently it was time to try and make mole for the first time. I was partially inspired yet again by Phil Rosenthal during his adventure to Alfonsina in Oaxaca, and by Maria Aldana and her authentic recipes at Aldana’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Troy. Surely, like any time I’ve stumbled into an attempt at a new recipe, it should be straightforward, right? (rare attempt at sarcasm, ha-ha)
In all actuality, mole isn’t that difficult to make. There’s just a bit of a balancing act at work once you’re at the tail end of the process — but we’ll get to that later! So for this meal, I also tried another new cooking experience by utilizing wraps to make egg rolls. The overall dish would be chorizo-stuffed egg rolls topped with mole. So, I bought all of the ingredients (for the most part) and embarked on this new recipe adventure Wednesday morning.
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Like any new recipe I’m attempting, I like to get all of the ingredients out and in front of me so I can assess and mentally plan the cooking process step by step. I had my egg roll wrappers, pumpkin seeds, chorizo, chocolate (I went with dark chocolate), and dried chilies: ancho, de Arbol (I only used about 40% of the bag, this one packs some heat!), and California chilies (died Anaheim peppers). Not pictured (and later incorporated) chicken stock!
Next, I pitted and de-seeded the chilies, putting them and the pumpkin seeds in the blender. In hindsight, I’ll only use half the bag of California chilies for the next attempt and remind myself to grab two bags of ancho chilis! I then melted the chocolate with a thin slice of butter (and a dash of cinnamon) and added that mixture to the blender. I blended it all up and emptied the paste-like concoction into a pot on low heat. I eventually realized (thanks, Google) that I needed to add a stock liquid or water(?) to thin it out to its more usual sauce-based form. There was some chicken stock in the fridge, so I added what I could and began stirring, much to my joy, as I saw the paste quickly transition before my eyes to a regular sauce with gravy-like consistency. Reminder, this was my first attempt at making mole, so I’m not ashamed to admit it was definitely a learn-as-you-go experience, but sometimes that’s when I thrive at things like cooking, is on the fly.
While all the mole action was happening, I was simultaneously cooking up my chorizo that would be going inside the egg rolls. I blended in three seasonings and let the simmer do its thing. Once the mole’s consistency was where I wanted it (it ended up thickening up slightly after that above photo on the left was taken. I learned that the longer you let the mole get heat or simmer, the thicker it’s going to turn out), and the chorizo was cooked, I started prepping for the rolling! I laid out an egg roll wrapper with a corner facing me and placed a couple of spoon scoops worth of chorizo just below the center line.
You’ll note above that I used two wrappers per egg roll. This was due to the disproportionate amount of chorizo to wrappers at my current disposal. Alas, another lesson learned for the next mole attempt! Anyways, the idea for the roll is pretty straightforward. You pull up the bottom corner aimed at you and fold it over to cover/tuck under the center point of your contents, creasing under and along as your fingers work their way to the edge. Next, you’ll fold over the left corner so that the corner rests atop the center of your contents now under the initial fold. You’ll crease along the left side upwards and repeat this process for the right side. Now the final roll! Roll up and along until the last most northern corner disappears beneath the fully rolled egg roll. Once all the chorizo egg rolls were rolled up for the amount of chorizo I had, I placed them on a baking pan and put them in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
I put three egg rolls on a plate, then topped it with my mole sauce. Per usual, I threw a dash of parsley on top because I am just one of those folks. And here is the final result:
While nowhere near perfect, it was good and a solid foundation for future mole endeavors. The chocolatey chili blend was surprisingly balanced, although I could have had a bit more sweetness by adding in a bit of sugar (which I saw in several recipes online). The heat swept up slowly behind the flavors of cacao and definitely brought an awareness to your mouth, but never quite breaking the threshold for physical reactions such as sweating or heat-numbing in your mouth. The spice level turned out perfect, even lingering for about 20-30 seconds after finishing up a bite. It had a nice savory flavor as well, with hints of smokiness.
Overall, I really enjoyed this new recipe adventure, making a dish that I enjoy for many reasons. I learned a lot about how to make it even better the next time, so stay tuned; more cooking adventures abound!
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