Enmoladas de Pollo (Mole Enchiladas with Chicken)
These rich and decadent enmoladas de pollo are made with tender poached chicken stuffed into corn tortillas drenched in a velvety mole sauce.
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN
- 1½ pounds chicken thighs bone-in 4-5 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or 2 leg quarters
- 1 medium white onion halved
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 celery stalks with leaves
- 1 carrot peeled and halved
- 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 8 ounces mole poblano paste
- 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter optional
- 4 ounces Mexican chocolate
- 12 corn tortillas
GARNISHES
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- 5 key limes
- ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano crushed
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or to taste
- 5 ounces cotija cheese crumbled, panela cheese will also work
Instructions
- Add chicken, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, the 2 tablespoons of salt, and pepper to a large stock pot with enough water to cover ingredients with an additional 3 inches of water. (You will need a total of 3 cups of broth for the mole sauce.)Bring ingredients to a boil over high heat for 10 minutes. Adjust to medium heat and continue to simmer for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked.
- In the meantime, add onions to a small bowl and toss with juice from limes, oregano, and salt. Set aside.
- Next, remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, strain the broth through a fine-mesh metal sieve and set aside for the mole sauce.
- Add mole paste, peanut butter, chocolate and 3 cups of the chicken broth to a large heavy-bottom frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spatula, until mole paste, peanut butter, and chocolate have melted and turned into a thick sauce, for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt if necessary. Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer while preparing the chicken.
- Shred chicken in a bowl and season with additional salt, if necessary.
- Heat ¾ cup of oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
- Warm tortillas on a comal or wrapped in a clean dish towel in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Using tongs, prepare mole enchiladas one at a time by carefully dipping warm tortilla into hot oil to coat on each side, just long enough to soften, 10 to 15 seconds.Drain excess oil and then dip the tortilla in mole sauce and drain excess sauce before filling the tortilla with 2 tablespoons of shredded chicken and rolling the tortillas as tightly as if making taquitos. If rolling them is a challenge, you may simply fold in half with chicken inside.
- Serve mole enchiladas topped with additional mole sauce, sliced onion, and crumbled cheese alongside rice and refried beans.
A Note from Lola
How to serve: In Mexico, enmoladas are served as they are prepared, typically two per person.
Making for a large group: Also, if you are serving a large group, working quickly, you can roll the mole enchiladas and assemble them in a casserole dish, garnish, and serve.
Time-saver: If pressed for time, store-bought rotisserie chicken and store-bought chicken broth would also work for this recipe, but be sure to taste and adjust for salt if necessary.
Mole paste: There are lots of good mole pastes widely available in most grocery stores. Check in the aisle with the other Latin ingredients. Use Mole Poblano or Mole Negro paste.
Nutrition
Serving: 2enmoladasCalories: 556kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 25gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 3247mgPotassium: 504mgFiber: 9gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 2218IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 210mgIron: 2mg
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