How to Make Mole Sauce From Dehydrated Mole, Step by Step

The ratio

Use 3 to 4 tablespoons of dehydrated mole for every ½ to 1 cup of warm chicken broth. That makes one serving. Start on the thicker side with ½ cup of broth and loosen it from there, because it is easier to thin a sauce than to thicken it.

Step by step

1. Warm the chicken broth in a saucepan over medium heat until it steams. It does not need to boil.
2. Add the mole and whisk for 60 to 90 seconds until it dissolves. It will look thin at first.
3. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce turns glossy and coats the back of a spoon. You want it thick but still pourable.
4. Taste. Mole is seasoned already, so most people add nothing. If it tastes flat, a pinch of salt wakes it up.
5. Spoon it over chicken, turkey, enchiladas, eggs or roasted vegetables, and finish with toasted sesame seeds.

Getting the texture right

• Too thick: whisk in warm broth a splash at a time. Hot broth blends in smoothly; cold broth makes lumps.
• Too thin: keep simmering. Mole thickens quickly as it reduces, so check every minute.
• Lumpy: the broth was probably cold or the mole went in too fast. Whisk harder over low heat, and it will smooth out.
• Too intense: add more broth. Our moles are concentrated, and a little more liquid rounds them out without losing flavor.

A first recipe: chicken in mole

Roast a whole chicken, or poach 2 pounds of thighs in salted water with a piece of onion. Warm 3 cups of chicken broth and whisk in one 8 oz pouch of Mole Negro or Mole Rojo. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, spoon it generously over the chicken, and serve with rice and warm tortillas. That is dinner for 3 to 4.

For more ideas, from enchiladas to eggs, see What to serve with mole.

Storing the pouch and the sauce

Unopened or sealed back up, the dehydrated mole keeps in a cool pantry for over a year. Once you have made the sauce, treat it like any cooked sauce: cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat it gently with a splash of broth, since it will have thickened in the fridge.

Dehydrated mole vs. mole paste

Mole paste is a thick, oily concentrate that you fry and then thin with broth. It is delicious, but it needs refrigeration, separates in the jar and is heavy to ship. Dehydrated mole is the same cooked sauce with the water removed by sun drying, so it is shelf stable, light, and dissolves straight into warm broth with no frying step. The flavor of the chiles, seeds and spices is all still there.