General Information about Item:
- Genre: Material Lore – dish; Customary Lore – celebration; Verbal Lore: legend
- Language: Spanish
- Country of Origin: Mexico
- Informant: G.P.
- Date Collected: November 7, 2020
Informant Data:
- G.P. is a ~60 year old woman living in New Jersey. She was born in Tlaxcala, Mexico and has spent over 20 years in the United States, where she lives with two of her siblings and, up until they started university, her two nephews and niece. In the US, her family usually celebrates Christmas by inviting over more family members, preparing food, and partaking in some traditions with respect to her religion.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Mole is one of the most prominent dishes in Mexico, and it can be called the national dish. It has many variations, and some variations even have their own names, such as “pipian.” It is also one of the more complex recipes in Mexico as it involves creating what’s known to many as Mexico’s spicy chocolate dish.
- Social Context: Usually when made, it is for a VERY large gathering since it yields impressive portion sizes. Due to its high yield and complexity, it is typically made on rare occasions, but it also leaves lots of leftovers which allow it to be used in other meals such as tamales or enchiladas.
Item:
- For this dish, the informant wasn’t able to give very accurate measurements since most of them are done through estimation.
- The process involves obtaining several dried chile peppers: pasilla, chipotle, and ancho, which are boiled to soften them up. While that’s going on, you fry some plantain, raisins, crackers, and peanuts and set those aside. Then, you scorch the tortilla, onion, and garlic and, again, set them aside. Afterwards, you toast some sesame seeds, and blend EVERYTHING together: the softened peppers as well as the fried, scorched, and toasted ingredients. Then you start to heat up water to a boil with some salt, and, once the water is hot, you add chicken thighs or drumsticks. As soon as the chicken begins to cook, take some water from the soon-to-be broth and dissolve chocolate into it. Then add the chocolate and spice blend into the pot the chicken is cooking in.
Translation of Interview Clip:
C.Y. (collector): So then, why were so many ingredients used? The recipe seems pretty weird so far.
G.P. (informant): Yea, yea it is. I remember when my mom told me I thought the same thing. She told me that mole was created from a woman being afraid she wouldn’t be able to cook anything for her family. So she leveraged all the ingredients she had remaining and began cooking, but due to the stress her hand slipped and ingredients were mixed, things burned a little, and everything was integrated into the sauce.
C.Y.: Wow that’s quite a story. If I remember correctly back when you made it for us, you used animal crackers?
G.P.: Oh yea that was a one time thing haha, it was all I had on hand. I typically use Maria cookies. Thinking about it, that does make the story I just told sound more believable hahaha.
Collector’s Comments:
- My family makes this a little less than often. We typically eat it with pure tortillas since the family says we won’t get full otherwise (which is a lie, because we serve ourselves a lot). My family also believes in that bit of verbal folklore: that the wonderful dish was a result of someone being in a panic and cooking up with the few ingredients they had, so it is pretty widespread.
Collector’s Name: Carlos Yepes