Mole rojo is the seventh of the canonical moles, the red mole built on ancho, guajillo and chilhuacle rojo, more peppery and less sweet than coloradito.

Mole rojo is the peppery-red sibling to coloradito, with chilhuacle rojo replacing some of the ancho and a heavier hand on the garlic and cinnamon. Less famous than negro or coloradito, rojo appears on the seven-mole tasting platters at Los Pacos and Catedral, and is the canonical pork-or-chicken Sunday mole in Sierra Sur villages.

Where to eat Mole rojo in Oaxaca

4 editor picks for Mole rojo in Oaxaca, ranked by editorial score. All Oaxaca signature dishes · Mole rojo across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 42 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 6 ancho chiles, seeded
  • 4 guajillo chiles, seeded
  • 2 chilhuacle rojo chiles (or pasilla as substitute), seeded
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 small onion, charred
  • 2 tomatoes, charred
  • 40g sesame seeds, toasted
  • 30g almonds, toasted
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 cloves
  • 3 black peppercorns
  • 800ml chicken stock
  • 20g Oaxacan chocolate
  • 800g chicken or pork, cut for serving
  • Salt

Method

  1. Toast the chiles and soak in hot water 20 minutes.
  2. Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic on the comal.
  3. Blend chiles, charred vegetables, sesame, almonds and spices into a paste.
  4. Fry the paste in 50ml lard 15 minutes.
  5. Add stock; simmer 45 minutes.
  6. Stir in chocolate, adjust salt; add cooked chicken or pork to warm through.

Editor tip. Add the chocolate after the chiles have toasted, otherwise the sweetness flattens the chile-rojo brightness.

Common allergens: Sesame, Wheat (tortilla).