Mole

Mole

This is “somewhat” traditional Mole. I say “somewhat” because even though it is made using a Mexican product, the real deal is done much differently (dry the chiles, ground them with other spices and chocolate, etc). But it is safe to say that growing up in a very Mexican household my mom only used “mole Doña Maria” when making mole, so it is traditional (at least to me!). Now, the flavor is NOT spicy at all (some moles are). This is sweet and yummy. You can serve it with rice (red) or make it into burritos. I am sharing my mom’s secret ingredient: peanut butter!

You can find mole in the Mexican/ethnic/international aisle in most grocery stores.

1 small jar of “mole Doña Maria” (the red kind, sarves 4)
1 whole chicken, cooked, shredded. Strain and reserve the stock.
Peanut butter (creamy, not crunchy)
Flour tortillas (see my recipe below), or red rice as a side.

-Mix the contents of the jar of mole with twice as much peanut butter (I usually just eyeball it) and 4 times as much chicken stock (mixing is much easier if the stock is still warm)
-Combine to make asauce, making sure all the mole is very well dissolved.
-In a pan combine the mole/PB sauce with the shredded chicken and bring sauce to a boil.
-Add more stock if necessary (you want it to be “saucy”)
-Taste and add more PB if needed. It should not taste bitter.

(sorry the amounts are so vague, I usually just eyeball it, but it is very easy to make and very hard to mess it up)
(also, give it a try! dont discard it just because you think chicken and PB dont go together... they DO! in MOLE)

General Tso's Chicken

EDITED October 30, 2008:

I found another recipe for this that is even better! The cornstarch on this one did not make the sauce as "caramel-ly" as it should be. I will be posting that soon!

General Tso’s Chicken (my style!)
It is not as sweet and crispy as the restaurant style, but it is yummy good. The sauce will turn very thick when it cools, so make sure you eat it right away, add water if you reheat, or even better, don’t have any leftovers!

SAUCE
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. water
2 tsp. minced garlic (or powder)
1 1/2 tsp. minced ginger (or powder)
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. cooking wine
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (or 1 cube buillon + water)
5-8 small hot red chili peppers (dried or fresh), cut in half
1 c. sliced green onions


CHICKEN
3 lb. Chicken breast in pcs.
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 c. cornstarch

-Mix all sauce ingredients except peppers and onions. Set aside.
-Mix chicken + soy sauce + pepper + egg+ cornstarch. Stir well until chicken is evenly coated.
-deep fry chicken pcs until crispy brown*. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
-On a pan with hot oil (about 3 tbsp.), stir fry the peppers and onions for a minute. (reserve some onions for garnish)
-add the sauce mixture (make sure the ingredients all well stirred).
-Stir sauce until it thickens (it gets darker too)
-add chicken pcs.
-Garnish with sliced green onions on top. Serve over white rice.

*you can skip the fried chicken part if you want to be somewhat healthier. Just cook the seasoned chicken on a pan with a bit of oil until done.

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken
This is a “tribute” to our all-time favorite dish from Shanti Restaurant in Bloomington IN. I must say that it does not look like the “original” (the original was creamier), but it tastes very good! I somewhat followed the recipe on the box of the masala, but I altered it a bit.
I hope you like it! (the trick is to find the masala, otherwise it’s a lot of spices to mix together!)

(edited sept 19th to add the following comment: If you think all that butter and cream is just too much, try using plain low-fat yoghurt instead of cream, and leave out the butter. I tried it and it is just as yummy, without the guilt)

Served with steamed rice (basmati) and/or with buttery parathas

1 tomato (diced)
1/4 onion (diced)
50 gr butter
100 gr almond powder*
2 tbsp tomato paste
90 gr cream (25% fat)
2 1/2 tbsp Butter Chicken Masala
250 gr Chicken breast in pcs.

Sautee tomato + onion. Puree with 1/2 c. water and tomato paste.
Cook chicken on the same pan (season with salt + pepper)
Add the tomato/onion mix + 1c water + almond powder
Let simmer a bit
Add Masala, cream, and butter
Let simmera bit
Taste and adjust seasonings (more masala if you like it spicier, more cream/butter for a creamier taste…)


*I think you could substitute with almond butter also, to make it creamier, but I haven’t tried.

Edited October 30, 2008:

I have managed to make this recipe with NO butter, and plain yoghurt instead of cream. Also in a hurry i skip the tomato/onion part and just use tomato paste and onion powder. It still comes out great!