Mondays in Méxicos: Mole y Arroz

Pollo con mole y arroz mexicano

I recently stumbled across Latinaish, a blog about Hispanic culture, language, foods, and travel. Tracy, the blog’s author, is a gringa (American woman) married to Salvadoran man. I have been enjoying her humorous perspective on bicultural life, and I particularly like her Spanish Fridays. Every week, Tracy blogs about any topic, but she does so in both Spanish and English. I thought it might be fun to give this a try, too. As Tracy says, it’s a great way to “practice, improve, and learn” Spanish.

Although it is called Spanish Friday, I’m going to write my Mondays in México posts in Spanish and English. Same idea – different day. So, here goes!

La primera vez que había escuchado del mole fue cuando leí el libro Como agua para chocolate. El personaje principal, Tita, se expresa através de su cocina. Ella pone todos sus sentimientos dentro de la comida que hace y el sabor que resulta es un reflejo de los mismos. Hay una escena en particular cuando Tita hace mole, una salsa de chile y chocolate. Ella piensa que un amor no puede ser reemplazado por otro, parecido a como el chocolate no puede ser sustituido por agua cuando se hace el mole.

Desde que leí ese libro, el mole siempre me ha intrigado. Parece algo mágico con sus más de 40 ingredientes. Sigo estando asombrada por las eternas variedades cuando visito México. Debo confesar que mi mole favorito es el de Veracruz. Se inclina a ser más picante que dulce, y pienso que complementa bien el pollo. 

La foto de arriba tomada por Roberto es del mole veracruzano preparado con pollo y acompañado con arroz mexicano. Se ve encantador, ¿no piensas? ¿Has probado el mole en algún momento? ¿Te gusta?

The first time I ever heard about mole was in the book Like Water for Chocolate. The main character, Tita, expresses herself through her cooking. She puts all of her feelings into the food that she makes and the resulting taste is a reflection of those feelings. There is a particular scene where Tita makes mole, a chile and chocolate sauce. She thinks about how one love cannot be replaced by another, similar to how chocolate cannot be substituted with water when making mole.

Since reading that book, mole has always intrigued me. It seems sort of magical with its forty plus ingredients. I continue to be amazed by the endless varieties when I visit Mexico. I must say that my favorite is the mole from Veracruz. It tends to be spicier (hot) rather than sweet, and I feel like it complements the chicken well.

Above is a picture that Roberto took of the Veracruz mole on top of chicken with Mexican rice on the side. It really does look enchanting, don’t you think? Have you ever tried mole before? Do you like it?