Mole (“moh-lay”) is the sauce associated with Oaxaca and you may think you have tried it. However when I tell you Oaxaca boasts seven different moles you can see it’s a subtle sauce.
First we tried the classic negro (“black”) sauce, chocolate based, mostly savory with a little sweet and what most people think of when you say mole. I’m not a cook so let me quote people who really know food https://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/15/the-7-moles-of-oaxaca/amp/
“ The “typical” savory-sweet mole mentioned above, and the one most frequently found on American menus. An intricate recipe with a lot of ingredients and steps, you’ll be grinding and stewing the following together: onion, garlic, whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and cumin, dried chiles, pumpkin and sesame seeds, herbs like hoja santo (which contributes to the dark color) and cilantro, bread for thickening and sometimes dried fruit for extra sweeteness. Oh, and plenty of dark, bitter chocolate.”
We also tried Amarillo (“yellow”) which came out looking orange to me. It had a flavor that hinted of a corn base but our mesero -waiter- explained it’s based on ground almonds and bread. And of course all those Mexican spices. The experts at Food Republic say amarillo is the least regimented mole so anything goes. There are five others and the link above will show you the way which we will need more time to explore
Ironically we tried these moles at a highly recommended eatery around the corner from the cathedral. Taniperla is the name of the restaurant but it’s also a window on a whole other world inside Mexico. Weren’t we surprised!
The name refers to a town in Chiapas that declared independence in the name of the Zapatista revolt protesting the government’s lack of investment in Chiapas. In distant 1998 the village posted the mural below as a mark of their revolt. The army came to town and wiped it out. But… here it still is!
Oaxacan food is everywhere around here surprisingly enough. And when we went off to check out some rural mezcal manufacture we finished our morning with a lunch at a place found previously by Duan. As she is the vegetarian in her group we knew she would be sure to find interesting food and she did. The worlds largest mushroom quesadilla:
It was a stone farmhouse at the end of a dirt road across a couple of fields with one sign along the way promising Oaxacan specialties.
The tortilla maker is a gas flame under a steel plate where Dorotea prepares the tortilla masa which is what they call the cornmeal.
It’s her grandmother’s recipes but she is young and apparently and takes care of this traditional kitchen with one young helper her daughter. Not light work at all.
There were six of us, Omar and Angelica from Mexico City and Duan and Greg from Atlanta though Greg grew up in Palm Beach.
The others had beer and sodas but I wanted cafe de olla (“oy-ya”) which is light cinnamon coffee and I got a pint of the stuff. The others made fun of me saying I’d climb the walls
Little did they know, I had a second one and I did fine driving home. Angelica and Omar had mole negro.
Layne had mole amarilla:
Greg went for tlayuda another Oaxacan specialty. Also enormous .
And I had ribs in a local tomatillo and guajillo spicy sauce with black beans.
It’s a pretty relaxed group we have found ourselves among. The serious overlander types mostly from Germany in serious vehicles I don’t particularly care to mix with. I find the enthusiasm and the curiosity of amateur travelers much more stimulating and my hat is off to Duan for finding this place.
This is Omar and Angelica’s first van trip and they are enjoying learning and talking and seeing their own Mexico with new eyes. They make the experience of traveling fresh for me too.
Divide menu items by 18 pesos to get the up to date exchange rate in dollars. Last year it was 21 to the dollar so we are hurting this year. Just a little.
Arid Oaxaca in full on dry season. It’s a dry heat as they say but 85 degrees is still 85 in American degrees.
Angelica dragged me laughing into the men’s loo. But it was just to see this splendid act of repurposing.
Omar and Angelica have a 17 foot Promaster 1500 which is easy for them to park at home. He is converting the interior and has already done the solar system snd electricity. They own their own home plus a second house and several stores that he rents out. He spent ten years in the US and had his own business which he abandoned when his mother was on her death bed back in the old country so he started again in Mexico near his family. Not exactly the stereotypical lazy immigrant. I wish he were ready to drive to Argentina now.
Oaxacan food is good food.
