I love mole, Mexico’s complex sauce of dried chili peppers, seeds, and spices - always including a little chocolate. I went to Oaxaca to take cooking classes, specifically to learn how to make the real thing - Oaxaca's black mole, Mole Negro. We spent the whole afternoon making it - grinding seeds, toasting chili peppers, and so, so much simmering.
Real deal mole is amazing, but I cheat on weeknights, and buy buy pre-made mole paste at my local Mexican mercado. But it is Authentic Cheating - home cooks in Mexico also buy pre-made mole paste at their local market. (The Mole stalls in Oaxaca were impressive - piles of mole paste, as tall as I am, shaped into pyramids or domes.)
Black Mole Paste (Mole Negro) from my local Mexican market
My favorite mole paste is from Seasons of my Heart in Oaxaca - the aforementioned school I went to - but the tubs of mole at my local market work just fine. I went with the Mole Negro paste, so I could revisit my trip, but any mole paste will work with this technique.
My other weeknight cheat is boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the whole bird. Quick mole for a weeknight, thanks to the pressure cooker.
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken in Black Mole Sauce
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)
Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken in Black Mole Sauce
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings, with a lot of extra mole sauce 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken in Black Mole Sauce recipe. Mole Negro Oaxaqueno on a weeknight? Yes - if you use a pressure cooker, and start with pre-made mole paste, it is possible.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 ounces Oaxaca black mole paste (or any mole paste)
- 1 tab of Mexican chocolate (optional)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)
Accompaniments
- Tortillas
- Crumbled Mexican cheese (Queso Fresco)
- Shredded cabbage (or shredded lettuce, or baby greens)
Instructions
- Fry the Mole paste: Heat the vegetable oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the mole paste and fry, stirring often, until the mole paste softens, about 3 minutes. Add the tab of Mexican chocolate, then stir in the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any mole paste that is stuck to the bottom. (If the mole sauce sticks, it will scorch, and the PC will go into overheating mode instead of coming up to pressure.)
- Add the chicken:Sprinkle the chicken with 1 ½ teaspoons salt, then add to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot again to make sure none of the mole sauce is sticking.
- Pressure cook the chicken: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes in an electric or stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Shred the chicken and serve: Remove the chicken to a platter with a slotted spoon, and shred the chicken using a pair of forks. Stir the chicken back into the pot, then pour the chicken and mole into a serving bowl. Serve with the tortillas and accompaniments.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Notes
- For this recipe, make sure to get mole paste, not "ready to serve" mole sauce. Ready to serve comes with the liquid already mixed in to the sauce - we want to make it ourselves from chicken stock. (Especially if you have homemade chicken stock - it is so much better with homemade stock as the base.)
- Want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs? Increase the pressure cooking time to 10 minutes.
- The mole sauce is thick and sweet, and will want to burn in the bottom of your pot. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot smooth before locking the lid for pressure cooking, or you may go into overheat mode in an electric pressure cooker. If that happens, open the cooker, thoroughly scrape the bottom of the pot, then lock the lid and try again.
- This recipe makes extra sauce - freeze it for future use.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos (Tinga de Pollo)
Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Short Rib Tacos with Dried Chile Pepper Sauce
Pressure Cooker Cochinita Pibil - Yucatecan Pit Cooked Pork
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos
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Stephanie Cintron says
I know you are partial to your Mole paste, but if you ever want to try something else, order from Guelaguetza at ilovemole.com Order the 3 pack of Mole Negro, Rojo, and Coloradito. I order it for friends and family for gifts after we went to the restaurant in LA a few years back. Out of this world and so easy!
Danielle says
You inspired me! I bought the mole paste, but mine was super saucy. When I had it in Mexico, it was much thicker. Maybe it was an Americanized version in a Mexico resort town.
Jorge says
BREASTS? really? surprising move.
Mike V says
I know, I know. I get a lot of questions about them in the Instant Pot, so I figured I'd give them a try.
Mike says
Could you use Cocoa powder instead of the chocolate tab? I have made mole chicken in the slow cooker before and it called for that. If so how to substitute?
Also you stated "not pre- made mole sauce like this one from Doña Maria" was there supposed to be a link there? Doña Maria is the only mole paste/sauce I have ever even seen in my supermarket. They have a version which is called sauce but is a hard paste and comes in a jar. I have also seen little box versions that I assume is premixed with water. Is the hard paste version that comes in the jar ok to use or are you saying to not use that as well?
Mike V says
You're right - I cleaned up that note so it makes more sense. Dona Maria makes two products.
You can use Dona Maria Mole Sauce: http://amzn.to/2gjK8Jh
But you don't want Mole Ready to Serve: http://amzn.to/2fYMQQ6
Mike says
Thanks,
What about using Cocoa powder instead of a chocolate tab? What would be the substitution?
Mike V says
About a teaspoon of cocoa powder? If you don't have Mexican chocolate, it's OK to skip it.