Alright, so today I’m gonna share my experience making Enmoladas! I saw this recipe online and was like, “Hey, that looks kinda cool and not too hard,” so I figured, why not give it a shot?
First things first, I went to the store. Getting the ingredients was probably the trickiest part, honestly. I needed things like ancho chiles, guajillo chiles, some other spices I couldn’t pronounce, and obviously the basics like tortillas, cheese, and chicken. I swear I spent like an hour wandering around the Mexican food aisle.
Okay, so once I got home, the real fun began. The recipe said to toast the chiles and then soak them in hot water. Toasting them was easy enough – just threw ’em in a dry pan for a few seconds until they smelled nice and smoky. Soaking them? No problem. But then came the part where I had to deseed them and remove the stems. Let me tell you, that was MESSY. My hands were stained red for like two days. Pro-tip: wear gloves!
Next up was the mole sauce itself. I tossed the soaked chiles, along with onions, garlic, tomatoes, spices (cumin, coriander, cloves, the whole shebang), and some chicken broth into the blender. Blended it all up until it was smooth-ish. I mean, it wasn’t perfectly smooth, but I wasn’t aiming for Michelin-star quality here. Just something edible.
Then I heated up some oil in a pan and simmered the sauce for like, what felt like forever. The recipe said to let it thicken, and it did… eventually. I kept stirring it so it wouldn’t burn, and the whole time my kitchen smelled AMAZING. Seriously, the aroma alone was worth the effort.
While the sauce was simmering, I shredded some cooked chicken. You can use rotisserie chicken from the store to make it easier. Then, I heated up the tortillas and dipped them in the mole sauce. I tried to be generous with the sauce, coating them pretty well. Then I filled them with the shredded chicken and rolled them up. I placed the rolled tortillas in a baking dish.
After that, I poured the rest of the mole sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkled a ton of crumbled queso fresco on top. I’m talking a generous amount. Popped the dish into the oven for about 20 minutes, until the cheese was melted and bubbly and the whole thing was heated through.
Finally, the moment of truth! I took it out of the oven, let it cool for a minute (because, you know, molten lava cheese), and then dug in. And you know what? It was actually pretty damn good! Not gonna lie, I was impressed with myself. The mole sauce was rich and complex, the chicken was flavorful, and the cheese… well, cheese always makes everything better, right?
Would I make it again? Maybe. It was a bit of a process, but the end result was definitely worth the effort. Plus, now I can say I made my own mole sauce from scratch. Bragging rights, people!
Here’s a few things I learned:
- Wear gloves when handling the chiles! Seriously, save yourself the stained-hands misery.
- Don’t be afraid to adjust the spices to your liking. I added a little extra cumin because I love it.
- Rotisserie chicken is your friend. Don’t feel like you have to cook the chicken yourself.
- Don’t skimp on the cheese. More cheese is always better.
Overall, it was a fun cooking adventure. And the Enmoladas? They were delicious. Definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re feeling adventurous in the kitchen!
