Those of you who know me, know that I am sometimes referred to as Brittania… which is my Mexican name. I got to experience so many different cultures when I worked for Fairmont and some of my favourite people were my Mexican friends. Holy Sh!t, can they party! It was never a question of whether I would have a good time, it was a question of how hung over I wanted to feel the next day! But the food… was always crazy good!
I learned a lot from mi amigas Nadia and Hayde and even ….Mauricio (but don’t tell him that – it will go to his head lol)

When it came to learning to cook traditional Mexican food, I had the best In. I just paid attention to my friends when they would cook for me. I asked a lot of questions and eventually I learned how to do a few things myself.  I also got the honor of attending my friends sisters wedding in Mexico and spent 2 weeks devouring the culture and the food with Hayde’s family! OMG – the food! I would love to live in Mexico forever… so many delicious things to eat, and so FRESH!!
In Cuernavaca we were waiting for the bus to take us back to Mexico City and over across the street was a couple of bbqs and some folding tables set up under a blue tarp attached to a chain link fence. They had coolers which contained Mexican Beer and sodas and on one of the tables they had everything to make Tacos. We walked over and sat down and ate one of the best frikken Tacos I have ever had in my LIFE! In Mexico – I was told to eat at the places you wouldn’t normally eat. If its a busy hole in the wall – the food is ridiculous! and oh man were they right!

Mole Sauce is a traditional Mexican sauce that has been past down from generation to generation.There is many different versions and ways to make a mole sauce. It is made from Chilies, Mexican dark chocolate and over 20 different ingredients. Some Moles call for up to 30 ingredients! It is actually a very long process to make the chocolate infused with all those chilies and spices… its insane. The Chocolate mixture is then mixed with chicken broth and spread over shredded boiled chicken with white onions and Mexican queso-fresco cheese on top.

Mole is one of my favourites… I ate it in Mexico at least twice ( as you can see from the photos below). Each recipe is different but the soft spicy flavour and the sharp sweet bitterness from the chocolate is such a lovely contrast to your typical Chicken dinner.
I ate chicken mole Enchiladas (right) in Mexico City and I ate at my exes Family restaurant and had his Moms Chicken Mole Dinner (left) – both incredible! Ps. That’s Cactus juice I am drinking in that picture!

In Calgary we have a Mexican Market that I was introduced to (Gracias Nadia and Maurico) and I go and buy my tortillas, queso-fresco, vanilla, and pre-made Mole sauce from this place! I sometimes even grab an empanada and a Jarritos Pineapple soda as a treat! When my Mom and Grandmother came to visit me, I took them into the Market and now I Send them home Vanilla because they love it so much. If your in Calgary go to UniMarket for fresh empandas and some imported Mexican items!

Here is how you make Chicken Mole Tacos… and I suggest you try this… because its unbelievably delicious.

What you need:

• 4 Chicken Breasts – rinsed, boiled and shredded
• 1 container Dona Marias Mole Sauce (I am still learning to cook Mexican food, so I buy Dona Marias Mole Sauce because its epic!)
• Chicken Broth
• Flour Tortillas ( what we call “snack size” is Normal Tortilla sizes in Mexico)
• White Onion chopped into small chunks 
• Queso-fresco Cheese – Crumbled/shredded *this is a soft cheese – slightly salty …Americans like to say its like Feta but its not that salty and its soft like a mozzarella – incredibly tasty!
• Avocado  *Optional – its a nice creamy texture to add to the Taco
• Roasted sesame seeds *Optional
• Lime wedges *Optional

What to do:
*Version 1 – how I was Taught!

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil
2. add your rinsed chicken breasts to the water and let boil until cooked
3. cut up your onions, avocado and grate your cheese while your chicken cooks
4. drain your chicken, cool for a minutes and then start to shred it down with a couple of forks
5. In a Medium sauce pan – add 1 cup of chicken broth (you can add more if you need more after)
6. Turn your heat on to medium and add in your Dona Maria Chocolate sauce
   *this can be a bit hard, so patience and a spoon are helpful.
7. stirring constantly to mix the sauce into the chicken broth until it thickens. You want a a medium thick sauce. It should still run off your spoon slowly
8. add more broth if you need to, should take about 5 minutes or so for your sauce to thicken
9. Warm your tortillas… always warn your tortillas…. I use a kitchen towel and wrap them in that to keep the heat in the tortillas… I don’t have a fancy tortilla holder
10. Make your tacos… (How I make mine – Tortilla, Chicken, Sauce, sesame seeds, Onions, Cheese and avocado) add Lime juice from your wedges for added flavour!

*Version 2 – Crockpot version!

1. place your rinsed chicken breasts into the crockpot
2. add in 1 + 1/2 cups of chicken broth * you use a bit more because of the way it cooks down in the crockpot)
3. add your Dona Maria chocolate sauce on top of the chicken
4. Cook on low for 8 hours * i started mine before I left for work in the am.
5. Shred chicken (should come apart very easily) and stir the sauce to incorporate the chocolate and let sit on low for another hour
6. just before your ready to eat, cut up your onions and toss about a 1/2 cup of chopped onions into the crockpot and just stir in * you still want more for the top after
7. Prepare the rest of your toppings and heat your tortillas
8. Make your tacos 🙂 same way as version 1 – however I was running out of the good cheese so I substituted where needed with marble!

*Both versions will feed about 8 people… but the good news is, Mole freezes well. In both versions, you can freeze the rest for a quick defrost meal another time, and its also delicious made into a Burrito Bowl  with rice… and taken for lunch the next day!

I’d like to try a BBQ’d version of Chicken Mole… that will be my next attempt!

Optional Side dishes: 

• Refried Beans topped with a little cheese and some Lime juice
• Grilled Corn Salsa Salad (tomatoes, grilled corn, avocado, onions, garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, cilantro, salt and pepper – optional *queso-fresco)
• Mexican Rice (tomato paste, water, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, ancho chilies in adobo sauce, cilantro and Rice)

You gotta try this!!!

-Brittany