Oaxacan Cuisine: The 7 Moles and Other Culinary Treasures

If Mexico is a country of extraordinary gastronomy, Oaxaca is its undisputed capital. This state in southern Mexico, nestled between mountains and valleys, is home to a culinary diversity that has no parallel: 16 ethnic groups with their own food traditions, an astonishing biodiversity that provides unique ingredients, and a culture of markets and traditional cooks that has kept an age-old cuisine alive. UNESCO recognized Mexican cuisine as Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010, and Oaxaca was the epicentre of that nomination.

In this article we explore the culinary treasures of Oaxaca: from its legendary seven moles to ingredients you will not find anywhere else in the world.

The 7 moles of Oaxaca

Oaxaca is known as "the land of the seven moles". Although in reality there are many more variations, these seven represent the full spectrum of the art of Oaxacan mole. Each has its personality, its ingredients and its occasion:

1. Mole Negro

The king of moles. It is the most complex, the most laborious and the one reserved for the most important occasions: weddings, christenings, funerals, patron saint festivals. Its intense black color comes from the chilhuacle negro chiles (exclusive to Oaxaca) toasted almost to burning, together with chocolate, plantain, burnt tortilla and more than 30 ingredients processed over days.

Oaxacan mole negro is different from mole poblano: it is darker, deeper, with smoky notes and a subtler sweetness. Making it from scratch can take 3 days of work. Traditional cooks consider it the ultimate test of culinary skill.

2. Mole Rojo

Simpler than the black but equally delicious. It uses ancho and guajillo chiles as a base, with tomato, almonds, raisins, cinnamon and chocolate. It is the most accessible mole to cook at home and the one most similar to mole poblano, although with nuances of its own from the Oaxacan tradition. It is served over chicken or pork, with red rice and tortillas.

3. Mole Coloradito

A brick-red mole, milder and sweeter than the red. Its name comes from its "coloradito" (reddish, not deep red) color. It uses ancho chile, tomato, chocolate, sugar and plantain. It is especially popular with pork and is considered the most "gentle" mole for palates not used to heat.

4. Mole Amarillo

Perhaps the most unique of the seven moles, because it uses neither chocolate nor nuts. It is a thick sauce of costeño amarillo and chilhuacle amarillo chiles, with hoja santa, chayote, green beans and corn masa as a thickener. Its flavor is herbal, vegetal, with moderate heat. It is used to make empanadas de amarillo (corn masa empanadas filled with chicken in mole amarillo), one of the most emblematic antojitos of Oaxaca.

5. Mole Verde

A fresh, herbaceous mole made with green herbs: epazote, hoja santa, chepil (a herb exclusive to Oaxaca), parsley, cilantro. It is thickened with corn masa and flavored with green chile. It is the lightest mole, almost brothy, and is served with pork, chicken or as a base for rajas tamales.

6. Mole Chichilo

The darkest mole after the black. It uses chilhuacle negro and mulato chiles, but also toasted avocado leaves that give it a unique aniseed flavor. It is thickened with burnt corn masa (charred tortilla) and has a smoky-herbal profile unlike any other mole. It is traditionally served with beef and chayotes.

7. Mole Manchamanteles

The fruitiest mole. Its name means "tablecloth-stainer" because its intense red-orange color stains everything it touches. It combines chiles with fruit: pineapple, plantain, apple, peach. The result is a perfect balance of heat, sweetness and acidity. It is the most fun of the seven and the one that most surprises those trying it for the first time.

Beyond the moles: other Oaxacan treasures

Tlayudas

If Oaxaca has a quintessential street food, it is the tlayuda: a giant tortilla (30 to 40cm in diameter) with a chewy texture, spread with asiento (the fat left at the bottom of the cazo after frying chicharrón), covered with black beans, quesillo (Oaxaca cheese), lettuce, tasajo (dried meat), Oaxacan chorizo and salsa. It is folded in half and eaten with the hands. It is the "Oaxacan pizza" and it is glorious.

Chapulines

Grasshoppers toasted with garlic, chile and lime. Yes, edible insects. Chapulines are a traditional Oaxacan snack with thousands of years of history. They are eaten alone as a nibble, inside tacos, on tlayudas or as a garnish for mezcal. Their flavor is crunchy, salty, with a citrus touch. They are rich in protein and low in fat. In Spain, they are starting to appear in specialist gourmet shops as a novelty product, although in Oaxaca they are as everyday as crisps.

Oaxaca cheese (Quesillo)

The most famous Mexican cheese. It is a pulled-curd cheese (similar to Italian mozzarella) that is rolled into balls or skeins. It is shredded into strips to fill quesadillas, melted over tlayudas and eaten on its own with tortillas and salsa. In Spain, fresh mozzarella can substitute it in recipes, although the flavor and texture are not exactly the same. Some Mexican establishments in Spain import or make artisanal quesillo.

Artisanal mezcal

While mezcal is produced in several Mexican states, Oaxaca is its spiritual home and the largest producer. Unlike tequila (which only uses blue agave), Oaxacan mezcal is made with multiple agave varieties (espadín, tobalá, arroqueño, madrecuixe, tepeztate) that are cooked in earthen pits, crushed with a stone tahona and fermented in wooden vats. Every artisanal mezcal is unique, reflecting the terroir, the agave variety and the hand of the master mezcalero.

Mezcal is drunk neat, in slow sips, accompanied by slices of orange with worm salt (salt mixed with ground maguey worm and chile). Never as a shot. The ritual of drinking mezcal in Oaxaca is unhurried, social and contemplative.

Oaxacan chocolate

Oaxaca has a special relationship with chocolate that comes directly from the Aztecs. In the Oaxaca market, you can buy chocolate ground on the spot: you take your ingredients (cacao, sugar, cinnamon, almonds) and they grind them in front of you on a metate or electric mill. The result is an artisanal chocolate for making hot chocolate, mole or atole.

Oaxacan tamales

Oaxacan tamales are distinguished by being wrapped in banana leaf (not corn husk) and by their special fillings: mole negro with chicken, rajas with cheese, chepil, amarillo. They are moister and more aromatic than the tamales of central Mexico, with a herbaceous flavor that the banana leaf imparts during steaming.

Oaxaca in Spain

Oaxacan cuisine is starting to have a presence in Spain. Some Mexican restaurants offer Oaxacan dishes such as tlayudas, artisanal mezcal and moles. However, the complexity of Oaxacan cooking makes it hard to replicate outside its context: ingredients such as chilhuacle chile, hoja santa, chepil or artisanal quesillo are almost impossible to find in Europe.

To get closer to the flavors of Oaxaca from Spain, you can:

• Buy Oaxacan mole paste in Latin American shops (brands such as Mayordomo are exported)
• Look for artisanal mezcal in specialist spirits shops
• Substitute the quesillo with fresh mozzarella
• Prepare chapulines with grasshoppers available in gourmet shops

And if you ever travel to Oaxaca, prepare for a culinary experience that will change your perception of Mexican food forever. In the meantime, explore our Mexican recipes to bring a little of that magic to your kitchen.