MAINS

Pollo Encacahuatado

Encacahuatado is a thick and creamy peanut mole made with dried chiles and tomatoes.

By Ashley M.

Total Time: 60 mins Servings: 8

Ingredients:


2 pounds chopped chicken breast

Oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

2-4 cloves of minced Garlic 

Puya (dry chile) to taste

Guajillo (dry chile) to taste

Chile de árbol (dry chile) to taste

1 cup of non-salted skinless peanuts 

1/2 onion

2 tablespoons chicken base (as preferred)

Garlic powder 

1 ½ tomatoes 

Dry parsley

Rice

Potatoes 

Milk

Butter 

Evaporated milk 

Chopped vegetables (preference)

Directions:

(Before starting you must have your chiles without seeds and stems) 

In a pan with oil you will fry 2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size and preference) along with the tomatoes and onions. Let them cook until they're soft, put them into a blender. Then, using the same pan and oil, fry the peanuts. Make sure to have the heat on low. Stir the peanuts until they turn a nice golden brown color.

Follow the same steps with the dried chilies. Puya and arbol are pretty spicy so the amount to use depends on how much spice you prefer. Guajillo is more for taste and color so we'll add 4-5 of those. It's important to have the heat low because you don’t want the chilis to burn, it’ll make the salsa bitter.

Once the chilies start to get a little toasted and their color begins to change, turn off the heat. Slowly add ¼ cup of hot water to the pan (DO NOT DO THIS STEP WITH THE FLAME ON OR WITH KIDS AROUND BECAUSE IT CAN BE DANGEROUS). Once water is added, put the lid on and turn the flame back on low heat until the chiles are soft. Put everything prepared so far (peanuts, garlic, tomatoes, onion) with the chiles to blend with salt, pepper and the chicken base. 

Then in another deep pan, add a little bit of oil and cook the chicken, add some pepper and salt while cooking it. Cook the chicken until it is about 80% cooked, we want to let our salsa finish cooking the chicken. Once the chicken is 80% cooked, add the salsa made in the previous step. The consistency we are looking for in the salsa is a bit soupy, so add water if needed. 

After the chicken is cooked, add the rest of the seasoning, garlic powder, chicken base, salt, pepper, parsley or your favorite seasonings to finish the chicken. 

It is important to have the heat on medium-low because if it is too high the salsa might get stuck to the pan. Stir constantly every couple of minutes for approx. 15 minutes. 

When the chicken is done cooking, in another pan add oil and a tablespoon of butter with some chopped onions and garlic with 1 cup rice. Fry the rice until it turns golden brown, then add 2 cups of water. While adding the water, add the chicken base. Cover and let it cook for 7-15 minutes. Monitor the rice, if it's looking dry, add more water as needed. 

In a deep sheet pan, place 4 big boiled potatoes and mash them. Add 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk, 1/8 cup of milk, a whole stick of butter and pepper and salt to taste.