Asian Mole

Submitted by Maito

"This sauce is much adapted from a Ming Tsai recipe. It goes well with chicken, pork, vegetables or tofu. I haven't tried it with seafood, but I imagine it would go wonderfully with shrimp (and one reviewer really liked it over salmon)."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1⁄2 tablespoon peanut oil or 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
• 1⁄2 tablespoon jalapenos or 1/2 tablespoon serrano chili, chopped, including some of the seeds
• 3⁄4 cup red wine
• 1⁄4 cup dried cranberries
• 7 tablespoons water, divided use
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seed, toasted
• 1⁄8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

directions

1. Over medium-high heat, sauté onions, garlic, ginger and chile until caramelized.
2. Deglaze pan with wine. Add cranberries and 1/4 cup of water, and cook until about three fourths of the liquid is absorbed.
3. Transfer to a processor while warm, so that chocolate will melt. Blend with rest of ingredients, including remaining 3 tablespoons of water, until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over meat, tofu, or vegetables.

Reviews

[Outta Here]

This deserves more than 5 stars. What a great medley of flavors. Very easy to make. I served it with grilled salmon, but looking forward to trying it on chicken or shrimp.

 

[Kumquat the Cats fr]

I'll have to agree with the other two reviewers, this recipe was pleasingly complex. I did not mind the sweetness here myself, though I've made Mexican mole's where I might consider a sweet taste inappropriate. Minor things - I did not have black sesame seeds so I used white (untoasted), and I couldn't find my sliced almonds (though I did find them later, grrr). I put this on top of non-silken tofu, which I grilled in a non-stick skillet until nice and brown. BF enjoyed this too. I used the leftovers on a soy-based "steak." Very good sauce, thanks Maito!

 

[anme7039]

I dont really know how to rate this since I never had a mole sauce before. I did enjoy this but my mom did not, she didnt like sweetness this sauce had to it but I found it quite enjoyable. The hottness of the jalapenos with the cranberries and the hint vanilla was surprisingly nice. I didnt have a full 3/4 cup of wine left so I used part beef broth and part wine. I served this over chicken, but like you said I'm sure it would go great with seafood as well.

 

[KateL]

A lot of chocolate, but not too sweet. Very interesting. I was going to serve over chicken, but I think green beans are best for me. My prep time was long (we had some business that extended into my normal cooking time), so I prepared the sauce tonight to serve tomorrow. I was surprised that I had black sesame seeds on hand, so I ended up making as written. I'll update on how well it reheats.

 

[D Rusak]

A bit more chocolate than I expected, but still quite good, and super easy to put together. I could have used a bit more heat, which I added in situ with some hot sauce. I did not find it too sweet. I served this over lightly-marinated tempeh.