Mole Chicken Tacos
Make Mole Chicken Tacos with rich quick mole, tender chicken, and fresh toppings for an easy, celebratory weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 1 batch quick mole sauce
- 4 cups (about 2 pounds) diced or shredded cooked chicken
- 8-10 small flour or corn tortillas
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 fresh limes, cut into wedges
- toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced red or white onions, sliced radishes, and/or crumbled cotija cheese
Instructions
Step 1: Cook the mole sauce
Begin by preparing the quick mole sauce until it is thick, glossy, and deeply colored — a cohesive, slightly grainy emulsion with a satin sheen. Simmer the blended chiles, cocoa, toasted spices, sautéed onion and garlic, and a touch of stock until the flavors marry and the sauce clings slowly to the spoon. Taste for balance: it should be savory with a muted chocolate warmth and a gentle, rounded heat. Spoon the finished mole into a small glass jar and reserve about a cup in that jar for finishing the tacos later; the rest stays ready to dress the chicken.
Step 2: Toss the chicken in mole
Place the warm shredded or diced cooked chicken in a large matte charcoal ceramic bowl, ladle the majority of the mole over it and toss gently with a wooden spoon or tongs until every strand is evenly coated — glossy, saturated folds of meat with visible threads of sauce clinging in ribbons. The chicken should look moist but not soupy: pockets of dark, velvety mole nesting in the creases, flecks of spice and a satiny surface. Set the small glass jar with the reserved cup of mole nearby for later drizzling, and leave a wooden spoon resting on the rim for a lived-in, purposeful touch.
Step 3: Assemble and serve the tacos
Warm a trio of small flour or corn tortillas and lay them on a parchment-lined wooden tray; nest generous mounds of the mole-coated chicken into each tortilla so the protein bulges with tender shreds and glossy sauce. Top immediately with diced creamy avocado, a scatter of diced white onion, thin radish slices for crunch, crumbled cotija, and a bright sprinkle of chopped cilantro. Finish with a gentle spoonful of the reserved mole and a squeeze of lime over the tacos so the citrus beads on the sauce. The final scene is tactile: steam-hinted tortillas, dark lacquered mole pooling slightly at the base, smooth avocado, and crisp onion — ready to serve warm.
Notes
- Reserve a cup of mole to drizzle at the table for fresher-tasting tacos.
- Use rotisserie chicken to save time and add extra depth of flavor.
- Freeze leftover mole in small portions for quick future meals.
- Warm tortillas just before serving to keep them pliable and avoid sogginess.