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Mole Chicken

A savory chicken dish simmered in a tomato-based mole sauce with cocoa, honey, and chipotle.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Mole Chicken

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

  2. Add chicken and cook 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

  3. Remove to a plate.

Make the sauce

  1. Add onion and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.

  2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, cocoa powder, honey, vinegar and cinnamon.

  3. Bring to a boil.

  4. Return chicken to the skillet.

  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  6. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer and finish

  1. Cover and cook about 15 minutes.

  2. Uncover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through and sauce is lightly thickened.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

596Calories
36 gProtein
27 gFat
55 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provide the main protein, which browns first and then cooks through in the sauce.
Crushed tomatoes
Form the acidic, moist base of the sauce and add body as they simmer.
Cocoa powder
Adds depth, bitterness and dark color that give the sauce its mole character.
Onion
Softens as it cooks, adding sweetness and savory body to the sauce.
Honey
Balances the bitterness of cocoa and the acidity of the tomatoes with sweetness.
Chicken broth
Adds liquid and savory flavor, helping the sauce reduce and thicken.

The step that matters

Uncover and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Chicken must reach a safe internal temperature, and the sauce thickens only as liquid evaporates after the lid comes off. Stopping early leaves the meat undercooked or the sauce thin.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, chicken, onion, garlic, tomato, cocoa powder, honey):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, chicken, onion, garlic, tomato, cocoa powder, honey. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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