If I’m being completely honest I still don’t really know what mole estofado is.
I know what’s in it, and it’s some weird ingredients: capers, raisins, and olives are unique to estofado, and it doesn’t have as much chile as others. In addition it has absolutely no chocolate, so the flavor that’s left is sweet, mild, and even a little fruity without the bitterness or smokiness that other moles have. At the end of the day it’s chicken cooked with a sauce that is sweet, mild, spiced, and just a tiny a touch smoky. You know what we call that in the USA? We call that BBQ chicken.
This is just Mexican BARBECUE CHICKEN.
But where does it come from? what does its name mean?
Well, this mole has more influence from Spain than any other mole here, borrowing the base ingredients of Spain with the spices indigenous to Mexico. It is truly a mix of the two cultures, the bright side of a dark history of colonialization and erasure of thousands of years of history and culture. Even the name, ‘estofado’ seems to be a reference to the kind of stewed cooking that Spaniards were familiar with when they first traveled to Central America. It’s pretty difficult to trace back the history of this kind of mole (assuming you, like me, only have wikipedia and basic internet searches to augment asking questions of Oaxacans.)
So. Where did I get this one? In the south part of Centro de Oaxaca is a market called Mercado 20 de Noviembre. May that’s an unwieldy name for a market but it is named so because it’s on the street 20 de Noviembre. Maybe that’s an unwieldy name for a street but you know what I’ve had enough of your criticisms.
This market mostly has 2 things: eateries and bakeries. There’s people selling tamales or other small things in the pathways between the booths, there’s a Mayordomo selling chocolate, but largely you go here if you need a meal or bread.
All the eateries are pretty similar, so they have to get people’s attention some way. At the height of activity, Waitresses will yell out to you passing by, waving a menu very close to you, shouting either “de comer, joven” or just listing the food that they have available. I don’t know if anyone has ever been swayed by this tactic, but I know plenty of people who do not enjoy being here because they get agitated having people yell out at them the entire time they are walking through the market.
Nonetheless, if you find a good one or if you need some of that daily bread, this is a nice, safe, and accessible place to come and eat (and I guess take pictures without people making a fuss Dx)
Chase the Wind, Touch the Sky 