Mole or adobo?

Mexico has a long culinary tradition with chili peppers and sauces, both elements can be found in hundreds of traditional dishes and preparations in our country such as mole or adobo, which although they may seem similar recipes prepared with a mixture of chili peppers and other ingredients, they are very different from each other and we will explain their differences and how you can identify them. What is mole? Mole is a preparation made from various chili peppers, seeds, vegetables, tortillas and other elements, thick and with an intense flavor load. It is usually used as a sauce to prepare hundreds of dishes, as accompaniments for meats or even as the star of the dish in enchiladas and stews. Depending on the ingredients added, they usually take on one or another color, which often determines their name, such as green, red or black mole.

What is adobo?

Adobo is a sauce made from chili peppers, which at first may seem similar to mole, however, while mole is a final preparation that is the main part of the dish, adobo fulfills the function of marinating the elements of the dish, usually meat and in almost all cases, the marinated elements end up being cooked in the same marinade that ends up being part of the dish as a sauce.

Origin We have already seen that the main way to differentiate them is their function, while adobo marinates and is complementary, mole is the main ingredient and accompanies, but also the origin of each of these sauces is very different, while mole has a pre-Hispanic origin (whose recipe has been modified by culinary miscegenation), the adobo technique is an inheritance from medieval Spanish cuisine designed to preserve food, which when brought to Mexico, was adapted to local ingredients, hence the presence of chili peppers.