Whenever we think of Mexican food and chiles, the first ones to come to mind are fresh chillies that are often spicy. Jalapeno, habanero and serrano to name just a few. These are, of course, a very important part of our cuisine and are often present in salsas or as toppings. However, when talking about Mexican chiles, we have to talk about dried chiles.
Dried chiles start as regular, fresh peppers that are selected at their prime and then set to dry using different methods. When the chiles dry, their colour and flavour change and the chile transforms into another very different ingredient. Some dried chiles have even further processes such as smoking which deepens their complexity even more, such is the case of smoked dried jalapeno peppers that transform into chipotle or morita.
The use of dried chiles is as varied as the amount of dried chiles in the market. Dried chiles can be toasted, fried, rehydrated or a combination of several of these processes. Every single one of these treatments will produce different flavours that are incredibly complex and delicious.
Mexican food has taken advantage of dried chiles in their many forms to give our dishes a particular taste, consistency and colour.
These are the most common ways to use dried chiles:
- Clean - All dried chiles need to be cleaned. The first thing to do with most chiles is to remove the stem, seeds and inside veins. Once this is done, rinse them with cold water and pat dry them. There are only a couple of chiles that do not need their seeds removed such as arbol chiles. They only need to be cleaned on the outside and the stem removed. Some people even leave a stem or two when making salsas but they won't tell you this, it is a secret!
- Toasting - Place the clean chiles on a hot pan for a few seconds on each side. Their colour will deepen and they will become fragrant. The key is not to allow them to smoke or burn. Toasting dried chiles helps to bring extra flavour out of them, once toasted they can be ground into a powder or they can also be rehydrated to be blended into sauces.
- Frying - Place the clean chiles on a hot pan with oil and toss them around for a few minutes. They will plump, turn brighter and fragrant. This process brings a different flavour profile. Fried chiles can be blended directly or they can also be rehydrated to be blended into sauces.
- Rehydrating - Clean chiles can be added to stews to add extra flavour and then blended into a sauce. The easiest way to rehydrate dried chiles is to place them in a bowl, cover them with boiling water and allow them to soften for at least 15 minutes. Covering the bowl with a plate, lid or plastic wrap allows the steam to stay in for better results. Once the chiles have softened they can be blended to make delicious sauces.
To sieve or not to sieve. The consistency of the resulting chilli paste or sauce is down to personal preference. Some people will strain the sauce to get a clean, thin sauce to work with but leaving some texture and working with a rustic sauce works as well. Modern blenders do a very good job of blending well the ingredients so no extra work is required.
Would you like to know more about the potential of using Mexican dried chiles? Then take a look at our previous dive into Dried Chiles here.
Are you curious about how hot Mexican chiles are? Then take a look at our Chiles Ranked here!
