Last week my family and I went to the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles to scope out some ingredients for Mole Poblano. That's me and my little helper checking out the chile selection.
Grand Central Market is the oldest open-air market in Los Angeles. The landmark Grand Central Market dates back to 1917, when well to do Angelenos rode the Angels Flight Railway for a penny down to the best open-air shopping in town (Grand Central Market. 17 Aug. 2009. )
Today, it is still a bustling marketplace, although a few shops are closed. I have to admit I was a little intimidated when I walked into this mostly Latin market. I felt like a tourist, snapping pictures, taking notes and trying to pick out the few Spanish words I understood. But with my husband offering quiet support, I took a deep breath and dove in.
The meat counter was exciting and weird. Whole hog heads wrapped in plastic, with their dead eyes glaring at me. Two different kinds of tripe and calf's feet asking to be made into Menudo.
And then onto the candy counter with Tamarind pods in sugar and chile. Prunes in salt and sugar and chile. And the ever-present "Lucas" sweet and sour and spicy powders.
The produce was your typical grocery store selection interspersed with chayote, tomatillo and nopales. There were 3 different types of mango and banana. And I even found some epazote!! Side note: We filled two bags of produce for $4!
I was amazed by the chile selection! I honestly had never seen so many dried chiles in one place before. The smell was intoxicating and earthy. I stuck my face in a bin of Chipotles without even thinking of asking the vendor. I was armed with a list of chiles I would need for making Mole Poblano. Yo quiero dieciséis chiles mulatos, por favor. But of course I wasn't brave enough to say it in Spanish. It was thrilling to have all of these ingredients at my fingertips! I even found a vendor selling five different kinds of mole's...but I figured I should probably make my first mole by scratch. With Lila Downs for accompaniment, of course.
We left the market that day with a few bags of dried chiles, and the excitement that comes with the discovery of a new, well, everything!
have you made it? How did it turn out?
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