Looks like Mole, right?
Well, is it a little similar, but it’s actually a Red Pipian (pipián rojo), a dish made with dried peppers and
seeds. After all these years blogging, I don’t know why, I didn’t post this recipe before, a classic dish from my hometown, where you can go to the central atrium of the municipal market and find two or three ladies selling red pipian paste, ready to make this dish. They sell the paste in small patted balls. They grind all the dried peppers, seeds and spices to form the paste. You just have to go home and roast the tomato, onion, and garlic, and blend it with the pipian paste to form the sauce.
Pipián Rojo Recipe, a creamy red sauce
Pipian or pepian is commonly made using pumpkin seeds and using chicken as the protein, but there are other recipes that include a mix of several seeds and use pork, beef or nopales with shrimp (cactus paddles) for the protein. There is another pipian recipe here on the blog, the green pipian, and a very similar dish called Mole verde. Both use the same process of roasting and grinding dried peppers, seeds and spices. The recipes are many and some more complex than others. I hope you get some inspiration from this pipian rojo to make your own creation.
How to make Pipián Rojo Recipe
DIRECTIONS:
- Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over the medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the meat, and sear both sides, turning once when the meat gets a light golden color. This step will take about 5 minutes in total. Add one cup of water to the saucepan and cover to simmer and cook until the meat is almost fork-tender. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- While the meat is cooking, let’s prepare the sauce. Prepare a medium-size saucepan with 2 cups of water where you are going to be placing all the toasted ingredients. Toast the peppers over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side. Place in the saucepan.
- Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet or frying pan. We’ll start with the larger seeds: first the peanuts, then the pumpkin seeds and finally the sesame seeds. Toasting the peanuts will take about 1-½ minutes, afterward remove and place in a bowl. Toast the pumpkin seeds, being careful not to burn them. Once they start to get a golden color, they will begin to jump; use a wooden spatula to stir. This step is a very quick one, and the same process applies to the sesame seeds that will be roasted in a matter of seconds. Place roasted seeds in the bowl with the water.
- Now, slightly roast cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves, and allspice berries. Place them in the bowl with water once
toasted.
- Finally, roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, turning occasionally to obtain an even roasting. Place in the bowl with the water.
- Place the bowl's contents in the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook for about 8 minutes; set aside to let the ingredients soften.
- Check the meat for doneness, and add more water if needed.
- Place all the sauce's ingredients in your blender pitcher and process until you have a smooth and robust sauce. Do not process it for a long period of time, just enough to blend the ingredients.
- Pour the sauce into a large skillet and turn up the heat to medium-high and slowly cook the sauce. Add the pieces of meat and stir occasionally. Keep cooking for about 10 minutes. The fats will float over the surface by now. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice and warm corn tortillas.
Pipián Rojo Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE MEAT:
- 1 ½ Pork loin cut into large cubes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 2 Ancho peppers, seeded & deveined
- 2 Guajillo peppers, seeded & deveined
- 1 chipotle pepper
- ¼ cup peanuts
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ sesame seeds
- 1- in cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 small tomato
- ⅓ medium white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the meat, and sear both sides, turning once when the meat gets a light golden color. This step will take about 5 minutes total. Add one cup of water to the saucepan and cover to simmer and cook until the meat is almost fork-tender.
- While the meat is cooking, let’s prepare the sauce. Prepare a medium-size saucepan
- with 2 cups of water where you are going to be placing all the toasted ingredients. Toast the peppers over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side. Place in the saucepan.
- Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet or frying pan. We’ll start with the larger seeds: first the peanuts, then the pumpkin seeds and finally the sesame seeds. Toasting the peanuts will take about 1-½ minutes, afterward remove and place in a bowl. Toast the pumpkin seeds, being careful not to burn them. Once they start to get a golden color, they will begin to jump; use a wooden spatula to stir. This step is a very quick one, and the same process applies to the sesame seeds that will be roasted in a matter of seconds. Place roasted seeds in the bowl with the water.
- Now, slightly roast cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves and allspice berries. Place them in the bowl with water once toasted.
- Finally, roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, turning occasionally to obtain an even roasting. Place in the bowl with the water.
- Place the bowl’s contents in the saucepan over a medium-high heat and cook for about 8 minutes; set aside to let the ingredients soften.
- Check the meat for doneness, and add more water if needed.
- Place all the sauce’s ingredients in your blender pitcher and process until you have a smooth and robust sauce. Do not process it for a long period of time, just enough to blend the ingredients.
- Pour the sauce into a large skillet and turn up the heat to medium-high and slowly cook the sauce. Add the pieces of meat and stir occasionally. Keep cooking for about 10 minutes. The fats will float over the surface by now. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with rice and warm corn tortillas.
Notes
Nutrition
Provecho!
Mely,
Don't forget to come back and share your experience with the recipe!
More recipes:
Three Peppers Stew – Guisado a los tres chiles
15 wonderful ways to enjoy Poblano Peppers
Leslie L
Que delicia! Your pipían rojo looks so good, Mely! I love that you add peanuts to the sauce in addition to the pepitas.
Linda A Marquez
Can I roast whole pumpkin seeds and after blending strain and the then finish as instructed
mmartinez
Hello Linda,
Yes, you can do that.
Mimi
I can't wait to make this sauce! My husband found out about it from his massage therapist (!) and asked me to find it. Your recipe popped up first and since I already am a follower and fan of yours, I thought I'd use your recipe! Thanks! I'll share your blog when I do of course.
mmartinez
Hello Mimi,
I hope you like it! Have fun!
Jude
This sounds phenomenal. However I have one question.......do you seed the 🌶 peppers at anytime before blending? Thanks!
mmartinez
Hello Jude,
You seeded and devein the Guajillo & ANcho peppers before toasting them.
Tony
Hola Mely:
I like your recipe and I’m looking forward to trying it this weekend. How far in advance can you make the sauce before adding the pork and serving? I would omagine the flavors blend nicely after some time resting in the pot but because of the fats involved the sauce night begin separating. Thoughts? Thank you!
mmartinez
Hello Tony,
You can make the pipián at least 3 days in advance just make sure you do not overheat it, if it get dry, add a little chicken broth when reheating. The fat will rise (float) to the surface when cooking in low heat.
Erika
My husband isn’t a fan of cinnamon and is giving me major side eye about adding it in.. could I leave it out or would that completely mess up the dish?
mmartinez
Hello Erika,
No worries, skip the cinnamon, you dish will still be great!
Greg R.
Hi Mely -
This looks amazing.
Would it be a travesty to fry chicken prior to using it with this sauce? I have picky eaters amongst my kids.
Thank you!
-G
Mely Martínez
Hello Greg,
You can use this sauce for that purpose. You can even use it to make enchiladas using this sauce to top your tortillas. We call them empipianadas.
Greg
Mely -
I made this sauce and put over pork-filled enchiladas. It was excellent. My wife took a bite and said "This is a 'make-again' meal!"
My picky eater kid took seconds. Teen son tried to take a fourth helping.
Thanks again!
Greg
Mely Martínez
Hello Greg,
So glad to know you like it, and pork was the best option!
Greg
Thank you! Topping for enchiladas... that also is a must-try.