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Tamales d'Oaxaca

Name: Tamales d'Oaxaca
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 2 h 20 min
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: MX
Ingredients: 1 kg banana leaves (enough for 10 wrapping pieces, plus scraps for lining the steamer); 600 g bone-in chicken thighs; 400 g bone-in chicken breast; 1 white onion, quartered; 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled; 1 bay leaf; 1 tbsp + 1 tsp salt, divided; 600 g masa harina for tamales (not the fine kind for tortillas); 250 g lard, softened (or vegetable shortening); 1 tbsp baking powder; 500 g mole negro paste (homemade or good-quality jarred), divided; 900 ml chicken broth (from poaching the chicken), warm, divided; about 2.5 L water, divided (for poaching the chicken and steaming the tamales)

60m

Prépa

140m

Cuisson

Portions

Difficile

Difficulté

Masa de maïs au mole negro, farcie de poulet effiloché, enveloppée dans une feuille de bananier et cuite à la vapeur.

#mexican#oaxaca#tamales#mole#banana-leaf#chicken#steamed

Portions

10portions

Ingrédients

Nutrition

calories390

protein20g

carbs33g

fat20g

fiber3g

Par portion

Étapes

Poach the chicken

Put the chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf and 1 tablespoon of salt in a large pot and cover with about 1.5 litres of water. Simmer gently for 35-40 minutes, skimming any foam, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, then shred into bite-size pieces and strain the broth, keeping it warm.

600 g chicken thighs
400 g chicken breast
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp salt
about 1.5 L water

✅ C'est prêt quand : chicken reaches 75°C/165°F and shreds easily

⏱37:30

Soften the banana leaves

Wipe the leaves clean and cut 10 rectangles about 30 x 25 cm, keeping the trimmings for lining the steamer. Pass each piece quickly over a direct flame or a hot dry pan for a few seconds per side so it becomes glossy and flexible instead of brittle.

1 kg banana leaves

✅ C'est prêt quand : leaves look glossy and darker, and fold without tearing

Beat the mole masa

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Finish the filling

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Assemble the parcels

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Steam until set

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Rest and serve

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Poach the chicken

600 g chicken thighs
400 g chicken breast
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp salt
about 1.5 L water

✅ C'est prêt quand : chicken reaches 75°C/165°F and shreds easily

⏱37:30

Soften the banana leaves

1 kg banana leaves

✅ C'est prêt quand : leaves look glossy and darker, and fold without tearing

Beat the mole masa

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Finish the filling

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Assemble the parcels

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Steam until set

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Rest and serve

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History & Culture

The Story Behind the Dish

📍 Oaxaca, southern Mexico📅 Pre-Hispanic roots, developed through the colonial era🫔 MX

Tamales existed across Mesoamerica long before the Spanish arrived, steamed in corn husks or leaves as portable, sacred food. In Oaxaca, cooks took the local staple and wrapped it instead in banana leaf, which grows abundantly in the state's warmer lowlands, giving the masa a different aroma and a signature rectangular, flat shape rather than the conical tamales found further north.

⭐ Why It's Famous

The marriage of corn masa, Oaxaca's famous mole negro and banana leaf is what sets these tamales apart from every other region's version; they are a centerpiece of Sunday breakfasts, baptisms and Day of the Dead altars.

💡 Fun Fact

Oaxaca is sometimes called the 'land of seven moles', and tamales are one of the few dishes where the region's prized mole negro is folded straight into the masa itself, not just served alongside it.

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