Pipian

[DanBrown]

Hello Mr.Bayless-

I shant shower you with all the praise I feel you're due, but I will say that I feel you're one of the greatest food teachers working in our culture. My question is regarding the sauce Pepian. One of my cooks calls it a white mole, and makes an excellent version, but I am hopeful that you can enlighten me on the history of the sauce and it's origins.

Thanks for your time, and thank you for visiting cheftalk.

Dan Brown

[Rick Bayless]

Dear Dan,

In Mexico, pipián is a simple mole that emphasizes the nuts or seeds that are blended to thicken the sauce. The seed that has traditionally thickened a sauce like this since pre-Columbian times is Mexico's native pumpkin seed. After centuries of trade between Acapulco and Southeast Asia (for three centuries, most goods destined for Europe from Asia traveled from the Philippines to Acapulco, then overland to Veracruz and overseas to European ports), the Asian sesame seed found a home in Mexico's pipián--making it super creamy.