Test kitchen secrets: Mexican dried chillies
Our cookery assistant Helena Busiakiewicz shares what she’s learned about Mexican dried chillies.
Most common chillies come from the species Capsicum Annuum, which was first grown in Mexico around 5,000 years ago. What makes dried chillies so special is that the drying process concentrates the unique flavours in the chilli’s cell walls, encouraging them to react with each other and create really intense flavours.
A good place to start is the ancho chilli. They are made from dried poblano peppers and are not particularly spicy, but they pack an acidic, fruity flavour. For intense chilli heat, try the arbol chilli. On the Scoville scale, which is a measure of chilli heat, they regularly rank six times hotter than a jalapeño! Chipotle chillies are made from smoked and dried red jalapeños, and are hotter than the ancho, but not quite as hot as the arbol. Pasilla chillies have a famously wrinkled skin, and are a key flavour in Mexican mole sauce.
To prepare dried chillies, remove stems and seeds and rehydrate in either hot water or just by adding them to a braise. You can also toast them in a dry hot pan before using in recipes, to bring out their smokiness.
The texture of good-quality dried chillies should remind you of dried fruit, like raisins – so still soft and pliable, rather than brittle and crisp. Keep them in airtight containers in the darkest part of your food cupboard.
