It's really just a sauce, nothing to get too worried about. I usually use 3 parts water to one part paste, and I usually make the whole jar's worth. If I have too much sauce, I find a way to use it later. But the ratio isn't all that sacred -- you want to get it to a consistency that works for whatever you're making.
I usually end up adding some salt and sugar, but sometimes not. Taste it and see what you think. A Mexican woman gave me her "old family recipe," and it was the Dona Maria sauce with some added sugar and salt. I was expecting a from-scratch recipe, but she said this was how her family always made it.
Sometimes I get a little wild and added extra spices, but it really doesn't need anything. It's got so much flavor already, that when I've added things, I really don't notice a whole lot of difference, anyway. But I still fiddle with it now and then.
The traditional recipe has you cook the chicken first, shred it, then heat it up again in the mole to let the chicken soak up the flavor. Like pulled pork, sort of.
I usually par-cook the chicken, then finish it in the sauce. Sometimes I just toss it all into the crockpot. Depends on what else I've got going on. We usually eat it with tortillas.
I've also used the sauce on chicken wings on the grill. Just make the sauce thick enough and brush it on like a barbecue sauce.
Donna
