Oaxacan Tamales (Tamales Oaxaqueños)
Soft corn masa enriched with mole negro, wrapped around tender shredded chicken in glossy banana leaf, then steamed until the parcel pulls apart clean. The great Sunday breakfast of Oaxaca, best eaten with hot chocolate or atole.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
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
✅ Done when: chicken reaches 75°C/165°F and shreds easily
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
✅ Done when: 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
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
✅ Done when: chicken reaches 75°C/165°F and shreds easily
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
✅ Done when: 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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The Story Behind the Dish
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.
Oaxaca, southern Mexico
17.07°N, -96.73°W
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