45-Minute Oaxacan Costillitas en Encacahuatado
Listen, I love a traditional encacahuatado as much as the next person, but this is a Tuesday night in Brooklyn, not a wedding in Oaxaca. We are not suffering for dinner! This fast version of costillitas en encacahuatado gives you all that deep, nutty, smoky magic in under an hour. I first started playing with this shortcut when my toddler was going through a very loud phase right around witching hour, and I needed something rich and comforting without spending four hours at the stove. The secret? Toasting your peanuts and a quick chile (guajillo is my go-to) before blending them right into a shortcut tomato base. It builds instant depth. (Mom math: while the ribs brown, you blend the sauce—boom, time saved.) Right at the end, a splash of apple cider vinegar wakes up the whole skillet, cutting right through that luscious peanut butter richness. Taste it—then decide if it needs more salt. Serve this with warm corn tortillas and some crunchy cabbage on the side to hit that texture contrast just right. Grab a cold drink, and let’s get dinner sorted before anyone asks for a snack.
Featured Recipe
45-Minute Oaxacan Costillitas en Encacahuatado (Fast Peanut-Chile Braised Ribs)
Tender, bite-sized pork ribs fast-braised in a velvety Oaxacan peanut-and-chile sauce that tastes like it simmered all afternoon. It is smoky, rich, and spiked with a splash of apple cider vinegar right at the end to wake up the whole skillet.
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Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs bone-in pork baby back ribs or country-style ribs(cut into 1.5-inch individual bite-sized rib nubs)
- 1 tsp kosher salt(plus more to taste)
- 0.5 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 guajillo chiles(stemmed and seeded)
- 1 ancho chile(stemmed and seeded)
- 0.5 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 3 garlic cloves(unpeeled)
- 1 medium yellow onion(halved)
- 14.5 oz canned fire-roasted crushed tomatoes(1 standard can)
- 1.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 0.25 cup fresh cilantro(chopped, for serving)
- 0.5 cup pickled red onions(for serving)
- 8 warm corn tortillas(for serving)
Instructions
- 1
Season 2.5 lbs bone-in pork baby back ribs with 1 tsp kosher salt and 0.5 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, dry-toast 3 guajillo chiles, 1 ancho chile, 3 garlic cloves, and 1 yellow onion in a separate small skillet or comal for 2 minutes until fragrant, then soak the chiles in warm water. Sear the ribs in the Dutch oven for 6 minutes, turning until golden brown on all sides.
8 min
Tip: Don't burn the dry chiles! Ten seconds too long and they turn bitter. Just a quick kiss of heat.
- 2
In that same small dry skillet, quickly toast 0.5 cup roasted unsalted peanuts for 2 minutes until glossy. Transfer peanuts, soaked chiles, peeled toasted 3 garlic cloves, toasted 1 yellow onion, 14.5 oz canned fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, and 1.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth to a high-speed blender. Blend for 2 minutes until silky smooth.
5 min
Tip: If your blender needs help, add a splash more broth—we want a pourable velvet texture.
- 3
Pour the blended sauce directly over the browned ribs in the heavy skillet. Bring to a rapid boil, then turn heat to low, cover with a lid, and fast-braise for 25 minutes while the rice cooks and before someone asks for a snack.
25 min
Tip: Cutting the ribs into small 1.5-inch nubs is the secret weeknight hack that lets them cook tender in 25 minutes instead of 2 hours.
- 4
Uncover the skillet and stir in 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar to cut through the rich nut sauce. Taste it—then decide if it needs tantito more salt. Top with 0.25 cup fresh cilantro and serve hot with 0.5 cup pickled red onions and 8 warm corn tortillas.
2 min
Tip: That splash of acid at the end is non-negotiable—it wakes up the whole skillet!
Chef's Notes
This is a Tuesday mole cousin, not a 30-ingredient Sunday wedding mole! We're not suffering for dinner on a weeknight. Bodega Mode: If you can't find dried ancho/guajillo chiles at your corner bodega, swap in 2 tablespoons of good chili powder plus 1 chipotle pepper in adobo. If You Have A Mexican Market Nearby: Grab freshly pressed corn tortillas and raw unhulled pumpkin seeds to throw in with the peanuts!
María “Mari” Santiago
Oaxacan comfort, Brooklyn shortcuts, weeknight bright.
María “Mari” Santiago was born in Oaxaca, where her earliest kitchen memories are measured in scent: chiles toasting on a comal, cinnamon and chocolate blooming in mole, and the warm, nutty snap of a tlayuda folded in half for the walk home. She learned by watching—first her tías, then her abuela—picking up the small, practical rules that never made it into written recipes: how to tell when the garlic is *just* right, how to rescue a too-spicy salsa, and why you always taste the broth before you add the salt. Now in Brooklyn, Mari cooks the food she grew up on while raising two little kids and juggling real-life time limits. Her style is “real flavor, real life”: traditional Oaxacan and everyday Mexican dishes—moles, caldos, frijoles, enfrijoladas, salsas, and crispy tlayudas—made weeknight-friendly with smart shortcuts, brighter salsas, and more vegetables without losing the soul of the dish. She’s not precious about rules, she’s big on swaps, and she’s on a mission to prove that you can cook deeply flavorful Mexican food with what you can actually find at a normal grocery store (and still get dinner on the table before a meltdown). Mari’s recipes read like a friend texting you from the produce aisle: clear, funny, and unpretentious, with a side of abuela wisdom. If there’s a hard-to-find ingredient, she gives you a realistic alternative, tells you what will change (and what won’t), and keeps the focus where it belongs—on food that tastes like home, even when home is a small Brooklyn kitchen.