Chilaca: the fresh chile that becomes pasilla
Long, wavy and nearly black. Dried it turns into pasilla, and in US stores the two names get swapped in both directions.
- Heat (Scoville)
- 1,000–2,500
- Recipes here
- 0
- Also sold as
- chilaca chile, fresh pasilla
Where to buy in the US: Genuinely hard to find fresh in the US. Mexican groceries in California occasionally have it. Complicating things, fresh poblanos are widely sold there as 'pasilla' — so a bin labeled pasilla almost never holds a chilaca.
Long, narrow, wavy along its length, and such a dark green it looks black under store lights. Dried, this chile becomes the pasilla.
Its relationship with pasilla
One plant, two ingredients, two names — the same arrangement as poblano and ancho.
- Fresh: chilaca
- Dried: pasilla (also called chile negro)
They are not interchangeable in a recipe. Fresh chilaca is watery, green and herbal. Dried pasilla is concentrated, dark and raisiny. A recipe asking for one and given the other produces something else.
The naming in US stores is a mess in both directions. Fresh poblanos are commonly labeled “pasilla” in California, and dried pasillas are sometimes labeled “chile negro.” If you are hunting for a chilaca, go by the shape: long, thin and wavy, never heart-shaped like a poblano.
How hot it is
1,000 to 2,500 Scoville. Around a poblano, milder than a jalapeño. This is a mild chile.
It has to be peeled
Like the poblano, and for the same reason: the skin is tough and does not soften.
Char it whole, sweat it under a covered bowl for ten minutes, then peel with your fingers rather than under the tap — rinsing washes off the roasted flavor you just made.
Its wavy shape makes this fiddlier than a poblano. The folds shield patches of skin from the flame, so turn it more often and expect to chase a few spots.
What it tastes like
Green and herbal, with a mild bitterness at the finish that the poblano does not have. It is a more interesting chile than the poblano and a less convenient one.
What it is for
Rajas, the same as poblano, and better — the strips are naturally narrow and the flavor is deeper.
Green salsas with body. A roasted chilaca blended into a tomatillo salsa gives it a darker, rounder character.
With cream and corn, the classic central Mexican combination.
Not for stuffing: the wall is too thin and the shape wrong.
Buying and storing
Firm, glossy, very dark green, long and evenly wavy. Yellowing at the tip means it is starting to turn — a chilaca left on the plant ripens dark brown, and at that point it is on its way to being a pasilla rather than a chilaca.
Crisper drawer, about a week.